The next organistation to take part in the Exhibitor Spotlight series is The Fire Fighters Charity. They understand and support the mental, physical and social burdens that can come from being a member of the UK fire services community.
Why are volunteers important to The Fire Fighters Charity?
Put simply, The Fire Fighters Charity would not be able to support the thousands of beneficiaries from the UK Fire and Rescue Service who use our health and wellbeing services without this vital collaboration.
The Firefighters Charity understand and support the mental, physical and social burdens that can come from being a member of the UK fire services community.
How do our volunteers change lives, and take action?
The Fire Fighters Charity understands the mental, physical and social burdens that can come from being a member of the UK fire services community.
Our specialist residential and community-based services are tailored to the individual, empowering them to achieve positive mental, physical and social wellbeing for their lifetime, regardless of role or rank; in short, we rescue the rescuers.
Volunteers are fully embedded across all areas of the Charity, they enable us to improve the quality and effectiveness of our service provision and bring with them a diverse range of skills, experience and knowledge to support and complement what we already do.
The scale and range of volunteering is extensive, we have volunteers active in the boardroom, supporting the delivery of services across each of our three UK based centres and strengthening the links between services and beneficiaries in local communities.
Indeed, Volunteers extend our sphere of influence, acting as ambassadors for the Charity and raising awareness to a wider audience.
The Charity recognises that volunteering is not about delivering services cheaply. It is about improving the experience of people using our services, improving our culture and quality of services and not about replacing or substituting staff.
Here from our Volunteers
The remarkable thing is that most of the volunteer support comes from former and operational fire and rescue service personnel and their immediate family, the very people we support as beneficiaries. This leads us to believe that our volunteers want to give back and make a difference.
“I wanted to give something back. I went for rehabilitation at Jubilee House and the team helped me to significantly improve my well-being”
“Having been a beneficiary more than once myself, I felt that volunteering was a great way to give back to the charity.”
“My husband is a firefighter and because of this I have been able to access rehabilitation following injury at work. I am truly grateful for the help and support I received and wanted to be able to give something back by helping others in some small way.”
“The work the Charity does is outstanding. I enjoy meeting people and working alongside others and volunteering was an obvious choice.”
“When my wife passed away I became quite isolated and alone, a friend suggested volunteering for the Charity and I haven’t looked back since. Being part of a community is a wonderful thing, I would highly recommend it.”
A note from CEO of The Fire Fighters Charity, Dr Jill Tolfrey:
“We recognise how integral your contribution is to our work and how significantly it benefits our beneficiaries and local communities. Without your time, skills and enthusiasm we simply could not offer our range of services to the fire community.”
What campaigns or activities have you recently completed in which volunteers played a key role?
We run several Estates and Facilities projects each year at our Centres that are aimed at fire service groups who are looking to be involved in something short-term i.e. 4 to 5 days, which offers a positive and meaningful experience but that also leaves a legacy.
Volunteering takes people out of their own environment, helps them to gain perspective and broaden their outlook
Benefits to volunteers;
- Volunteering supports mental and physical health by providing stimulation, something to do, exercise, as well as routine and structure in life; it has a positive effect on attitudes, stress and coping style
- The social aspect of volunteering is highly valued. It provides the opportunity to be socially connected and or reconnected to the FRS, counteracting the effects of depression, loneliness and social isolation i.e. retirees
- Volunteering takes people out of their own environment, helps them to gain perspective and broaden their outlook
- The additional benefits in terms of positive outcomes for volunteers are the feel-good factor of contributing to the lives of others and being appreciated and valued for what they do
To find out more about ways which you can support The Fire Fighters Charity visit their stand at Volunteer Expo.
