Volunteering: Raveen's Story
In the beginning of 2020, the world had begun to change due to the life-threatening danger of COVID-19. It was a fearful and unprecedented experience for myself to adapt from staying at home due to the UK national lockdown to struggling to rebuild my confidence in meeting one-to-one in person. After finishing my BA Honours degree throughout lockdown, all of my confidence was lost. I struggled to adapt to the changes in accepting that the majority of the job applications on the market were to be online. Even jobs for retail companies had suffered financially and resulted in making immediate redundancies for hard working individuals across the country.
Despite my overall success in completing my university degree, I had a massive gap in work experience and knowledge of work environments. I felt a devastating loss – comparing myself to my university course mates who had immediately secured their dream jobs in working for creative job roles based on their past experiences. This led to me developing an unhealthy habit of staying at home and taking advantage of my free time. My mental health spiralled out of control and I felt ashamed. I thought that after all my years of my hard study was all for nothing.
I sought professional help for my mental health and was given regular counselling sessions in learning to rebuild my routine but I still struggled to build trust in other individuals and was fearful to meet people in person due to the restricted measures of COVID-19.
A year on, I started to volunteer for CVS Bedfordshire. It became a new routine to start gaining important skills in working in an office.
CVS has provided tremendous support in my confidence and skills to add onto my CV resume. It benefited my mental health and I would always have something to look forward to.
Furthermore, I volunteered for the Cambridge film festival and met amazing film makers and the press etc.
During the end of 2021, I decided to apply for a part time job positions. Despite a number of rejections, I persevered and after 2 job interviews landed my first job. As an individual with Autism, the feeling of being a selected candidate from the company was surreal. I felt the beginning of 2022 was very promising, that I had now proven myself able to make a positive difference and have confidence helping.
The journey hasn’t been easy. There have been difficult issues with my employment relating to my Autism but I am truly grateful to now have one understanding and hope to secure a permanent contract.
Volunteering for the CVS has made me who I am today. It has shaped my confidence to be able to problem solve situations in a work environment and a personal level. It has essentially helped me to build a foundation of trust for individuals who are willing to give me the opportunity to shine.
I am planning to apply for a Masters in Character & Creature creation later in 2022, and to qualify as a 3D artist for computer animation in film making. Reflecting back on those current experiences from voluntary to working, I am eager to achieve this long-lasting goal.
Thank you for reading and I hope my story inspires you to follow your passion.
If you are interested in volunteering to help someone with a mental health problem, or someone with issues that may be affecting their mental health, then view our current list of opportunities in Volunteering to Support Mental Health. All of our opportunities are with local charities and you can register your interest in them through our Simply Connect volunteering platform from which you can also search for other opportunities.
Do contact us with any queries you may have at:
email: volunteering@cvsbeds.org.uk
phone: 01234 354366
