SECTOR SPOTLIGHT - CHARITY AND VOLUNTEERING
Life working
for a charity
The things that cause people to need help from charities
– war, poverty, famine, disease, abuse and more –
don’t keep office hours, so in many cases neither do
charity workers. During these times of the coronavirus
and lockdown, many charities need practical help.
Elderly people, those with underlying health conditions,
the vulnerable and others who are self-isolating and
having to shield, may need anything from food being
delivered, prescriptions being picked up to just a
friendly voice at the end of the phone.
Things may be difficult now, but there will always be a need
for charities. If this is a field that interests you to work in, like
more types of work, the future workplace and environment
will evolve. Professional charity workers’ days vary widely
depending on the charity. You might be helping to write
a fundraising proposal; sending out information on why
the charity is recommending people boycott a product; or
working with a team of volunteers to organise their work
schedule. Charity work behind the scenes can also involve a
lot of research or meetings to try and influence people.
Like right now, charities react to developing situations but they
also need long term plans, so you might spend time looking
at strategy, along with things like marketing, fundraising
tactics and how to manage people. ‘People’ is perhaps the
key word here, as in the end all charity work comes down to
making life better for people, and also involves working with
them, a lot – so you’ll need to be a people person, every day.
Happily, many people in this sector love what they do and
take enormous satisfaction from knowing that their work is
making a difference; which is always a good thing.
Whether you want to work in the Third Sector in the future
or not, right now is an excellent time to support your local
community or the charities you have a passion for. Being
locked at home has been challenging for everyone, this is a
great way to reach out (even if it is only virtually), do some
good and feel good about yourself as well.
www.careermap.co.uk
Careermag for School Leavers Issue 15 | 35