Written by: Chris Cloke, Communities 1st Volunteer
“It worked! So much so, I now really don’t want to leave!” Nisha Parbhoo, a volunteer with Communities 1st was telling me about why she wanted to volunteer. “I stopped working to have time with my family and young children, so I hadn’t worked for quite a number of years. I thought volunteering would ease me back into work, helping me to gain greater confidence.” Nisha found that volunteering has really helped and she is very happy to continue doing so. “I had other reasons for volunteering,” she added. “I want to give something back to the community and I wanted to help people. That is the right thing to do but it also makes me feel happy.”
Nisha is not alone in finding that volunteering and helping people makes you feel positive. There is a growing body of research which shows that there are several factors behind this – volunteering releases feel-good hormones that help induce positive feelings. It can increase your social relationships, and create a sense of purpose. We could devote a blog to this!
I enjoy supporting people so that they can help others
Living in Radlett with her husband and three children, aged seven, fifteen, and sixteen, Nisha leads a busy life. She is a very family-oriented person. I concluded that she is a thoughtful, caring, enabling, and modest person who doesn’t really want to talk about herself. I persevered!
Nisha spent a lot of her childhood in Zambia, where her parents still live but she went to boarding school in Bushey. She went to an American university where she studied graphic design. She has been volunteering with Communities 1st for about eighteen months, coming into the main office, Ver House, two half days, each week. She provides admin support to staff, particularly the Head of Community Services. “I find it very satisfying to help people so that they have more time and are better able to help the people who use our services.”
Community supermarkets
Nisha will help with particular projects, for example, the Community Supermarkets initiative. These Supermarkets support local communities by providing residents facing financial hardship with a range of food and essential goods at a lower cost than a traditional supermarket.
“This is a really worthwhile project,” Nisha smiled, “and I was so pleased to be involved from the start. I helped with research into what products were needed, and how they can be moved. I also did a couple of sessions on-site, helping with the selling. I enjoyed being out and about and hands on.” Drawing on her typographical skills, which she was pleased to use, Nisha also worked on the signage for the supermarkets. She was keen to show me some examples of her work and I concluded that she should look for opportunities to use her talents. The Community Supermarkets initiative is a joint project and Nisha is interested in how organisations work together to achieve better results. The project is also an example of something she wouldn’t necessarily expect Communities 1st to provide.
“I can’t believe how much Communities 1st does,” Nisha exclaimed, “It is enormous! Although it has a fairly small staff, it has an enormous reach. It provides a number of services that support the community and people in need of help.” She continued, “Before I started volunteering, I had little idea about what Communities 1st does. Volunteering has opened my eyes to how people volunteer, some perhaps more formally through Communities 1st schemes and others more informally, perhaps in their neighbourhood, or through their temple or other religious group. Both approaches are helpful. Communities 1st can help enable each approach.”
In talking to Nisha, I became aware that she had become a great champion for the organisation where she volunteers. She became passionate and wants Communities 1st to succeed. “I’d love people outside to see more about what we do,” she reflected, “They don’t know all that Communities 1st does.” Nisha is keen to play her part.
The nicest people ever!
For Nisha, a key factor in motivating her to volunteer with Communities 1st is that she finds it a supportive place to be. “The people here are the nicest people ever! They are selfless, patient, and always willing to help.” She continued They are constantly busy but when a call comes in needing help, they will focus actively on the caller to find solutions.” Nisha feels she was made very welcome by the staff. “I really do feel part of the team – and that is all down to them. They made me feel like that. I have a real sense of belonging. Part of a community. That is so very nice.”
I suggested that this is the power of kindness. Nisha agreed saying “Yes. It is very infectious. I think volunteers will take on jobs because they are inspired by the staff. I want my kids to have a dose of kindness. It is nice to be kind.”
Clearly, Nisha recognises the importance of “kindness” and it is a thread running through all the work undertaken by Communities 1st. “Kindness” benefits both the person on the receiving end and the volunteer or staff member who is being kind. I suspect that all too often “kindness” is taken for granted. That is a mistake. We should actively consider how we can understand the power of “kindness,” promote it, and build it into our everyday practise. We have a lot to learn from volunteers like Nisha.