A Walk in the Park

When my husband and I were transferred to Ireland for his job we thought I would be able to find a job of my own, but the economic downturn was in progress so it made it challenging for me to find a job. 

I needed to have a purpose outside the house and wanted to continue building up experience for my CV, therefore I sought out volunteer opportunities in the two areas I was most interested fitness and cookery.

I searched online for volunteer opportunities in the Dublin area and found that there were so many available they broke them down into sections according to the area you live in. This made it easier for me. Once I registered I started applying for positions that matched my interests. 

Over the course of a year I volunteered with three organisations. My longest run was through Dublin City Council as a Let’s Walk and Talk group leader. I co-lead the Sandymount group on Thursday afternoons. The idea was to help keep the aging in the Dublin community active and social. This was perfect for me since I lived very near to that community and it was the very same philosophy I believed in. It was a brand new group, so I was there from the start and they welcomed me with open arms. Ronan O’Donnell, the DCC organiser who created the groups was available, eager and open to new ideas. 

My first task involved creating mapped walks around the area as I wasn’t familiar with the local roads. Although I then began leading the walks I never realised how much the people would enrich my life. The average age was roughly 60 and they were all full of life and history. 

They taught me so much about the history of Dublin and Ireland in general through their own personal experiences. I not only became friends with them, they became part of my family. I found myself looking forward to meeting up with them each week. 

I would even bump into some of them throughout the week and we would end up taking our own little walks, getting to know each other even better. I miss them all very much and still write to them on a regular basis! I even had the chance to meet the Lord Mayor in 2009.

My advice to anyone wanting to volunteer would be to make sure the position you apply for is in a convenient location for you, especially if you’ll be using public transport to get there, and that it is something you are truly interested in. I did a few volunteer positions that were fun and interesting, but due to the commute time they started to feel like jobs. Let’s Walk and Talk never felt like a job. It felt like a gift! 

Emily Mc Carley