Volunteering leads to Employment possibilities

 One of my clients has done of lot of DIY work for us.  Recently we went to B&Q together buying materials and we received very poor service.  I said to him: “you could do this job – I wonder if they have any staff vacancies”.  We enquired at the counter and they suggested we checked on the internet.  We returned to the office and checked it out.  Sure enough there were vacancies so we applied there and then.  We were able to include the recommendation from KCAH because he is a volunteer.

 I recently did a course named Outcomes Star which identifies and measures ten main client areas of need on a scale of one to ten.   It is broken down in order to facilitate support work.  The client and the worker can measure where the client is and it can be reviewed after a time to measure and record their progress.  This motivates the client and encourages the support worker but is also a useful tool for fund-raising as it facilitates the production of statistics. 

 I’m really excited about this and asked one of my clients who has a business background if he would help me.  He jumped at the opportunity and got books from the library and enjoyed throwing himself into it.  A week later he was in my office discussing this project when he mentioned that he had a deadline to apply for a job online.  I let him use my computer and insisted he include in the application the fact that he was a volunteer for us.  This will greatly increase his chances of securing that job or another in the future. 

 It’s a win-win situation with volunteering.  The clients are encouraged, they feel valued and most importantly they are putting something back into KCAH in response to all they have received. 

 Quote: “For it is in giving that we receive.” St Francis of Assisi

 Jan Ganney

Access Project Housing and Support Worker