The Waterford Volunteer Network celebrated the launch of their new booklet titled Volunteers from Waterford: Stories that Inspire, which as the title suggests gives personal accounts from the volunteers around Waterford who give their time to benefit wider society.
An interesting take away from the event was that volunteering is often a two-way experience as those who provide their time also find themselves rewarded with a community of likeminded people.
Volunteering is also an excellent way for those from other communities to integrate themselves and provides an avenue for all ages for those who would like to meet new people and help others.
The booklet was launched by Deputy Mayor John Pratt, who said at the event, “What shines through each story is a simple but powerful message: you are never too young, or too old to start volunteering,” he explained.
“Everyone of us regardless of background or circumstances has a valuable place in our community. Volunteering plays a vital role in building strong, connected and inclusive communities.”
“In Waterford alone registered volunteers contribute an estimated 10,000 working hours per year—that’s phenomenal. We all know the true impact goes far beyond. Everyday people quietly give their time to schools, sports clubs, neighbours, charities and local causes often without ever calling themselves volunteers,” he said.
“I find that some volunteers are the ones that are in the background a lot of the time, they are not necessarily the ones that are out in front looking for a photograph.
“This booklet recognises and celebrates all those people across Waterford County, people working from every corner for every cause. Volunteering creates connection, belonging and positive change and today we thank each and every person who gives their time so generously to help others and strengthen our communities.”
Up to 40,000 hours
Deidre Power spoke at the event on behalf of the Volunteer Centre. “This booklet is absolutely fabulous,” she said, “it’s beautifully done. I want to say thank you Anna.”
Anna Kachanivska was the editor of the booklet.
“Volunteering is cross-community, cross age ranges, it is completely diverse,” Deirde continued. “This book really shows the diversity and the inclusion. All of the people celebrated in this are all fantastic volunteers. I work alongside some of them at different times in a volunteering role and it gives us great pleasure to have this and be able to say this is what our volunteers do.
“Our doors are always open to people coming along, maybe they have an idea they might like to volunteer for this, maybe they have an idea that they want to set up a new volunteering initiative altogether, they can come and talk to the volunteering centre.
“They will always listen to you, and maybe there is something that is needed in the City, maybe something isn’t here, and the volunteering role could fill that.
“The 10,000 hours is a very low figure. I believe it is closer to 40,000 hours, when we look at all the people and I know the contributions they make.”
The booklet’s editor, Anna Kachanivska, said that working on the booklet was one her most rewarding experiences.
“Working on this booklet has honestly been one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. When we first started this project, we knew we wanted to collect volunteer stories from across Waterford. But I don’t think any of us expected just how powerful these stories would become,” said Anna.
“Every person who shared their experience brought something unique — kindness, resilience, humour, compassion and a deep sense of community. Together, these stories show the real heart of volunteering in Waterford.”
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme
