Earlier in the autumn we were pleased to share that we have a new Chair of the Volunteer Forum, Carrol. We asked her to introduce herself and share what she loves about being a Macmillan volunteer…
Hi, I’m Carrol Pollock, the new Chair of the Volunteer Forum. I live in Larbert, a village outside the town of Falkirk in Scotland, with my husband, Henry, and our little dog, Harvey. When I’m not volunteering with Macmillan, I may be found in one of my local primary schools as I’m a teacher.
My friend still laughs at the fact my first volunteering experience with Macmillan was when I offered to come along to a fundraising event she was holding to help sell raffle tickets. 12 years on and I now chair my local fundraising group. I’m also an Action Team Lead Volunteer and have chaired the Scottish Volunteer Forum and I now chair the UK Volunteer Forum. In between times, I’ve hosted coffee mornings, compèred fashion shows, abseiled from the Falkirk Wheel, given talks, hosted conferences, supported cheerpoints and bucket collections, handed out prosecco and, yes, sold thousands of raffle tickets.
As you can see, I love volunteering with Macmillan. I meet the most fantastic people. Nothing beats the ‘thank you’ you get from a runner running past you in a marathon, or the hug from one of our service users when you just sit and listen, not to mention the cuddles Harvey gets when he is there cheering on the walkers on a Mighty Hike. It makes my day when someone says I made theirs.
Going forward, I’m excited to be leading the Forum onto even bigger and better things, especially in growing our Volunteer Voice Network. I am also excited to see the calendar of activities for next year and can’t wait to sign up to support our brilliant volunteers. Hopefully you will sign up too and I will see some of you there. If so, please say hello.
I am passionate about volunteers and volunteering, and I want every volunteer to feel valued, heard and have the best experience possible.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all they continue to do for Macmillan. The difference you make is immeasurable.
Together we are making a big difference for people living with cancer, let’s continue to do so in 2024.
Best wishes,
Carrol
