Volunteer Now - Volunteer Stories

Involved in something cool !

Andrew is a volunteer with T13 urban shared cultural space in Titanic Quarter. more »
I got involved in volunteering by accident!

Alister Bell from Newtownabbey has volunteered with the White House Preservation Trust for the last five years more »
Volunteering - part of the marriage deal!

I started volunteering with Portaferry Gala just after I got married, I was introduced to the committee by my husband's aunt, no-one warned me before I got married that this was part of the deal! Caroline Mageean more »
Volunteering at Hillsborough Oyster Festival

The Hillsborough Oyster Festival took place from 1 - 4 September with support from a large number of volunteers. more »
A Chance to Help Your Community

I began volunteering in 2008 and currently volunteer at Gortatole Outdoor Education Centre. I regularly volunteer there every Summer and have achieved my MV 200 Hours Award. more »
Volunteering has helped me meet amazing people

I have been welcomed with open arms to all the volunteering I have been involved with so far and it has opened up a whole new world to me. I have met some of the most amazing people I would never have met had I not volunteered and my life is all the richer for it. more »
Think big and make it happen!

My name is Amanda Wilson and I am a volunteer with the Marine Conservation Society. My volunteering role involves organising beach clean ups at seven beaches in my local area which covers Carrick, Larne and Newtownabbey. more »
A Lifetime of Volunteering

Wally Clarke has recently been elected as President of Swim Ireland for the year 2011-12. more »
Share Your Volunteer Story

Are you a volunteer? Would you like to share your story to encourage others to try volunteering? more »
A Great Experience Builder

I come from a small town just outside of Dublin and was studying at Queen’s University when I began to volunteer. Being from a big family I had started to miss being surrounded by people of all ages and felt like I was ‘living in a bubble’. more »
Friends of the Zoo

I started looking around for things to do. Someone suggested volunteering to me. I visited Volunteer Now on Shaftesbury Square and heard about a volunteering taster session at the Zoo. more »
Spanish Volunteers Enjoy Time in Belfast

Maria Diaz de tuesta and Ana Garcia Alverez are volunteers from Spain. They have just finished a six week stint volunteering in Belfast as part of a European exchange programme for volunteers over 50, organised between Belfast City Council and their counterpart in Madrid to mark the European Year of Volunteering. more »
It's really exciting to be part of a new charity

I have been retired since December 2010. I was the vice principal of a primary school. My work life was so structured. As a teacher you live your life ‘by the bell’. Coming up to retirement everyone was asking, ‘What are you going to do? How are you going to put in your day?’ I think I always thought that volunteering would help to maintain some sort of structure in my life. more »
Volunteering gives me the chance to mix with other communities

I enjoy the banter and craic of other people, it helps me keep in touch with what is going on in the community and provides me with the chance to mix with other communities. more »
Volunteering with Lagan Valley Regional Park

I was born in Belfast. In my working life I was a quantity surveyor, so my work was very office bound, nothing like the stuff I do now. I knew when I retired that I wanted to do something completely different. more »
Helping a Worthwhile Cause

Lena Reid from Newtownabbey has been volunteering as a ‘Puppy Walker’ with Guide Dogs since March 2010. She was inspired to get involved because she had relatives with sight problems and her husband also had some problems in 2001. more »
Volunteering Led me to Employment

After completing my degree in Social Psychology at university I began looking for a job, however I had no experience in the field and therefore struggled to find employment. more »
Develop New Skills

I began volunteering with Action Cancer during my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. At this point, I completed administrative tasks such as packing envelopes, laminating posters and attaching pins to wedding favours cards. more »
I Decided to Follow My Passion

I lost the job I had and decided to follow my passion. I started volunteering with Beyond Skin as a volunteer photographer. Beyond Skin aims to promote community relations through the Arts. more »
Volunteering Helped Me Get Back into Work

I had been out of work for 2 years. I had been a youth worker but had to leave due to health reasons. Two years is a long time and I was really bored sitting at home. I decided I needed to do something. more »
The Wonderful World of Volunteering

My introduction to volunteering began in 1999. I had just graduated from university with a degree in psychology and I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to do next or when or how I should start my career. I read an ad in the newspaper welcoming applications for a long term volunteer programme and it intrigued me. Little did I know just what I was entering into ... the wonderful world of volunteering ... more »