Inclusive volunteering

Written by Kat Proudman, a volunteer with Emmaus North Staffs. Here they talk about their experiences of inclusive and flexible volunteering to fit around their needs.

I was quite nervous starting out volunteering at Emmaus. I hadn’t worked for a while, but I had volunteered before, steaming clothes in the back. As someone with severe ADHD, who has a need to keep doing different things, you can imagine how bored I was then.

Luckily, when I started out at Emmaus, I definitely got a different feeling. I didn’t feel stuck, I felt included. Emmaus offered me different roles, such as valuation, admin work, media work, all sorts. If one task ever got too boring, there was always another chance to do something else. This has given me more confidence as a person, and helped me to realise that doing the same thing every day wasn’t helpful for me or those around me.

I’ve also taken part in outings, such as when we went to Feasted the other week. Soon, not only will we be learning how to cook different items for ourselves, but also helping out the community by giving out bags of fresh ingredients to help people to cook a meal.

I’ve also got involved in VAST’s award system. We’re now aiming to meet the standards for the Silver Award. It makes me feel good to be able to collaborate with other volunteers making it more inclusive for others, as well as beginning to build stronger communication and a system of organisation (which was a long time coming). As part of the award application, we met as a group and decided to delegate some roles. By working together, I have gained understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I may not be able to organise very well, but I can create newsletters, or figure out how to help those who prefer to communicate in a non-written format.

We are also hoping to create more opportunities for those who would prefer to do their volunteer applications in accessible ways, such as audio or video. Whilst it would require someone to go moderate the files, it would benefit those who have different literacy skills, or use BSL/ESL, or are visually impaired. The benefits of being more diverse with volunteer applications outweigh the time and costs, at least in my opinion.

Volunteering here at Emmaus helped me figure out that no matter what I go on to next, I still want to be able to help others who are disadvantaged by the systems in place. Whether that’s through continuing volunteering, or with what I work on next, that’s in the forefront of my vision.