Volunteering benefits mental health – Leila’s story
This year marks 35 years since Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June) was first celebrated in the UK. With mental health awareness very much at the forefront, and with a recent national survey* revealing that volunteering had improved the mental health of 77% of respondents, this Volunteers’ Week we are telling Leila’s story.
After suffering a mental health breakdown, Leila was advised by doctors and therapists to find a voluntary role that involved being in the great outdoors and physical. She has now been volunteering as a ranger with Chiltern Rangers for almost two years, and credits this with helping her to turn her life around.
As a result of her volunteering, Leila made the decision to go for a full career switch. The experience has helped her career enormously. She said: “I’m now in a position to apply for paid, full-time Ranger jobs.” She would definitely recommend volunteering to others: “It’s good for your soul. We know altruism is good for you, and what better way to give back while doing something good for yourself?!”
Read Leila’s full story here.
Hazel Finney, Lead for Volunteering at Community Impact Bucks, said: “We are so appreciative that Leila has allowed us to share her inspirational story this Volunteers’ Week. It is a fantastic example of how volunteering really does have the power to transform lives. The right volunteer role, with the new experiences and social interactions that it brings, can offer a positive way forward, and fresh hope for the future.”
* “Time Well Spent”, a national survey on the volunteering experience of more than 10,000 people, published by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in January 2019
For media enquiries and to arrange an interview:
Hazel Finney, Lead – Volunteering
E: hazel@communityimpactbucks.org.uk
M: 07979 385972
ENDS
Notes for editors:
• Community Impact Bucks is an independent charity that gives support, advice and training to not-for-profit organisations in Buckinghamshire. Nationally accredited by NCVO as the Buckinghamshire Volunteer Centre, it provides services to support organisations with volunteer recruitment and management, as well as helping people to access a wide range of local volunteer and Trustee roles
• Follow us on Twitter @CommunityBucks and look out for #VolunteersWeek for all the volunteer stories that we’ll be telling during this national celebration of volunteers
• Chiltern Rangers is a social enterprise delivering practical habitat management and advice in Bucks and the Chilterns.
