Volunteering Success

There are lots of reasons why people volunteer in their community.

For many it is a stepping stone, in building confidence and gaining experience, in the hope of gaining future employment.

Trust Thamesmead and the Greenwich Community Food Coop has seen three volunteers from their fruit and veg stall based outside Arnott Community Centre in Arnott Close gain rightful employment all within a month of each other.

The latest successor is Thamesmead resident and fruit and veg stall volunteer, 55 year old Daffodil Humberstone, who has landed a part-time job working in the deli of Tesco in Welling. “Before meeting with Trust Thamesmead's training and job search department my confidence was really low and I didn't get anywhere with interviews but they sent me for training and told me about volunteering opportunities and I liked the idea of volunteering one day a week at the local fruit and veg stall.” She said, adding “I really enjoyed my time (four months) on the stall; gaining experience in money handling and customer service. I will really miss my colleagues and customers who all made it so much fun.”

Trust Thamesmead's Community Development Officer for Central Thamesmead Roz Williams said: “It is excellent news for the volunteers and the Trust; with both Daffodil and Ram undertaking volunteering positions after meeting with our training and job search department Building Futures. It builds upon the partnership between the Trust's community development team, Building Futures and Greenwich Community Food Co-op, which means that local residents are given the opportunity and support to learn skills, gain self confidence and volunteer their time which is having such positive results for them personally as well as their local community.”

With the successes comes vacancies. We would love to hear from you if you are able to volunteer at our fruit and veg stall, 10:00am-2:00pm, every Friday outside Arnott Community Centre, 3 Arnott Close. Contact us now T: 020 8320 4470.