Daisy works in the Volunteering team, writing the training, learning and development for the 20,000 volunteers Macmillan has across the UK. She was looking for ways to make it easier for volunteers to access learning opportunities,
and when intern Yu-Ting joined, she was able to contribute to this search by researching peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and find how they could be applied with volunteers at Macmillan.
Within the volunteering team we really support and value the idea of volunteer involvement and wanted to find ways volunteers could support each other to learn. This grew into a big piece of work that - whilst being a nice thing to do - we knew we didn't have the staff capacity to pick up. I thought that it might be a nice stand-alone project that we could give to an intern to shape and make their own. It wasn't something that was so important that it would be catastrophic if they didn’t do it the right way, but it also carried enough responsibility that it would be a challenge.
Our intern Yu Ting was in university - which was a great fit because it was a research project - and she approached it in a much more academic way than I would have done. She brought a totally different approach to the work and found ways other organisations were involving volunteers inside and outside the charity sector. This made for much more solid research, and we gained really practical tips from her work. It’s a fresh pair of eyes on something you probably wouldn’t have as much time, energy and enthusiasm to do yourself and projects are much more well-rounded as a result.
Sridevi on being a Health & Social Care intern
'I'm making a difference that I'm in control of.'
Lesia on being an Intern Manager
'The research work our intern carried out was extremely thorough and is a resource we have continued to use.'
Elissia on being an Intern Manager
'It's a brilliant opportunity for non-managers to develop management skills.'
Want to work for Macmillan? Find out who does what across the organisation, hear from our staff, and read about the behaviours we encourage and the values we uphold.
You don't have to climb mountains to give something back. People affected by cancer may need help with simple day to day tasks like shopping or cleaning. Browse our volunteering opportunities to see if you could help.
You don’t need to face cancer alone. Find out more about our free support line, Macmillan nurses, information services and support groups near you.
We want everyone with cancer to receive the right level of treatment and support, regardless of who they are and where they live. Signing up as an e-campaigner is just one way you can help.
Read Imogen's blog about her experience as a Macmillan support line volunteer. She highlights the benefits of talking about cancer and looks at some of the different ways people can start talking.
If you've just joined up and aren't sure where to start, this is the group for you. Tell us a bit about what brings you here, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Someone will be on hand to welcome you and point you in the right direction
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