Being a volunteer for a member organisation of Home-Start Worldwide is a truly unique experience. Volunteers in each country respond to the localised demand and challenges facing family and child support, creating a collectively rich and diverse set of experiences across the international context.
To mark Micro-Volunteering Day on April 15th – a day which celebrates the small actions individuals can perform to create positive community action, HSW reflects on volunteering within its member organisations.
A day at a time…
With the nature of family support and the host of programmes and schemes within each member organisation, it’s hardly surprising that a volunteer’s day can ever typically be the same as the next. Assisting a family with the support they need following the Home-Start model of practice, requires the essential skills and qualities of listening, understanding and non-judgement. The activities and tasks a volunteer might undertake over a day, can range widely including visiting the family at home, assisting visits to local services or providing child support whilst parents/carers engage in parental skills workshops.
Being prepared
It’s essential for the volunteer to feel prepared in their role and the Home-Start model of practice equips them with the required training and understanding needed to respond to the demands of family support within their local context. For this reason, volunteers undertake initial training which will include topics pertinent to the needs within the scheme.
Every little help counts
Our volunteers across the member organisations build their relationship with a family over the hours, days and weeks they spend together. The Home-Start model of practice takes a traditional volunteering approach, however the core value of micro-volunteering which emphasises the small actions of individuals, is clearly demonstrated in the impact of volunteers on the families they support.
Watch the video interview with Leana Sinamenye, President of Home-Start Burundi, for a more in-depth look at how volunteering schemes operate, whilst highlighting the invaluable work of the organisation’s volunteers.
