New Year Resolutions – Is Volunteering on your list?

photo credit: Unsplash tim-mossholder

Have you made any New Year Resolutions for 2023?

Do you find that Christmas and the New Year are seasons of list writing? There’s your Christmas gift list, the card list, the Christmas dinner shopping list and the endless “things to do before the 25th” list. Some certain people even make a list and check it twice every year! But when it come to the New Year, many of us make a more aspirational list – New Year Resolutions.

New Year Resolutions are traditonally about resolving to continue good behaviours, changing those bad habits, accomplishing a personal goal and improving the authors life in some way. With all that in mind, what better activity to add to your list than volunteering!

Lendrick Muir Residential Outdoor Activty Centre is a great place to volunteer. script reads "Lend a hand" and appears above two male hands stretched out to perform a handshake No matter your passion or skill-set, there’s a place for you. We can even give you training to pick up the essential skills of the many and varied tasks that we do at the Centre. We have volunteers working alongside us in all of our teams throughout the year – Activities Catering House and Facilities.

Where could you see yourself? Keep reading for some ideas for your New Year Resolutions…

Volunteering with the Activities Team

Instructing

Instructing High level activities – climbing, paddle sports, bikes – relevant qualifications and experience would be required, but some additional training and qualifications may be offered by LM.
Instructing low level activities – archery, nightline, challenge course, team challenges, bungee trampolines, orienteering, foot and disk golf, wide games etc – training can be provided for all these Activities.
Instructing an activity that we don’t currently provide regularly – e.g. environmental activities, wildlife. Have you got a great idea for an activity that you’d like to chat through with us?

Team Support

Project maintenance/development. These could be a short time weekend/week commitment – eg build new archery shed

Skilled maintenance – Things that need some skills in joinery, metal working, bike repairs, PPE checks etc
General maintenance – keeping kit organised, cleaning kit, minor repairs, maintaining courses, printing and laminating maps, checking equipment, maintaining stocks of consumables, repairing arrows, collecting and processing firewood etc

Volunteering with the Catering Team

In the Kitchen

helping prepare packed lunches for the hundreds of pupils that stay with us during term time – a few hours on a week-day morning to make a cheese sandwich or 2…or 50!
helping prepare dinner for visiting schools – prepping dishes ready to serve as the evening meal.
helping clean down the kitchen after an event and preparing the area for the next – Monday mornings and Fridays are particulalry busy times for our Team.

In the Dining Room

setting up breakfast items for our guests – perfect if you’re an ealry riser!
serving lunches and dinners to guests – a great opportunity to practise your hospitality skills.
cleaning the dining room and dishes after meals

Moubray drawing room features a large bay window and comfy couches

Volunteering with the House Team

Around the house

Sorting bedding – Lendrick Muir has 165 beds and each of those beds could need to be changed 2 or 3 times a week – that’s a lot of laundry. Sheets need folded, cupboards need re-stocked and bedding needs laid out for the the next guest.
Vacuuming rooms and corridors – when one group leaves we sometimes only have a matter of hours before the next arrives. Mondays and Fridays are especially busy, though we do have mid-week turnarounds too.
Toilets – not the most glamorous of tasks but we take pride in offereing clean facilities to our guests. All cleaning materials and relevant PPE will be provided.

Volunteering with the Facilities Team

Around the House

Skilled Maintenance – An old building like Lendrick Muir doesn’t come without it’s challenges and there’s always something that needs fixing or sprucing up. Maybe you have skills in decorating, plastering, carpentry or plumbing that you could share with us?
General maintenance – keeping kit/tools organised, cleaning kit/tools, minor repairs, checking equipment, maintaining stocks of consumables, etc

Around the Grounds

Grounds care – grass cutting, leaf blowing, path maintenance, clearing of invasive species, fence repairs – the list is varied and endless. What’s your speciality?