"98 years ago, people were prepared to die for Ireland. Now we need people who are prepared to live for Ireland!" - John Sullivan who has been a Foróige volunteer for 50 years.
When I started in Foróige there were two clubs in the county, no District Councils and only 3 people employed in Head Office. Our club did activities like public speaking, sports days, intercounty events and all sorts of things. We had no mobile phones and we went everywhere on bikes. We made bedside lockers, pool tables, Christmas cards featuring the three churches in the Parish (which the priest then decided on as the logo for the parish)!
Foróige is delighted to announce that our recommended online mental health training course for volunteers is now being rolled out. This is really useful low cost course called “ReachOut 101" and is composed of 4 sessions of about 1 hour each. The course can be taken in your own time while at home. The course includes videos, text, interactive questions and an online journal to provide a varied learning experience. To apply please contact your Foróige staff person.
- Identify time wasting activities and do something about them! If meetings are taking too long, ensure you have an agenda and stick to it. Set an alarm for half an hour or an hour and wrap up the meeting when the alarm goes off.
- Explore goal setting and to do lists. Identify short term and long term goals for your volunteering efforts. This will save you more time in the long run.
- The 80:20 Rule states that 80% of your successes come from 20% of the tasks you carry out. What are the high return tasks you can carry out which will make a greater impact on your volunteering?
Anne & Niamh:
Hi, my name is Anne and I’m a Big Sister to Niamh. Niamh and I met for the first time on March 12th 2012. The two years in which I’ve known Niamh have flown by and we’ve built a really solid relationship. I decided to volunteer with the BBBS programme as I love working with young people. BBBS gave me the opportunity to do this while hopefully helping a young person by giving them some time out each week. Niamh is now 12. She’s always happy, chatty and enthusiastic. She’s never demanding and is always content to just hang out and catch up on each other’s news. At this stage, I think she’s given up suggesting that we could go and stalk Niall Horan’s house in Mullingar!
Foróige’s Communications Department is continually curating Foróige stories to be shared online and in the media. Here is a short guide to creating content which Foróige can share on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube on our website and more. Frances Macken is Foróige's Online Communications Officer (email [email protected]) and Cathy Gray is Foróige's Media & Marketing Officer (email [email protected]). We are continually seeking good Foróige stories. Why? Because they depict the transformative nature of Foróige. The spirit of volunteering. The confidence and belief provided to young people. Communities brought together and strengthened.
In February 2014 we conducted our first major volunteer survey for many years. It was designed to give a voice to volunteers across the organisation, from Foróige Clubs to Big Brother Big Sister to Project Volunteers and 7 other roles. Some 1,042 people completed this historic survey. This was the biggest single action ever by Foróige volunteers. In it we heard from leaders we don’t usually hear from – as about 50% of those who answered it are with us for less than 2 years.
The results of the survey will enable the organisation to best respond to volunteer needs in their role with Foróige. A big thank you to all those who filled it in and those who encouraged others to do so. The analysis will take some time, but here are some of the early findings.
