by Jo Wood, BITMO Community Development Co-ordinator
This week is Volunteering Week, it is an opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to the individuals who give their time to a cause that means a great deal to them. Before I joined the Community Development Team I knew little more about volunteering at BITMO beyond my Friday breakfast and toastie. I thought I would share with you some of the ways volunteers support the work of the organisation and our community:
Community Kitchen: Preparing meals for the community, Volunteers prepare a hot meal on Tuesday for the children who attend the tutoring group and the community, toasties every Wednesday, sandwich packs through the school holidays and off course breakfast on a Friday.
School Uniform: This is a developing volunteering opportunity. Volunteers support the Community Development Team to offer free school uniform to the community. This is beneficial in so many ways: helping people to save money as well reusing uniform that is in good condition which otherwise would go to landfill.
Gardening: There is the West Grange Community Garden, Belle Isle Community Orchard, Fruit picking groups, tree watering. Getting out in the fresh air is a great way to improve your emotional and physical health and the joy of planting something, watching it grow and then being able to eat it is amazing.
Retirement Life: Volunteers support the groups that runs out of 26 and 58 Belle Isle Circus and Broom Nook. Bingo, providing breakfast sandwiches and meals, art groups. This can be a vital point of contact for some of our more isolated tenants.
Ancestry: The Ancestry Group continues and meets every Friday at 26 Belle Isle Circus. The group is going strong after many years.
Litter Picking: People give their time to keep their areas free of litter. People often call into the GATE to collect purple bags to use in the disposal of the rubbish they gather.
Repair Café: From sewing fixers to cobblers, from electrical to jewellery fixers. Our army of fixers is growing and diversifying. This is brilliant – it means we can save people money as well as throwing items aeay that are still useful.
Foodbank: The Volunteers at the Friday Foodbank are not BITMO Volunteers but without their vital support people would not have access to food.
There will also be many people who volunteer at other places across Belle Isle as well as across the City.
WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL VOLUNTEERS WHO GIVE THEIR TIME, ENERGY AND COMMITMENT TO BITMO AND BELLE ISLE. IT IS APPRECIATED.
