Return Volunteers Weekend

Harborne Hall VSO Training Centre Birmingham

There has to be something that rounds it all off and this was it. We were invited in early May to return to Birmingham to Harborne Hall where we had trained as VSOs for a weekend of meeting up, debrief and looking at the future.

It was an excellent weekend and we met many people with whom we had trained and caught up with their adventures in different parts of the world.

A walk in the Harborne Hall Gardens - bluebells and a wonderful time to return home

We had an opportunity to meet up with the new VSO Chief Executive, Marg Mayne who was very keen to hear feedback from all the volunteers. I volunteered to be on the VLG, Volunteer Liaison Group who help with these wekends on a two year stint. I was selected and I'm sure that will give me an opportunity to reamain "in touch". I'm also on the focus group for The Global Schools' Prize and have put myself forward to be a VSO selector. So the VSO experience has not ended for me.

Quite a few people were re-volunteering but it's not the right time for us at the moment but I'm very keen that it is something we will tackle again in the future.

One volunteer summed up the way he felt and it also applies to me.....

"When I'm there, I want to be here and 
when I'm here I want to be there!"

There must be something in that.