Valeria dedicates herself to helping others, accompanying fellow Ukrainian people in Waterford to hospital appointments and personal meetings, while also serving as the PR manager for the Waterford Volunteer Centre. Through her involvement in volunteering and her passion for involving fellow Ukrainians, Valeria finds a sense of belonging and purpose.
Category: National Volunteering Week
National Volunteering Week Stories
Anastasia’s story: ‘The teenagers I volunteer with in Sligo remind me of my students in Ukraine’
Since fleeing Ukraine last year, Anastasia has found a new joy and purpose in volunteering with Foróige Youth Club in Sligo. Through helping others, Anastasia has found a place in her community and formed new friendships.
Sandra’s story: ‘My work involves creating meaningful volunteering for displaced persons’
Meet Sandra Mpofu, the Volunteering Development Officer with Dublin’s Volunteer Centres. Sandra promotes and facilitate volunteering by displaced persons, asylum seekers, international protection applicants, and beneficiaries of temporary protection.
Vic’s story: ‘We provide welcoming spaces to LGBTQIA+ folk who are disabled, who belong to the Traveller community, who are immigrants’
For the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we’re delighted to share the volunteering story of Vic from Wexford Pride.
Irvine’s story: ‘I’ve met the kindest and most generous people through volunteering’
Volunteering as Bohs Access Officer, Irvine makes a valuable contribution to the Dublin soccer club’s diversity and inclusion mission.
Creating an inclusive space for volunteering
Volunteer Ireland’s Learning and Capacity Building Manager, Stuart Garland, shares the benefits of creating an inclusive volunteering programme.
New video for National Volunteering Week highlights resilience and generosity of displaced communities in Ireland
To mark National Volunteering Week, we’ve produced a video featuring volunteers from Ukraine, Somalia, and Zimbabwe, making a difference in their new communities around Ireland.
The video highlights the contributions of displaced individuals in Ireland and celebrates the impact they make in our communities. It features interviews with volunteers who share their experiences of resettlement, and the positive impact volunteering has had on their integration.
‘Volunteering has given our lives new meaning’ – Alievtina & Hanna
Alievtina & Hanna share their story of arriving in Donegal last year, and experiencing the life-changing magic of volunteering.
Future’s volunteering story: ‘Giving back to the community makes our world a better place’
Since arriving in Donegal last year, Future Moyo has been involved in several community programmes, and credits volunteering with helping him feel like part of his community.
Abdul’s story: ‘The entire network I have made so far is through volunteering, I love it’
Abdul is a volunteer in Dublin who has built a diverse network through volunteering with projects like Together For Better and East Wall For All. He shares how volunteering has helped him make good friends, improved his mental health, and made him feel at home in his community.