This is the last day of our celebration of our amazing volunteers as part of National Volunteering Week (check out our Facebook page to find out more about some of the people we've been featuring all week).
We're finishing by handing over to David Morrow, a volunteer with a great story to tell...
Hi, I am David Morrow and I live in Upperlands in Mid-Ulster. I have been involved in voluntary work for most of my life, however it is only in the last few years that I have truly come to appreciate the importance of volunteering for both the employer and the volunteer.
In 2011 I left my previous employment of 22 years as a minister in the Church of Ireland because of an ever deepening problem with depression. When I began making a remarkable process of recovery, through rediscovering faith in God, family and myself, I was put in contact with Barbara Kennedy at the Volunteer Centre in Magherafelt via my support worker Ann McKernan in Action Mental Health (an amazing organisation!)
I have always been interested in nature and wildlife as a fairly serious hobby, taking part in bird surveys, leading nature walks etc. I was put in touch with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, who were looking for volunteers in the Mid Ulster area at that time. The RSPB, like most other environmental NGO’s, cannot function without a huge input from their volunteers, and volunteering with them was like joining a big happy family, where everyone plays their part to make great things happen.
My initial involvement was to carry out a Farmland Bird Survey near Ballyronan. This was great fun, although very tiring, wading for five hours through fields of barley in the rain lol. I was then put in touch with Colin Graham, the Volunteer Development Officer at their headquarters at Belvoir Forest in Belfast. I have been able through them to lead Dawn Chorus events for various community and wildlife groups in the area, enabling me to share my passion and knowledge of birds. Perhaps the greatest and most enjoyable part has been to volunteer at The Big Wild Sleepout, a family event which has proved hugely successful for the RSPB and has introduced many adults and children to nature. One thing that I have learned from the RSPB is the importance of managing volunteers well, encouraging them, giving lots of quality training and seeking to develop and support them in their roles in the organisation.
To sum up, volunteering has made a huge difference in my life, aiding my recovery from serious illness and leading to employment. If you have never volunteered before, lift the phone, change your life as well as someone else’s.