Being a Volunteer can be good!

I’ve been a little busy over the last few weeks.  I’ve been doing some extra work for Arthritis Care.  I am involved with a local branch.  My friend Seona and I have been writing a newsletter for all our members.

It all started about 18 months ago when our hydrotherapy pool at our local hospital was closed.  We had, at the time got 2 groups using the pool, one that ran weekly and one fortnightly.  It wasn’t just Arthritis Care that was affected but it was other self help groups including The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society www.nass.co.uk and of course in patients at the hospital. 

So we (I say ‘we’ loosely as I didn't really have much to do with it!) along with NASS and others set about at saving the pool for those people who use it.  There was a lot of letter writing, photos in local papers etc and eventually just before last Christmas the pool was re opened, much to our amazement.  It was decided that all members of our branch needed to know what we get up too and where their donations go.  We have over 100 members, most of whom don’t attend the our monthly meetings and perhaps think that Arthritis Care is just a bunch of old ladies sitting round moaning, and although we do have a moan Arthritis Care is far from that.  We wanted to reach out to those people who either can't or don't want to attend the meetings and the only way to do that is by a funky newsletter.

So Seona and I set to work and over the last few weeks we've drank copious amounts of coffee and had a lot of laughs.  We've spent quite a while doing it because as you can imagine we cannot sit for hours and hours over a computer.  On the days I could not manage to lift my arms up and type, Seona did it all and vice versa.  We are meeting tomorrow to sort the last few bits, stamps; envelopes etc and then it can be posted.

I’ve enjoyed doing it, but mainly because I’ve been working with Seona.  It’s like anyone you work with, it’s a lot easier.  With voluntary work though, you can always walk away and I think it takes quite a strong person to stay and stick it out, even when you really don’t like what you’re doing.  I do find it hard sometimes.  By nature of the condition, most people I work with are a lot older than me and I can find that hard, particularly at meetings and they just can’t understand a young perspective.  That’s why it’s so refreshing to work with Seona and I feel like we’ve really achieved something.