‘‘ Y


ES you could. Volunteering takes many forms and is good for both you and for the person or group that you support. It


lets you meet new people and make new friends. It can also help protect your mental and physical health, and provide a sense of purpose.


And this is important. You can have


fun. Choose a cause close to your heart, one you have a natural sympathy with. One of my post-retirement volunteering jobs was with the organisation that my late wife was close to, Citizens Advice. I always felt a powerful camaraderie walking into the office where the kettle was kept and the volunteer advisers wrote up their notes and did their computer research.


I signed up for what was then the committee of the Publicity and Public Relations Group of CILIP. When I gave up, it was largely because meetings were in London or Birmingham, so the travel became wearisome. But now, with so many Team and Zoom meetings, such committees are less demanding. The CILIP website lists volunteer vacancies with other Special Interest Groups of CILIP; many of these would love to have your help as a committee member.


CILIP RPG Volunteering


We asked members of the CILIP RPG committee to share their experiences of volunteering.


Charmaine Bourton organises the stock for a book fair to fundraise for the charity Feed the Minds: ‘I do as I did when I was working - add donations, take off stock that has been on shelves a long time, and do seasonal displays.


l www.feedtheminds.org


Charmaine does lots of other book-related volunteer work such as helping the library of the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society and organising a sales table in her


June 2022


Choose a cause close to your heart, one you have a natural sympathy with.


husband’s church to pay for organ repairs!


Valerie Bearne’s main volunteering effort is the Build a Dream Self Build Association, a self- help group for self-builders. It all started when she read a library book on self-building. She had her own house built, overcoming numerous problems, then used this information and contacts to help others achieve their own projects.


l www.badsba.co.uk


Alan Cooper volunteers for a charity offering a reading and writing service to visually impaired people in their own home. It sees equal access to information as a basic right denied to many people with disabilities.


l https://miltonkeynesreaderservice.org.uk/home/


Do you have a love of history and heritage? Well, Sian King volunteers as Chair of the Newport Ship charity. The Ship was discovered in 2002 on the banks of the River Usk. It was a large wooden cargo ship, dating from around 1465. After conservation and preservation they are now ready to begin reconstruction and display. The project is run on a shoestring by Newport Council, so the Friends have a strong supporting role, providing guided tours, fundraising and running a website.


l www.newportship.org


Christie Ikeogu volunteers at Stoneydown Park Primary in East London, helping with events and book donations. She trained as a teaching assistant in order to contribute towards her grandchildren’s education, knowing that things had changed from when her own children were at school. Most people reading this article will be library and book lovers. The website of Suffolk Libraries where I live shows opportunities including working for Friends Groups, helping with annual book festivals, the Summer Reading Challenge, the Home Library Service and social activities for older people.


How you can join in Bookmarkreading.org – this charity links volunteers with children who need help with reading, it is done online so you do not need to travel.


https://volunteeringmatters.org.uk – UK government website providing information on volunteering


do-it.org lists thousands of organisations looking for help, and communities offering support.


CILIP relies on volunteers from across the profession. It has about 500 at any one time. Many are still in full time employment and want to give back to something they love, but also to develop new skills, gain experience to boost CPD and Chartership portfolios, and expand professional and social networks.


l https://informationprofessionaljobs.com/ volunteers/


See the list of Special Interest Groups


at: www.cilip.org.uk/page/SpecialInterestGroup Retired Professionals Group welcomes feedback and questions. https://tinyurl.com/ CILIPRPG or email: chair.rpg@cilip.org.uk Make your life expand. It could be one of the best things you have ever done. IP


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 49


Vincent McDonald is a former senior public librarian and is Secretary of CILIP RPG. He is the author of Honey from Dorabjees (2013), which describes post-retirement volunteering for Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in India.


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