Happy New Year everyone, we hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and aren’t feeling those January blues too much.

With the new year comes a fresh start and that promise of self-improvement. As well as getting fit, volunteering and helping others is bound to be on many people’s lists of New Year’s Resolutions. With that in mind, we sat down with one of our lovely volunteers, Ruth, who told us all about why she enjoys volunteering with us and how it’s helping her prepare for her career after university.

(picture of Ruth volunteering?)

So Ruth, what made you want to come and volunteer with us?

Well I first came down to work with the Imagine Lab group because I wanted to gain experience in storytelling with early years children. I’m a music student, so I’ve got a lot of experience doing music workshops. I’m looking to get into storytelling with a musical aspect, so it was really to get experience with that age group (early years) and to see storytellers at work.

Do you feel like it’s been worthwhile?

Yeah definitely. It’s been really good to get involved with Imagine Lab  and the Wee Kidders group as well. It’s great to see how not only can you manage the groups of different ages, but also you see the stories that are suitable for different age groups. It’s very much practical experience.

Do you have any volunteering highlights so far?

Emmm there are lots of highlights! I play the harp, and I remember the first time I took the harp in, I just loved the children’s reaction to it. They were just… they were amazed by it and so quiet. They were just hanging on every single note and that was quite amazing. I think the harp’s really good for that so that’s why I’d like to incorporate the harp into storytelling work myself.

As well as meeting lots of new people and giving your time to make a difference, volunteering provides valuable skills and experience that can help you in your future career (just like Ruth!).

For volunteering in Glasgow, organisations such as Volunteer Glasgow regularly post opportunities. Likewise, if there’s a particular organisation you support then get in touch with them! Many charities (particularly smaller ones) are constantly on the lookout for enthusiastic volunteers.

Good luck with volunteering and the rest of 2016
The Village Storytelling Team