West Howe local community held a ‘speedmatching’ between 40 volunteers and 20 charity organisations on St. Valentine’s Day.
The speedmatching aimed to help members of the public to find out how they can volunteer more in their local community. The volunteers got three minutes with each organisation to find out more about their voluntary opportunities.
Local Neighbourhood Development Officer Martha Searle said: “Finding out what’s available to you can be very difficult. So, today we made it easy for people. They can meet 20 different organisations all at once and make decisions about who they want to work with.”
Dorset Police Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill participated in the activity as a volunteer, he said: “There’s 75,000 volunteers here in Dorset, but there’s a lot more out there who want to help. Such an activity is a good chance to reach them.”
Maxine Smith, of central Bournemouth, got an offer from Dorset Police. She said: “Many organisations need help and I’ve got a lot of understanding of what these organisations do. I’ve found a place I’m really interested in and they accepted me. I am really excited.”
For the organisations, the activity is a good chance to exchange experiences as well. According to the Bournemouth Libraries’ Senior Heritage Librarian Peter Kazmierczak, “it’s good to talk with other groups because network is very helpful”.
Organisations attended:
Bournemouth Integrated Youth Service
North Bournemouth Children’s Centres
West Howe Community Enterprises
SKILLS&LEARNING Bournemouth&Poole
Main image by Zhengfei Wang
