Our volunteer story this month shares the experience of Ana who we helped to volunteer at NHS University Hospitals Dorset

When you are out of the work environment for some time, you quickly lose your confidence and it’s very easy to stop believing in yourself. Whether it’s through illness, job loss or anything else, it can become a struggle to get out there and make changes that help you to move on.

After some time out of employment, I was aiming to find paid work, but found I lacked confidence in my abilities and needed help with my CV. I’ve previously had a career in Assurance – Life & Pensions so have lots of office-based skills and experience I really want to use. Through my GP surgery, I got in touch with CAN’s lovely Volunteer Co-ordinator, Liz, at one of their regular pop-ups at Boscombe Library. It was great to talk to someone face to face and I could see volunteering was a way of getting back into a work environment and showing potential employers relevant recent experience.

Liz talked me through lots of different opportunities and I liked the mix of roles available at Poole Hospital. She helped me with the application and DBS check.  I had an interview in October 2022 and was successful. I couldn’t believe I got it. It felt amazing and gave me a huge adrenaline rush.

James is the Voluntary Services Officer based at Poole Hospital. We talked about the different volunteer roles and I’m currently helping the Health Records team with office tasks such as preparing and scanning documents. They are wonderful. I’ve never felt so accepted. It’s a really lovely mix of people. Initially it was one day a week just to get a feel for it, but now I do two days a week. They really take care of you, there’s great communication with volunteers and a regular newsletter. Your travel expenses are reimbursed and if you volunteer over 5 hours, you also get a meal voucher.

I’ve always had a good work ethic and I don’t want to let people down. This whole experience has really ignited a spark for me, so I’m passionate about sharing my experience and giving something back. If you want to make a change but feel stuck or helpless and don’t know where start, CAN will guide you through. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change things that you want to do in life. With Liz’s help I got to where I needed to be, so who knows what this might be the start of.

For more information on volunteering in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole visit NHS University Hospitals Dorset. To search for volunteering opportunities visit CAN’s Volunteer Hub or contact liz.soffe@can100.org.