Time Well Spent

Time is precious, it is why I am taking a month off between jobs, it is why I say no to things that don't fit with my purpose, it is why I only surround myself with awesome people, it is why I live and breathe my values, and it is why I take time to volunteer.

• In 2019, 19.4 million (36%) people volunteered through a group at least once a year.
• The most common reason overall for volunteering is wanting to improve things or help people.
• In 2020, there were around 163,000 voluntary organisations in the UK.
• In 2018, the voluntary sector contributed ￡18.2bn to the UK economy. This is equivalent to about 0.9% of GDP.

My volunteering journey started at aged 11. I was playing football for an under 12's team and started to coach the under 7's. I remember my (male) manager telling me he wanted a girl to coach them and be a role model. Every week I would arrive an hour early to my own training session and coach the under 7's, as my manager observed from grass banking.

I went onto coach at Oldham Athletic Ladies, spent 6 years at Sheffield Wednesday Ladies coaching the same team from under 9's through to under 15's, was player manager at Dinnington Town Ladies for 3 years and Board Director and Player at AFC Unity Ladies for 2 years. My playing career consisted of: Oldham Athletic, Man City, Steel City Wanderers, Rotherham United, Sheffield United, Dinnington Town Ladies, Dronfield Town Ladies and AFC Unity Women.

A couple of seasons ago I decided to hang up my playing, and coaching boots, after 24 years playing and 21 years coaching. To put this into context, it was 3 evenings a week, plus Saturdays 8am-1pm and Sundays 11am-6pm, and lots of email traffic, admin, meetings and CPD in between. It took over my life but my god I absolutely LOVED it.

I've also volunteered at events like: the Beijing Paralympics swimming trials and local Sheffield events as an event marshal / first aider / co-ordinator.

These days, my main volunteering is within Workplace and FM:

• Chair of IWFM Workspace SIG
• IWFM Awards Judge
• Editorial Advisory Board for Facilitate
• Editorial Steering Committee for Facilities Management Journal
• Mentoring
• ...and regular volunteering through webinars / speaking events / focus groups / working groups

Has all of this time, been time well spent? The unequivocal answer is, yes!

• I have gained new skills, experiences and qualifications
• I never stop learning
• I have made a difference and I feel connected to my purpose
• I have so many new and awesome people which has also pushed my introverted boundaries out of the comfort zone (in a positive way).
• I enjoy giving back, driving change, pushing the boundaries and having a voice in what our world of work could/should be like

I dream of a better world for us all and will keep working everyday to do whatever I can to make that a reality.

Time is precious, what do you do today which takes you one step closer to your purpose and dreams?

Take Care,

SFJ.