Tasia-Jade is a first-year undergraduate law student. She volunteered last year for St. John the Evangelist Church Soup Kitchen as a Soup Kitchen volunteer to help out the less fortunate in the area. Read on to learn more about her incredible experience and her advice to future volunteers.
Tell us a little about your volunteering
I was volunteering at Saint John church and it was such a good experience in terms of helping. They have a soup kitchen and a food bank, and I worked in the latter.
Their system is very organised. They have a person at the front of the building who takes everyone’s orders and then they would send them back to us.
It was surprising to think these people exist. They are in need. You see them on the street. But, in fact, a lot of times you don’t see them on the street. You don’t see them struggling. You don’t know what they go through. You take life for granted. You can just go to the store and say I want milk or that chocolate cake. So, it was weird that I had to stand there and ration food for people’s lives. Things that they are relying on. It was a hard truth to accept, especially since things have gone worse during the lockdown. It made me see how many people in society are overlooked.
How did you find out about the role?
It was after I had received my university email and the Student Union started emailing me with volunteering opportunities that I started looking at roles. After seeing all the volunteering on the directory, I was really surprised at how much was on offer. I did not even imagine there could be so much I could choose from. I registered my interest for quite a few, but then I realised I will not be able to do some, either because I was not old enough, or they clashed with my school timetable. So, then I narrowed my focus. I knew I wanted to volunteer in something related to homelessness, and that’s why I decided to volunteer at Saint John’s church when I saw the opportunity.
Why did you want to become a volunteer?
I always wanted to volunteer in something related to homelessness because the borough I come from has been going through a lot of generation projects for the last few years, and with that, you see the prevalence of rough sleepers. Unfortunately, this was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as well. So, there has been a sharp rise in homelessness and people who are not only rough sleepers but also displaced, that don’t have a concrete housing situation.
While studying law, in my first 2 weeks, we had an option of picking a case study focused on 4 different areas. It was more of the social aspect of law rather than the academic side. We could choose between homelessness, family life, fake news, and climate change. So, I chose homelessness and in the first 2 weeks I learned more about the legislative side of homelessness and even that showed me how many cracks there are legally, and that pushed me, even more, to seek out volunteering opportunities generally, but specifically for homelessness.
Also, when walking to university, I did not realise how many homeless people there were around the Bloomsbury area. You see homeless who have been homeless for a while, they have been here, going through that rough sleep and to think I am going to this prestigious university, and I have to walk by them honestly broke my heart. I am more now than ever aware of it. Being in London, you’re sort of close to it. You do not want to deal with anyone, you have university or work to go to, let alone someone begging for your money. So, I think doing volunteering has made me more aware that these people are people, and they are seeking help, and help genuinely isn’t there. Then there is that question: if people want help and they just can’t get it, what do you expect them to do? So that’s where I said I have to do something because if I was in that position, I would want someone to help me.
Doing volunteering has made me more aware that these people are people, and they are seeking help, and help genuinely isn’t there
What difference do you feel you've made by volunteering?
I think it would probably be humanising people. Not just seeing them as statistical numbers of people who are homeless, rough sleepers or just can’t pay rent. You do get to talk to people although not extensively, but just saying “hello” or “how you are doing” can be enough. The first time I did it, I gave one of the women that asked for help her order and she said, “thank you so much for your help”. Knowing that they acknowledge you are helping them, taking time out of your day and you do not need to be there, and knowing that they know that and are grateful I think that is the greater impact.
It also made me realise how important it is to cater to everyone’s needs. I don’t think people acknowledge that there are different experiences for different types of homeless people or rough sleepers. Knowing these different needs, whether because they have families, or are disabled, catering to these needs as well, I think is the greatest impact. You are not just giving everyone general things, but listening and helping them with the specific things.
What impact has volunteering had on you?
I would probably say it helped me grow my interpersonal skills. It helped me relate to people more, and to different types of people. There are different people from different backgrounds, and different cultures who you interact with and being able to know how to interact with them differently is good.
Another thing is more for my CV, being actively part of the university community and wider society as a whole, in that you are a team player, in the same way, you can apply skills of coordination or organisation, or commitment the same way you apply it to volunteering you could apply it to the workplace or extra-academic activities.
It also can be quite fun. You could genuinely enjoy it if you like helping people. Even if you do not like helping people now, you could gain the love of helping people. I think that could be very beneficial because at university, you could just focus on your degree and be very caught down in work and pressure and sometimes it’s good to come outside of yourself and think I have it tough right now but other people are having it worse. Helping people might help you self-reflect that there are many things into life than academics even though they are very important, there is going to be more to life outside of that degree.
What's the best thing about volunteering?
I would say it’s the overall experience of coming outside of yourself and dedicating your time to helping someone else in whatever capacity you can. It’s realising that by contributing to helping other people, you can also receive something in return, in whatever form that might be in.
Also, a lot of people who volunteer come from different walks of life and you don’t know that might be a core networking group. That could be the best environment to network. In a sense, you are connecting with people on a human level, on a personal level, and that extends to other things you might have in common that could be beneficial.
And the most challenging? How did you overcome the challenges?
Initially, I wanted to volunteer for opportunities with terminally ill children, but I didn’t know if emotionally I would be able to. I think for certain volunteering opportunities, a lot of self-reflection is needed because some take a lot of emotional energy and you must be able to think: Am I emotionally strong enough? Am I able to emotionally cope with this? Will I be able to continue it? If you’re not, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just that there are other opportunities that suit you better or more easily. There will always be someone who would be better suited for that opportunity you did not take.
Finding time is another challenge, especially when studying law. There are always career events, and you always must think I don’t want to go to this career event, I want to do volunteering. So, you have to make sure you keep your priorities in check and you are allocating time to volunteer as well.
Tell us about something memorable that's happened to you whilst volunteering!
Talking to the other volunteers in the food bank. Work there can be very intense. It goes up and down. So, when it’s at its low you can talk and get to know other volunteers. I think those are really good moments.
It’s also knowing that these organisations are served by people who genuinely care and want volunteers who care. I think that is enjoyable. To know that other people have a passion for whatever passion you might have and find others with that passion is inspiring. You realise that even though the world could be quite bleak, there are people that are just as motivated to make it a little bit brighter like you are.
Would you recommend volunteering? If so, why?
Definitely! I would say look at your options. You have a lot of options, and they are very flexible. You will find something perfectly suited for your schedule. If you find something that you are passionate about, just go for it. It won’t hurt. Just try it. If you do not like it, you could go and try another one. Honestly, you could just try many one-off volunteering opportunities, and you would still manage to build a host of volunteering experiences. So, go for it!
You could also try to find volunteering that suits your course or the profession you think you might go into. You need to ensure you are getting out something as well. So, tailor your volunteering to your interests. Volunteering should be at your will. It is also the perfect and easiest way to gain work experience, and you should use it since it's at your disposal. Just do it. It will benefit you regardless.