How can I help?

Volunteering at a Community Event

I recently volunteered my support with an event.

There were lots of tasks to complete and they needed as much support as possible. The organiser had put out a notice in the newsletter, so I gladly volunteered to help.

Setting Up the Day Before

I went to the venue the day before to help with setting up. There was a great turnout of people who had also come to support.

I asked the organiser, ‘How can I help?’

They were quite overwhelmed with the number of volunteers. I was assigned a duty to organise plates in the kitchen and then later to sort out the drinks that were there for the event. Others were tasked with putting up the marquees and organising the food.

As there were so many people, we ended earlier than expected and were all able to enjoy the rest of the day.

Event Day – Supporting a Group Stall

The next day I attended the event. One of my main duties was promoting a group that I co-organise at a stall.

Unfortunately, the stall had not been set up, however one of the other groups allowed us to share their stall. This was a blessing, as we were also able to support the promotion of their group, which we had attended previously.

Helping on the Day

During the event, we were asked to support with taking plates and cutlery to the kitchen to be washed. As there were so many people, and limited plates and cutlery, these were washed by hand throughout the event. There were volunteers who kindly hand-washed these items.

We also helped another stall by writing out information on raffle tickets, saving them time.

It was such an enjoyable event and I was so happy that I was able to help.

After the Event

Once the event had finished, I supported with taking things from the main big hall to the kitchen. I then went to the kitchen and asked the organiser how I could help.

They were delighted to receive support, and I spent my time cleaning cutlery, putting plates away, and chatting to the other volunteers.

What I Learnt

A few things I learnt:

• There is always a solution to every problem

• If you are not sure how to support, ask someone how you can help them

• Offer help by doing tasks that need to be done but have not yet been done