Date published: 22 February 2016 by Anna Jackson

Over the past week, I have been volunteering for Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, in what was definitely the most productive and valuable half term holiday I’ve ever spent. Although, I suppose that isn’t really saying much, considering I’ve made it to year 12 and can’t remember the last half term I didn’t spend solely eating, sleeping all day and listening to the odd Beatles album.

However, this year, I was more than happy to search for a nice bit of CV-building work experience. I was happier still when the opportunity to work for Rainbow Trust for a week presented itself, as working for such a good cause meant my week wouldn’t just benefit me, but also the hardworking people around me and, most importantly, the families that Rainbow Trust supports. Supporting a charity also added a fantastic sense of drive and enjoyment.

During my week, Rainbow Trust gave me the great opportunity of working in a different department each day, which allowed me to learn the very most I could in my short placement and also to see the great range of work that goes in to what they do. One day I’d be learning how to use databases; the next I’d be putting up articles onto the website; and the next I’d be doing arts and crafts with kids for fundraising! This all helps so much in developing plenty of real-life skills in areas that you don’t learn very much about in a classroom at all. Even becoming familiar with an office environment and seeing all the work necessary to keep it all running are skills that just one week of voluntary work can introduce you too - no amount of school work or academic learning can beat this.

Volunteering also provided a welcome change, learning and practising skills totally different to what I’ve been doing in 6th form since September, while also giving a feeling of direct purpose, knowing that even a small piece of the work I did will go towards helping families caring for a seriously ill child.

And so comes the end of my experience. Those of you that read blogs will know this is the bit where I should leave you with something to take away from it all. In this case, I will finish with this; for those of you wondering whether volunteering is something worth doing - it certainly is. I’m sure with nothing else other than a positive mind-set, you’ll get so much more out of it than you’d ever had thought.