The theme for International Volunteer Managers Day this year is “Many Backgrounds – One Profession – Stronger Together” so to highlight the diversity of volunteer managers across the city we thought we'd turn our blog over to them. Below on our first blog hear from Sashi - Volunteer Coordinator at Caritas Diocese in Salford.
I am Sashi, currently working as a Volunteer Coordinator at Caritas Diocese of Salford. Many of you might be thinking of the origin of this name. Both the name and I belong to Nepal, the country of Mt.Everest if you don't know Nepal. I came to the UK as an international student in 2021 and finished my Master's degree in Community Development and Youth Studies in February 2022. Soon after finishing my studies, I joined Caritas as a volunteer coordinator. Before moving to the UK, I worked with some international charities, including World Vision International and Raleigh International, to name a few. My role in those organisations was more focused on project monitoring and evaluation.
However, my professional journey started with a volunteer role at Raleigh International as a National Volunteer in the UK government-funded International Citizen Service (ICS) volunteering programme. In this programme, young volunteers from the United Kingdom would travel overseas and work collaboratively with volunteers from the host countries to support local communities in overcoming challenges such as poverty, livelihood, water, sanitation, and hygiene. I was at the University doing my undergraduate while volunteering, and I can't deny that I learned so much and gained further practical experience while volunteering rather than attending lectures. Don't get me wrong: I had theoretical knowledge from it, but I gained hands-on experience through volunteering.
Since my professional career began after volunteering, I have always wanted to be involved in the volunteering sector, and I am extremely grateful now to have the opportunity to work closely with volunteers and support them in various ways for them to support people facing multiple challenges in the local communities. I've been working as a Volunteer Coordinator for about six months now, and it's always a challenging task to recruit and retain volunteers while also ensuring volunteer health and safety and safeguarding. It is our utmost priority to ensure the entire volunteering journey is simple and worthwhile for volunteers. All of this cannot be done in isolation, and I have found that engaging with and learning from people working in the same sector is essential.
In the process of expanding my social and professional network, I recently attended the Volunteers Coordination forum hosted by Salford CVS. It was a great opportunity to meet with other volunteer coordinators and managers, and we were able to discuss a variety of volunteer-related issues. Participating in such forums and learning from others allows me to remain updated on issues and increase my knowledge which I can later use to improve the volunteering experience for volunteers.
"I've always enjoyed volunteering and learned so much, and now I want to make sure that all of our volunteers have a similarly rewarding experience and it can only be done by working closely with volunteers and other volunteering organisations"
If you are interested in attending the forum mentioned in this blog our next session is Thursday 12th January (2pm till 3:30pm) at Eccles Gateway. Contact us at volunteer@salfordcvs.co.uk for more information and to book your place!
Image Credit - Caritas Salford