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 we could never have imagined. Over 750,000 people responded to the call to join the NHS volunteer army and over the past two months JVN has seen a huge increase in visitors to our website looking for voluntary roles.  On smaller scales, so many of us have found new and incredibly innovative and thoughtful ways to support those around us every single day.

In the Jewish community we are instilled with the importance of looking after others and volunteering right from childhood and I have been fortunate to have experienced the volunteering world from many angles.  I grew up in Redbridge, looking up to and following in the footsteps of the volunteer youth leaders at my youth clubs and synagogue and going on to run leadership courses to inspire and develop the next generation of those teenager volunteers. Spending my formative years and the start of my professional career in a community centre catering for all ages from 0-100 gave me a real insight into the impact that volunteers can have at every stage of life. In professional roles, I have recruited and managed teams of volunteers of all ages, in both ad-hoc and longer term roles.

In recent years when life took an unexpected turn after my son was diagnosed with cancer, my family have been fortunate to have been supported by several wonderful and largely volunteer-driven charities such as Camp Simcha, Chai, Ezra U’Marpeh, the Joely Bear Appeal and the hospital chaplaincy service.  Sometimes it isn’t until you really need them that you realise just how vital volunteers are.  It is in part because of all of the support that we have received over the past few years that I was so keen to give something back as a trustee.

With two young children and a recent career change as a self employed project manager, life is busy.  We are all busy, all the time. Life moves quickly for everyone.  But if we all stop and think creatively, could we free up any capacity, however small, to help others? A trusteeship is a hugely rewarding role but it is intensive in terms of time and energy and may not be something that will work for everyone.  But no matter how much time you have available there should always be something you could do. I have recently committed to paying attention to the screen time statistics on my IPhone and I am actively trying to reduce the time I spend looking at my phone each week, and then thinking about how I can productively use that reclaimed time!  Over the past few months I have been doing some telephone befriending for Jewish Care, and the 20 minutes a week when I speak with “H” have been an absolute joy.  Even with the busiest schedules, hopefully most of us could find 20 minutes out of the 10,800 minutes in each week – especially time which might be currently spent watching TV or scrolling though social media. If a regular weekly commitment isn’t possible then there are many ad-hoc volunteering opportunities available too.

One indirect positive outcome of coronavirus has been that volunteering has been brought into the spotlight. The question is going to be how we continue to ride this tidal wave of good intentions and voluntary action beyond the lockdown and into our lives going forwards.  We may make promises to ourselves about how we want to make changes after this monumental experience ends, but it is all too easy to forget these promises once hectic life resumes.  If you are keen to make a positive step towards continuing this spirit of communal good will in the future, at JVN we would be thrilled to help you to find a way to keep doing good.  It’s what we are all about and it is a privilege to be able to encourage and facilitate such positive action across our community, working together with so many wonderful charities.  Please take a look at our website or get in touch and we will help to find the opportunity that is right for you.

Hannah Cohen joined the JVN Board as a trustee in April 2020.  A mum of two living in Borehamwood, she has worked for a range of communal organisations and for a leadership development charity in the education sector.  After an extended period away from work caring for her son through his cancer treatment, she now works as a self employed freelance project manager working with charities in the education and community sectors.