Julian's Volunteering Story

MEET OUR VOLUNTEER JULIAN

Julian is a pharmacist from Billericay in Essex. In 2018 he took semi-retirement.  He discovered he had more free time and wanted to give back to society. He decided to start by volunteering through the Jewish community.

Julian took his first steps in finding a volunteer role by using JVN

He went onto the JVN website and from the beginning of his retirement he has been involved in many different charities and is happy to help out whenever he can.

Most of the opportunities were in North-West London which meant a lot of travelling time for Julian.

Then he noticed a post on the JVN website for a volunteer for the breakfast club for the Jewish Blind and Disabled Society.  This was taking place in a house right next to the Wanstead and Woodford synagogue where he was a member.

He began to make breakfast once a week for the members.

Julian met the same individuals each week and so was able to build up a rapport with them.

In the same year he assisted at the UK Jewish film festival which took place in Woodford, not too far away from his home and he enjoyed being part of the team and meeting and greeting the guests for the event.

In the summer of 2019, Julian volunteered for an event with The Big Mix Music Festival which provided klezmer in the park.

For Julian one of the key aspects of volunteering is for it to feel like a labour of love for the volunteers.

He then noticed a position within JVN helping individuals to apply for volunteer roles. Despite the long journey from his home in Essex to the JVN offices in Hendon, Julian began to volunteer once a week. According to Lia Bogod, former JVN Head of Charity Engagement and Volunteering 

“Julian is someone who really wants to make a difference.”

His role was to interview volunteers who were looking for opportunities but needed help to access the database. Many of the volunteers Julian was dealing with found technology troubling and had limited computer skills. Others lacked confidence to find a volunteer position on their own. He helped these volunteers overcome the first hurdle in the process of gaining skills via volunteering.

He was delighted to discover that for some of them volunteering ultimately led to employment.

Julian found JVN to be a very well-managed organisation that provided several training sessions for him.

During the school holidays Julian applied for a role with MY AFK a charity in Hornsey supporting children and young people with disabilities. He became an “extra pair of hands” for group activities for the children and he felt very proud of his work with this charity. On one occasion he went with a group of children to Arsenal football stadium and bikes were arranged for the children to cycle around the stadium. The youngsters enjoyed his companionship and he helped them to gain cycling skills and confidence. On another day they went to a sports activity centre in Chigwell. It was a pleasure for him to be able to bond with individual children, helping them mastering skills, coping with their physical difficulties and gaining confidence.

Julian’s current volunteering role is with the organisation Jami. He is a telephone befriender within the Hackney area and his first “friend” is a lovely gentleman in his seventies. Under normal circumstances they would meet on a regular basis but due to the Pandemic Julian calls him weekly instead. The gentleman approached Jami as he lives alone, is very isolated and can’t go out as he is shielding.

Julian feels that no matter who is at the end of the phone, the people who have befrienders hear a voice and it gives them a lift and a sense of belonging at an extremely difficult and lonely time. Julian will continue to call the gentleman weekly until it is safe for them to meet.

 It gives Julian a sense of purpose and gratification to be part of a group helping others.

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