During retirement, most people make huge life changes – from choosing a new home for retirement like these Gloucester park homes http://www.parkhomelife.com/our-parks/orchard-park-homes-gloucester-gloucestershire/ to taking up a new hobby, it is a time when many people become reflective and consider what the next stage in their life will look like, and what they want from it.
Something that many people find beneficial during retirement is volunteering. The sense of wellbeing that comes with helping out for a good cause, meeting new people and socialising, having a routine and a sense of being useful and taking part in something that means a lot are all reasons why people choose to volunteer when they have retired.
If you have retired and want to get into volunteering, here are a few things that you can do to get started and find your perfect voluntary role…
Look Online – Look on the internet to find charities locally who are looking for volunteers. There are likely to be a wide range of charities who are in need of help, so spend some time having a good look at the many different roles that are available out there. You can then make a shortlist of those that most appeal to you and find out more about them by getting in touch.
Speak to Other Volunteers – A really good way to find out more about volunteering positions is to speak to others who volunteer. Ask around the area or go to fetes and events where charities are likely to have stalls and you can speak to some of the volunteers in person to get to know more about what they do.
List your Skills – The skills that you have can benefit a charity, bit to make sure that you are in the right position it is a good idea to think about the skills that you have and list them out. This way you will have a good idea of the sort of thing to look out for as volunteering can vary from treasurer, to shop work to more physical jobs.
Have a Trial – If something looks like it could be of interest to you, many charities will allow you to have a trial day where you can actually go in and get to know the job, a bit like work experience, before you actually commit.