My Story

My name is Kim Lethbridge and I owe most of my success in both my working life and my personal life to volunteering.  It really is that pure and simple!

I left school after a dismal year in Grade 11 where I barely ever showed up in class, hating school, hating myself for failing (both myself and my courses), and drifted into a few jobs in retail, with no future and nothing to inspire me.

I grew up in the era and an area where girls were starting to be more encouraged to go on and gain qualifications, but my aim in life was definitely more about marrying, settling down and starting a family - which I did.  I was married at 19 and had my first baby at 21.  I became a full time stay at home mother, having two more children and I really relished being able to spend this time with my family…however, the more I stayed at home, the more aware I was of my lack of concrete skills and experience and my self-confidence dwindled (I could go into a long discussion here about the skills that parenting gives us which are transferable into work skills, but I’ll save that for another time).

 

Turning things around

After daughter number three was born, I needed to find some support - and quickly, as she was to say the least, a very unsettled baby who was pushing me to the edge of depression.  A friend suggested I join her at a playgroup at the local Community House and from that moment, I never looked back.  I met an amazing bunch of people there who would hold my screaming baby for me while I had a hot cuppa and some adult conversation.  I was hooked.  It wasn’t long before I started to get involved in helping out with the playgroup organisation, eventually gaining enough confidence and skills to become a playgroup leader. 

It seemed a natural progression from playgroup leadership, to take on a role on the fundraising committee of the Community House.  I spent many fun days making crafts, organising fairs and dinners, raffles and cooking for cake stalls to prop up their tiny budget.  I then joined their management committee as fundraising representative and from there, in leaps and bounds, I ended up as Secretary and discovered I had talents in administration and organisation.  I also learned to manage a community organisation – staff employment and industrial issues, budgeting, lobbying, helping to develop programs, computers and IT, Community Development and volunteer management – the list of skills (and the self confidence) I developed still amazes me.

In 1998, I was given the opportunity to take on the paid role of House Coordinator for a few months while a new Coordinator was being employed.  I can never describe accurately how much I loved that job, so I took a huge deep breath and applied for it on a permanent basis, being beyond ecstatic when I found out I was successful.

During my work there, I also became involved in the local community in other volunteer ways, such as parent help and the school Parents and Friends Association, committees and working groups for local community events.  All of this extra experience served me very well when I moved from this position to the role of Development Officer with the Tasmanian Association of Community Houses, working with the 34 Community Houses around Tasmania to support their work in their own communities.  During this time with TACH, I gained two Diplomas in Community Development and Management based a great deal on recognition of my prior skills and experience, mostly gained through volunteering.

Change of Career

Late in 2011, I took another deep breath and made a massive decision to change careers and pursue my long term ambition to work in the Library and Information industry.  My first port of call was my local library, where I signed up to become a general volunteer, as this would give me real experience of whether I would enjoy this kind of work.  I loved volunteering there and it gave me important insight into the role and industry which was a bonus when I successfully applied for relief work.  I believe it also gave the organisation valuable information about me – would I fit into their team, did I have the right personality to deal with their customers, how quickly could I learn new skills?

To also enhance my studies in the area, I volunteer one day a week at a local primary school library, where I am gaining incredible experience in all aspects of a school library, which will be invaluable when my studies are complete.

So what's the point of all this?

Volunteering isn't all hard work.  Here
I am volunteering as the Queen (complete
with corgis) at an Eating With Friends
 Royal Wedding lunch.

My story highlights the incredible difference that volunteering can make in someone’s life.  I could never have gotten to this point in my career or my life without the self confidence and skills that it has given me.  So many amazing people along the way encouraged me to "have a go" at new things and you could never ever put a price on the value of the praise and recognition I received in building up my confidence in myself.  I genuinely believe that my volunteering made a big difference in the lives of my children, as I grew incredibly as a person as a result of this experience, which made me a much better parent.  I also made friends who have been a huge part of our lives and provided incredible support and inspiration.  My community has also benefitted from my involvement and I like to think that many individuals also appreciated the support they received through the work that we were involved in.

I don’t profess to be an expert in this area, but as a volunteer and manager of volunteer programmes, I came across so many stories similar to mine.  Inspirational stories of involvement, friendship and lives changed.  That is why I’ve chosen to create this blog.  To highlight the ways that volunteering could change your life as well.

I’d love to hear your story too.

Kim