Celebrating volunteering within u3a
It's National Volunteers Week, and we're celebrating the volunteers that make up the u3a movement.
As a member-led organisation, the u3a movement is dependent on volunteers locally, regionally and nationally. The 1,039 u3as across the UK are all run by u3a members, who make up local u3a committees and run the interest groups that enable members to keep learning, skill sharing and making new friendships. In addition to this, u3a members volunteer in networks and regions across the movement, to build connections with other u3as. The Third Age Trust Board is made up of 15 volunteer Trustees, who work together to direct the future of the movement.
There are 389 Trust Volunteers, who support the Third Age Trust with their work - as Subject Advisers, Advice Line volunteers, Facebook group moderators, part of the Beacon team, and much more.
One of the largest volunteer-led projects in the u3a movement is SiteWorks. A team of 60 volunteers work on providing WordPress websites to u3as, to replace the existing SiteBuilder platform. So far, over 150 u3as have been migrated onto the new website. Volunteer Pam says, "The SiteWorks project is huge. It’s great to see the results of our months of work being put into practice on so many of the new websites."
Dacorum u3a member Henry first started volunteering when he saw an advert to join the Third Age Trust Finance committee. It enabled him to use his skills from a career as a Chartered Accountant. He later joined his local u3a committee as a Treasurer. Henry says, "u3a is very much about getting out as much as you can put in, whatever that may be. You do not need to be the local Chair (or Treasurer!), but there are always situations where your u3a is looking for assistance, whatever your skills."
The Third Age Trust Board is made up of 15 volunteer Trustees, who work together to direct the future of the movement.
We'll be showcasing some of our incredible volunteers this week on our u3a blog, Sources, and on our social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Find out more about volunteering within the u3a movement on our new Volunteering for u3a page.