Three reasons to volunteer at Eye Heroes
To Eye Heroes volunteers and students, graduates and professionals of all age groups considering volunteering.
Whether you’re looking for somewhere to volunteer or a current volunteer wondering how to describe your volunteering experience at Eye Heroes for future career destinations, here are three reasons to be a part of the Eye Heroes campaign.
1. Career development
There are two key roles at Eye Heroes:
1. Leading a workshop, known as a Workshop Volunteer
2. Becoming a point of contact for coordinating workshops in a certain area, known as a Local Lead.
Whichever role you choose, running Eye Heroes workshops can provide you with a valuable piece of extra-curricular experience to add to your CV.
Even if you are an eye health muggle or have never been in front of a group of lively children before, don’t worry. Eye Heroes provides all volunteers with a toolkit so you can get to grips with key concepts and workshop materials. To be an effective volunteer, all you need alongside these tools is your enthusiasm.
Volunteering at Eye Heroes also demonstrates that you are a self-starter willing to take action in furthering your development.
You may just find Eye Heroes volunteering is a strong example to use when asked to “name a time you took on responsibility” or when you “took a project a step further” at future interviews.
You will also be given a certificate of participation upon the successful completion of your volunteering.
2. Skills development
Whatever position you are in, everyone has scope to develop their skills, and the potential to do so at Eye Heroes is wide.
The skills you are likely to develop as an Eye Heroes volunteer include:
● Leadership skills: Learning to teach a group of children will help develop your professional communication skills.
● Team working skills: You will lead workshops as part of a team requiring you to cooperate and divide up tasks according to your individual strengths.
● Public speaking skills: Developing your ability to be clear, confident, and concise, while communicating with groups of people, is a skill that’s in demand across all spheres of life, including many professional roles.
You will also increase your knowledge of eye health and develop an understanding of important medical terminology.
3. It’s a rewarding experience
Leading an Eye Heroes workshop is more than teaching: it’s being an active participant in spreading the importance of regular eye check-ups in avoiding sight loss.
Besides giving you valuable career, educational and practical benefits, volunteering at Eye Heroes is a worthwhile activity, and your contribution helps support the UK’s first child-led campaign to fight avoidable sight loss.
Around 40% of those who attend an Eye Heroes workshop go on to have an eye check. This is a really effective way of spreading the message of the importance of eye health to communities and individuals who may not otherwise consider having eye tests.
With around one million people living with avoidable sight loss in the UK, a figure expected to double by 2050, your role coordinating workshops could contribute to saving many people’s sight. Something worth shouting about.
So we’d love to hear from you.
If you are new to Eye Heroes and you are interested in volunteering, we’d love to hear from you. If you have already volunteered at Eye Heroes and would like to tell us about your experience for the Eye Heroes blog, we’d welcome your contribution too.
To join our team, or write a blog post and help support our message, contact us at coordinator@eyeheroes.org.uk, or reach out to us on Instagram (@eyeheroesuk), Facebook (@EyeHeroes), or Twitter (@EyeHeroes).
~ Jonathan Lack