Blog
Last week was Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.
While the week of celebrations may be over, volunteers continue their hard work all year round. So, we’ll continue to shine a spotlight on some of our fantastic events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel, along with the amazing work they have been doing at local events, on projects and more.
Meet Keith Orr, who has volunteered as a creative mentor in Renfrewshire.
Why did you decide to volunteer as a creative mentor?
While at a course at Invest Renfrewshire, I was asked if I wanted to come along to the youth events panel meeting and see if it was something I would be interested in. When I went along to the meeting the room was just filled with energy and excitement, which made it hard to not become excited too.
After the meeting I decided being involved in helping teach the young people what I know about photography and film making was something I wanted to do.
What are the positive aspects on volunteering?
Being part of a group was really good for me on a personal level. Its always nice to feel like you’re worth and can make a difference, especially if you don’t often feel like you do. It helped me with my anxiety as I don’t do well in groups and can be quite quiet in them and this pushed me to speak up more.
On a selfless level, seeing some of the young people gaining confidence in photography was really nice to see. Also seeing all the fun everyone was having while we were making our short film was awesome.
It was just a positive experience all round. I learned something from the young people and I hope they learned something from me.
What would you say to encourage other people to volunteer?
If you don’t have much going on in your life, feel like you don’t have anything to contribute to the world, I say you should just get out there and try volunteering. It will help build confidence in yourself and abilities – and you may even make some new friends along the way.
There is always something you can do to make the world a better place to live in, you just have to go do it.
