Happy Volunteers Week!

NAB Sight Support Northamptonshire Celebrates Volunteers Week

Volunteers week is an annual opportunity to recognise and celebrate all that is great about volunteering and inspire others to give it a try. As a small local charity, here at NAB we rely on these amazing people to keep some of our services running and deeply value each and every person who gives their time and energy to helping others.

Why volunteer?

There are a vast variety of positive and inspiring reasons to volunteer, such as the chance to meet new people, make new friends and learn new skills. Not only that, but volunteering looks good on your CV too. The beauty of volunteering is that time doesn’t have to be an issue: you are in complete control of how much or how little time you are able to give. You may not think it’s much, but even as little as one or two hours a week can make a significant difference to someone’s life. Recent research has also shown that volunteering can vastly improve your wellbeing too. The power of helping others can enhance mood, reduce stress levels and has the ability to build meaningful social connections.

Begin your volunteering journey with NAB today.

If you’ve perhaps thought about volunteering for a while but haven’t given it a go yet, Volunteers Week is the perfect time to take the leap and discover what it’s about. We have a wide selection of fun and exciting volunteer roles to offer here at NAB, so you’re bound to find something that suits you. If you’d like to get a first-hand insight into what life with sight loss is really like, you could consider becoming one of our amazing Befrienders. You can choose to be a home befriender, where you will be matched with a local visually impaired person and visit them at their home every fortnight, or you can be a phone befriender and have regular calls to chat. Your role as a befriender will be fabulously rewarding because you will be playing a part in helping to increase a person’s confidence and independence, as well as providing essential companionship and a listening ear when they most need it. We also run a busy programme of events throughout the year, and are always seeking new volunteers to come along and join in with these. If you enjoy getting out and about and trying new experiences, spend a day in the company of visually impaired people and put a smile on their face as you describe the sights of a new place to them at summer visits to the seaside. You can also get involved on our stalls at local events like the balloon festival and Car Fest Silverstone! If you’re interested in finding out more information about any of these roles, please give our friendly and approachable volunteer coordinators Leo and Holly a ring on 01604 719193 and they will be more than happy to talk them through with you. We hope to welcome you to NAB as part of our volunteering team soon!