Reasons to Volunteer

Ten reasons to volunteer

Why volunteer with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire? Here are ten reasons why you should – from boosting your confidence to getting to know your community.

  1. Why volunteer? Make a difference

    It can be incredibly rewarding to contribute something non-financial to a cause you care about.

  2. Boost your confidence

    Trying something new and getting out of your comfort zone every now and then can do wonders for your confidence levels.

  3. Do something interesting

    Don’t let your spare time trickle away – fill it doing something interesting and challenging.

  4. Meet new people

    Tired of doing the same things with the same group of friends? Widen your circle and horizons by meeting people you might not normally.

  5. Improve your prospects

    Having volunteering on your CV demonstrates that you’re someone with initiative and a rounded life. Nearly one third of the volunteers who leave the Citizens Advice service each year go on into paid work.

  6. Get to know your community

    Whether you’ve lived in a town for 20 years or have just moved there as a student, you’ll develop a great feel for the people and the place at a CAB.

  7. Why volunteer? Put your talents to use

    Use it or lose it! Got the gift of languages? Volunteer as an interpreter. A flair for design? Create reception displays. The possibilities are endless.

  8. Enjoy free training

    Adviser training is accredited by the Open College Network, and other skills like PR, campaigning and administration can be learnt on the job in a supportive environment.

  9. Gain office-based work experience

    Get ahead of the competition for jobs and university places with some real life experience. Law students, for example, can knock 6 months off their training contract by volunteering as an adviser.

  10. Why volunteer? We need you!

    Seventy five per cent of the people who work in the Citizens Advice service are volunteers, and we simply wouldn’t be here for our clients without them.

Our Volunteers tell their stories

Who better to explain the benefits of volunteering with us than our current, dedicated team members?

Pippa, from Bristol, is a Gateway Adviser with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire having previously worked in IT administration for 20 years.

She began training in November and completed in February, and is now helping clients with a wide range of problems. She covers the face-to-face session in Yate on a Monday and the telephone Adviceline on Wednesday afternoons.

She said: “I wanted to volunteer as I had retired and wanted to do something with my time. I’m a perpetual volunteer – I always helped at my children’s school with the Parent Teacher Association. Volunteering is part of what I do really.

“It’s about giving back to the community and helping people. I like helping people and help people to the best of my ability – and I get that pleasure out of it. It’s a constant learning curve. The people we help appreciate the help we give them.”

MayaMaya, a student in Bristol, said: “I started volunteering in October last year. My friend at university did some volunteering with Citizens Advice so I thought I would quite like to do it as well.

“I like the charity’s ethos and it is a really important part of the community.I enjoy enabling people to move forwards with their issues – it’s rewarding to see people feel as though they can improve their situation.”

 

Mary-AnneMary-Anne is a Generalist Adviser having previously worked as a nurse in the NHS.

She began volunteering with Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire in September 2017 and works on Mondays and Fridays.

She said: “I retired from the NHS and felt I still had skills to share and wanted to make use of those skills. So while I had time and the ability I thought it was a good thing to do.

“If you have an interest in people and you are happy to give up some time, I think it’s a very valuable and interesting role.”