Visitor Elaine Harris, left, talking to Independent Arts project manager Hannah Griffiths.

Isle of Wight Volunteering: It can bring so much to your life

The New Year will a great time for reflection and the perfect opportunity to make plans for the future.

Have you recently discovered that you have some spare time on your hands and would like to use it for a worthwhile cause?

Or perhaps you’re new to the Isle of Wight and looking to make friends or dip your toes into a community project.

Maybe you know someone who is searching out that perfect volunteering project for their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Or you could be seeking out just the right stepping stone to get you back into work.

Isle of Wight Volunteer Centre
If you answer yes to any of the above why not find out more from The Volunteer Centre about the benefits and range of roles that over 50 IW organisations can offer.

You gain by giving
Volunteering is certainly not a one-way process. Whilst you’re giving, you’ll be enhancing your own skills and making new ones. You’ll meet new people and possibly make life-long friends.

There’s a lot of flexibility in how often you can give your time, from a one off, to a weekly commitment, so you can fit it in around other things you need to get done.

Ventnor Botanic Garden. Volunteer Fair. From left, visitor Carolyn Lymn volunteering for the Ramblers with membership secretary Jacky Carter and chairman Mike Slater.

There are a huge range of skills that you can contribute, for example:

Driving your own car to transport people; befriending; administration; puppy parenting; fundraising; event management; supporting young people; supporting people with disabilities; supporting older people; supporting ex-offenders; supporting environmental organisations; retail; customer service; driving minibuses to transport people – the list is as varied as the skill you can bring

It’s proven that volunteering is good for your mental health, and at this time of year that’s something we could all benefit from.

Visitors to the Volunteer Fair 2019

Wide variety of opportunities
There are a diverse range of organisations that can offer volunteering experience, including:

Storeroom 2010; Vectis Radio; Isle of Wight Search and Rescue; Sight for Wight; National Trust; Samaritans; IW Bus and Coach Museum; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wild life Trust; IW Council Children’s Services Volunteering Scheme; Independent Arts; The Friends of Shanklin Theatre; Isle of Wight Ramblers; Maritime Archaeology Trust;
Barnardos; Isle of Wight Music, Dance and Drama Festival; The Wildheart Trust; Wight Aviation Museum; Hampshire and IW Air Ambulance; The Phoenix Project; English Heritage; Isle of Wight Pride; Mountbatten; Guide Dogs for the Blind; Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity; Isle of Wight Steam Railway; Maritime Volunteer Service;
Wight Marine Support Group; Carisbrooke Castle Museum; Abbeyfield Ryde Society Limited; Circles South East; Healthwatch Isle of Wight;
The Stroke Association; Ventnor Botanic Gardens Friends’ Society; Cowes Sailability Club; Breakout Youth/Space 4 U; Active Living; Friends of Brading Roman Villa; Isle Access; Cruse Bereavement; Care Home Friends; Isle of Wight Glass Museum; Isle of Wight Cricket Board and Home-Start IW

More info
For more information, have a look at the Isle Volunteer Website, contact the Volunteer Centre on 01983 539377, email them on
[email protected] or drop in to see them at The Riverside Centre, The Quay, Newport.


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