News, sport and entertainment from the Bournemouth Echo and Dorset Echo.

Taking care

From the Echo, first published Saturday 19th Feb 2005.

WITH 2005 designated the Year of the Volunteer, organisations all over the country are urging people to do their bit to help others.

Chancellor Gordon Brown hopes the initiative will increase the number of volunteers, open up more volunteering opportunities, raise the profile of the work volunteers are doing and thank volunteers for their time and commitment.

Neil Mansell, 24, has been a volunteer for two-and-a-half years and is joining Mr Brown in encouraging more people to give up their time for others.

"It was mainly for a new challenge. I had a free night in the week to fill up and I thought it would save just going down the pub."

Neil, from West Way, Broadstone, has been helping out with Phab - the charity dedicated to promoting and encouraging the coming together, on equal terms, of disabled and non-disabled people - since September 2002 spending one evening a week helping people to eat, taking them to the toilet and just spending time chatting with members of the club.

He also recently began doing some administration work for the NSPCC and is keen to highlight the different types of work he does, to show there really is something out there for everyone who wants to volunteer.

"There are different types of work that you can get involved with," he explained.

"Phab is quite hands on, so it's helping people to write, chatting to them, doing escorting duty, whereas the NSPCC is perhaps a bit more intellectual. It's a bit more behind the scenes and it's a bit more thought work.

"The two things that I've done can really appeal to different types of people."

Eleanor Pack is community appeals manager for the NSPCC in Dorset, South Wiltshire and the New Forest, and is always keen to take on more volunteers.

She said: "There is a mass of opportunities. Working as a volunteer is not just about staffing a charity shop or building dry stone walls.

"Many organisations will welcome professional skills and will enable you to develop new skills, interests and experiences.

"If you find your first choice of opportunity is not right for you, you can easily change to a different role. All volunteering will develop your interpersonal and team-working skills, while building new networks and making new friends."

Neil, who is currently unemployed, said he has found many benefits from the volunteering work he does, including gaining confidence and helping to break down barriers.

He added: "It's changed my perspective on life in general. You perhaps won't notice the benefits that you're gaining from it until you put yourself in various scenarios.

"It's not a morose, depressing environment, it's quite upbeat and you do have quite a lot of fun. I've got a lot from it."

For more information on volunteering, contact Poole Volunteer Centre on 01202 765100 or visit www.poolevolunteercentre.org.uk.