Volunteering in the Harrogate district
Volunteering was given a bit of a facelift back in 2012 with the London Olympics and the recruitment of Games Makers to ensure the smooth running of ‘the greatest show on earth’. More locally we had the Tour Makers who assisted in bringing the world’s biggest annual sporting event to Harrogate in 2014.
Community Fit helping out at Harrogate High School
But it’s not just about getting involved with high profile events. Volunteering is happening all around us, from small gestures for neighbours to more formal opportunities to getting involved with a local charity, we’re lucky enough to have a strong community spirit across the Harrogate district.
This willingness to look out for others, and get involved for the greater good, has never been more evident than during the pandemic where hundreds of people stepped forward to help those who were isolating.
Building on the legacy of all of this goodwill, Harrogate and District Community Action (HADCA) has launched a number of different projects over the last 18 months to harness the potential power of this volunteering ‘workforce’.
Community Fit combines being active, social and helping out in the local community. Our members (‘FitStars’) meet every Wednesday evening to run together at an easy pace to a local charity or community group to lend a hand. Helping out can involve anything from sorting donations, basic gardening, delivering leaflets, tidying a warehouse, litter picking or preparing materials for craft projects, anything that can safely be carried out by the group within the hour. These are jobs that wouldn’t get done without our support.
Over in Ripon, our Volunteering City of Ripon project in partnership with the Heritage Lottery funded Skell Valley Project has enabled us to develop youth volunteering. This is a grass roots local project working with the young people of Ripon and surrounding areas to encourage them to help out and volunteer in their local community for at least 10 hours and to recognise them for doing so, with the ‘Power of 10’ Challenge. This supports their own wellbeing and good positive mental health, improves employability and access to other opportunities, as well as providing volunteers of the future for Ripon.
Our latest project recognises that not everyone has the time to dedicate to regular volunteering. Help Out Harrogate is an initiative offering local people the chance to volunteer at a variety of one-off events without the need to make any regular commitment. This injection of volunteering support into small charities or local groups will help make a difference to the people, places and spaces that matter to our community.
Everyone’s motivations for volunteering are different and while dedicated, long term volunteering opportunities are crucial to the running of small charities, having ad hoc opportunities to get involved are equally as valuable as they cater to people’s increasingly busy lives and provide a flexible way of contributing to your community.
Help Out Harrogate volunteers helping The Rotary Club of Harrogate with bulb planting on the Stray
Frances Elliot is HACDA’s Chief Executive and champions the role of volunteers in our community: “There’s an amazing range of different opportunities available locally, whether you enjoy being active, are good with admin, love talking to people, are passionate about animals or the outdoors. There are many reasons why people want to volunteer such as meeting new people, gaining experience for a CV, having fun, developing new interests, supporting a cause close to their heart or to give something back to their local community. The vital work of local charities would not be possible without the huge contribution of their volunteers and they are always pleased to hear from anyone interested in getting involved.”
To find out more about HADCA’s volunteering projects visit www.hadca.org.uk or take a look at their Volunteering Directory which lists opportunities available with charities across the district and find your ideal role www.hadca.org.uk/volunteer
