JVN Blog

Volunteers sustain communities, and more than that they allow them to thrive.  It is something I have always believed and it is something that is more evident than ever as the current lockdown situation has magnified the number of volunteers reaching out to offer support to family, friends, neighbours and complete strangers in ways that […]

I owe my career to volunteering! I started training as a volunteer adviser with a CAB in 1997, having left school with a few O Levels and not going on to any sort of training except secretarial! In 1986 I was appointed as Deputy Manager of a CAB, and left the CAB service in 2004 […]

This ‘holiday’ season saw me spending my sixth year as a volunteer at Crisis for Christmas, at one of their pop-up centres for homeless people. For the past fifty years, these centres have offered warmth, food, access to medical services, a hot shower, advice and entertainment – all of which are often difficult to find […]

In this edition of our blog, Caroline Cosgrove  writes about the volunteering she and her son James did for his Bar Mitzvah. Here is her story… In the lead up to the Bar Mitzvah of my son, James, in August 2016, he was considering what he could do to mark the occasion in a meaningful way – one […]

Claire Lemer is Consultant in General Paediatrics and Service Transformation at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, based at St Thomas’. She is also a member of HGSS and co- chair of US Women, alongside her role as a trustee of the US. This year, Claire volunteered for two weeks in a refugee camp in Lesbos, […]

Our valued partners JLGB are promoting a new campaign called ‘Do Your Bit’, asking adult volunteers to get involved in their fun and innovative programmes for Jewish young people. Tim Knott has been involved with the JLGB for a number of years and here he tells Sue Rifkin about his experiences and why he chose to promote the ‘Do […]

Take a look at the ultimate volunteering role – The job is 24/7. There’s a zero hours contract with no guaranteed time off or holidays. There’s no sick pay and you must keep going even when you are literally dead on your feet. You must be able to multi task and give 100% energy, effort […]