Liam Kelch, out of work and currently volunteering while looking for a job, is encouraging others to do the same. Matson & Robinswood Residents’ Group are looking for people interested to come and speak to them. They are also looking for funding for a supervisor to oversee the scheme. The greatest number of people who are unemployed are not happy to sit at home doing nothing and volunteering not only benefits people in term of things like self esteem and confidence, but also gives people a chance to maintain or even gain skills which can be used in the workplace.
Liam who was on 30,000 a year before he was made reduntant, has dealt with his redundancy and has been volunteering himself for over a year. He said that the “Big-Society” needs appropriate funding to make it work properly but he believes it could be a success.
Gloucestershire County Councillor Steve McHale says that it’s “Very Positive” and backs the scheme so long as it gets rolled out properly.
Liam would like to see it rolled out across the city so sucessfully that Gloucester could become a ‘shining light’ for it.
Councillor Steve McHale whilst saying that was fantastic for people to give back to the community has cautioned against using volunteering as a substitute for aiming to get back into work. People’s main aim should be to get back into work and it’s great if they can train whilst volunteering
