Help yourself to a feel good hobby

As a result, public spiritedness appears to be making a comeback. Voluntary groups in Edinburgh have seen an influx of new recruits and now more than 100,000 locals are giving their time, skills and energy to the community.

Many charities and local groups could not survive without the small army of volunteers who make a huge contribution to Edinburgh’s well being. In financial terms alone, voluntary work is worth more than 290 million a year - but the benefits volunteers bring, some-times to people in dire circum-stances, are impossible to put a price tag on.

And while in the past, the idea of giving up precious spare time to work on a voluntary basis has been seen as something for the elderly or retired, that too seems to be changing.

For 32-year-old Ewan Irvine, left, a parliamentary aide to Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett, volunteering to help run the Corstorphine Fair has been a refreshing change to his day-to-day work.

"It’s the city’s largest community-run event," explains Ewan. "It’s held every two years and attracts 25,000 people so it really takes a lot of organising and needs a lot of people on board to help make it happen.

"The next one is in June with a range of activities for everyone to participate in or just enjoy as spectators. There’s an unbelievable amount of planning involved. I’m part of a team of people with various skills that are needed to pull everything together: legal work, planning, marketing, publicity, finance and so on. I had some computer experience before I got involved, but I’ve also learned a lot about writing newsletters and how to set up your own website.

"Voluntary work builds up good contacts and can lead on to unexpected challenges. I went on a fundraising trek for Barnardo’s through Jordan last year with 30 other people. We all had to raise 2000 for the trip and I have to raise 2500 this year for a similar trek in Kenya, which I’m looking forward to enormously. But, apart from doing something useful, volunteering is good fun and a great way of meeting new people".

Voluntary work has also taken 26-year-old Michael McKean overseas. He’s a volunteer with Mercy Corps, an Edinburgh-based charity that’s helping to reconstruct Bosnia after a bloody civil war. "I’ve always wanted to do voluntary work overseas and had a spell in Africa when I left university," explains Michael. "One day I’d like to work for the United Nations, but at the moment I’m based in Tuzla assisting aid agencies to resettle families driven out of their homes by ethnic cleansing."

Michael admits that while voluntary work might not always had a good image to the young, for him it’s been "hugely rewarding".

"Millions have been displaced in Bosnia. Basic facilities like water and electricity have been destroyed in many places, and it’s our job to help get things working again.

"I liaise with other aid agencies and make sure that the money intended for reconstruction work is properly spent and not diverted into some private project."

BUT while the atrocities on September 11 may have forced thousands to realise their spare time could be better spent helping their fellow man than slouched in front of the television, there has been an army of volunteers silently working in Edinburgh for years.

Maggie Wilson is just one. As chair of the South Side Association, a community organisation based in the Nicolson Centre on Clerk Street, she’s been at the coalface of voluntary work for 30 years.

She first helped out in a campaign against a proposed ring road which would have demolished thousands of houses in the area. Caught up in the success of that campaign she pledged to spend as much time as she could trying to help her area benefit from better facilities.

"I started volunteering after I had major surgery and all my hair fell out", Maggie says candidly. "I was at a low ebb but I decided to get on and do something positive instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself. The first campaign against the ring road was a success and very invigorating. Then I started doing youth work and things just grew from there. Young people need somewhere to meet and gather with friends. Bringing young people in off the streets and getting to know them is the way to combat vandalism."

She admits she has given more and more of her time to the voluntary organisation over the years, but says the results have been worth it.

"The association has notched up some achievements over the years, but our work never stops. After persistent lobbying, the city council has announced we will have a new sports centre for the area, which is great news.

"Another small victory is bringing Nelson Hall on Spittalfield Crescent back into use. For years it was under-used, but now it’s going to get a new lease of life as an after- school centre, which local people will be able to use as well."

Maggie believes that her life has been as enriched by her work as those she has helped. "It is extremely rewarding, especially when something actually happens and you have a success."

Irene Turner is another long-term volunteer, working with a resettlement project for homeless families. "I volunteered to do some work with Shelter after reading an article in the Big Issue magazine. I identified very strongly with an organisation that’s so committed to ending homelessness.

"I’m now visiting and lending support to families that are being re-housed, which is a very stressful difficult time, especially with children involved.

"The project is all about practical help, making sure that people get back on their feet, often simple but important things like how to access other services they need".

For Irene, volunteering was almost like applying for a job.

"I had to go through an interview and an eight-week training programme which made sure I wasn’t thrown in at the deep end", she explains. "I had been a stay-at-home mum for many years, but voluntary work certainly boosted my self-esteem and people skills. I have a lot more confidence these days, I’m a much better listener and know how to give and receive feedback on confidential, sensitive issues. So, while I spend time helping other people, volunteering has also done a lot for me. I think it will help me get back into paid employment in future."

Jim Easton, a steel worker from Bathgate, is a volunteer with the Scottish Wildlife Trust, a group he discovered after losing his job.

"I’ve always had a great love of wildlife and the countryside. I inherited my brother’s egg collection when he went off to the Navy and the film Kes, from the 70s, made a great impression on me as a young man," he says.

"I was made redundant from the steelworks in 1984. I kept my spirits up by bird-watching and one day I heard of jobs going as park wardens on short-term contracts.

"I kept up my interest when I got back into full-time work again. I’m now a volunteer warden for Bathgate Moss and Tail End Moss, which have been designated as sites of special scientific interest. I meet lots of interesting people, scientists and so on, and the peace and quiet is so different from the noise of the steelworks."

At Edinburgh Volunteer Exchange, an organisation which tries to make volunteering easy and matches individuals with organisations using their knowledge, interests and skills, they say they have been inundated with people of all ages looking to help others.

Mark Stevens, an information officer at the exchange, says: "People don’t need to give up the rest of their lives to make an important contribution; an hour here or there is absolutely fine and can make a big difference to other people’s lives.

"In the world of volunteering, the motto is many hands make light work. EVE recruits volunteers on behalf of 650 groups in Edinburgh and we find voluntary work for thousands of people every year."

l Further information is available from EVE’s website at: www.edinburghvolunteers.org

or on 0131-478 7063.