Volunteering with KCVC

Royal Borough spoke to Eli Wislocka, who works at Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea, the borough’s agency for volunteers.

What does the Volunteer Centre do?

We’re a signposting organisation, which means we try to direct volunteers to voluntary organisations and vice versa. We’re independent but are part of significant collection of volunteer centres around the country. Our aim is to make sure that organisations can find the right volunteers and volunteers can find an enjoyable and stimulating position.

What’s it like working there?

It’s really satisfying seeing so many people use the centre to find voluntary work. We get around 300 to 350 new volunteers each month, which means there is always work to be done. Most of the people here are themselves volunteers who join us to update their IT and customer service skills. It’s great to see how they progress once they get the hang of all the systems. They become more confident of their skills and often find jobs as a result of volunteering.

What do your volunteers do?

All kinds of people use our service. Students come in looking for practical experience to help them get their first job, mothers who left work to raise a family find voluntary roles that fit in with their busy family lives, and people with English as a second language find roles that help them improve their English. Sometimes people find the right placement right away and sometimes it takes a couple of attempts, but it’s great to see how happy our volunteers are when they find something that suits them.

What are the benefits of volunteering?

We’re always emphasising that volunteering means different things to different people. You might have retired and want to channel your experience and skills into something productive or be looking for work and need to improve your CV and develop new skills. As well as being useful, volunteering is enjoyable, too. There are so many different organisations across the borough that whatever you’re interested in, it’s likely that there will be a position to will suit you.

Are you still looking for more volunteers?

Yes. Call 020 8960 3722 or visit www.voluntarywork.org.uk. We’re always looking for enthusiastic people who are able to commit some time to an important local cause.