Alexandra: Why I volunteer with North London Cares

Please note: this post is 128 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

Alexandra Baxter has volunteered with North London Cares for a year, sharing recipes with older neighbours at cooking workshops, building new relationships at social clubs, helping older neighbours with gardening -- and leading other volunteers to be involved through our NLC Organisers programme. Read her blog on why she gives her time, and what she gets out of it...

BY ALEXANDRA BAXTER

I first heard about North London Cares when I attended an evening of presentations on community and charitable organisations in London. Alex's presentation stood out to me because I think that community is extremely important in any big city, and the idea of being part of a support network for older neighbours was something that appealed strongly. The pace of life in a city like London is fast and it is too easy for certain groups of people to be passed over, which is something that I find sad. It seemed to me that even a small investment of time volunteering for North London Cares could make a difference to individuals in the area and to the community as a whole.

Volunteering for North London Cares has given me a great sense of satisfaction, because I get to see first hand the impact that my contribution makes. Moreover it is great to get to know new people in your area. I have had some great experiences and have met some brilliant people, neighbours and volunteers alike. Everyone has a story to tell, and it's great fun to sit down and listen to them during an activity session, or after helping out around the house.

In return I hope that I have at the very least brightened up a few people's afternoons or helped them complete tasks which they might not have managed by themselves. What is nice about North London Cares is that there is a huge range of activities going on which support people in the community in a variety of ways, so that even if you can only contribute an hour or two every now and then, you know that that hour has been spent making someone's day a bit easier or happier.

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If you'd like to feel closer to the community and support your neighbours in Camden and Islington through North London Cares, please sign up and we'll be in touch very soon...