Volunteering is often talked about in terms how beneficial it is to charities and not-for-profit organisations, and yes that is certainly true, but Alison Hill, volunteer manager at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, explains why volunteering can also be good for you.

Our vitally important pre-hospital emergency service has been operating for more than 30 years, giving those who are critically ill or injured in the region the best chance of survival and good recovery as we bring advanced care, medicines and hospital-level equipment to the incident scene. To do that, we of course rely on the support from our family of 200-strong volunteers, but we also pride ourselves on the fact that volunteering isn’t just about giving back, it’s about doing something for yourself too.

Here is Alison’s top reasons it’s great to volunteer with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity:

1. Enjoy some ‘you time’ – with busy schedules, work/life balance is extremely important. Volunteering can raise your endorphin and dopamine levels, which ultimately means it can help reduce stress and anxiety as you are doing something good for others.
2. Meet likeminded people – we call our volunteers a ‘family’ as that’s exactly what they are to us at the charity. Many of our volunteers have made lifelong friendships, and there are lots of opportunities to come together and share ideas, feedback and support one another.
3. Learn new skills – with so many volunteering roles available, there’s something for everyone. For example, working in our charity shops gives our volunteers great retail experience and qualifications. Our office volunteers have learned computer skills and those who want to gain more confidence have learnt to give talks and presentations. These are just a few ways our volunteers have found new skills, we have more than ten differing roles to explore, which can each provide experience and training.
4. You don’t even have to leave home – during and after the lockdowns, we were keen to ensure all our volunteers felt safe to support our service. Therefore, we created Craft Club, which gives supporters the opportunity to learn new or improve existing crafting skills and sell their creations to help raise much needed funds for our charity. Details of our Craft Club can be found at com/craftclub

Alison finishes by saying: “We are incredibly lucky to have a dedicated supporter base including a committed family of volunteers who ensure our lifesaving service continues to operate. With Investors in Volunteers accreditation, we are proud of the varied volunteering opportunities and experience we offer to those who support our service. We thank each and every one of them for making so many missions possible each year.

“I’d encourage those who are looking to enjoy something new to explore volunteering with us, you can give back and help make our missions possible, and also enjoy some you time too.”

To find out more about all the volunteering opportunities available at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, visit: midlandsairambulance.com/volunteer and follow the organisation on social media. Or contact Alison directly via email [email protected] or call 0800 840 20 40.