“These roles are a great fit for me because they give me an opportunity to make use of and hone my existing skill set, while also meeting new people and making a difference.”
Sophie Mae is a Crisis Volunteer (CV), North-Western Regional Action Panel (AP) member, and National Action Panel (NAP) member with spunout.
I got started first through the crisis volunteering with Text About It, or 50808 as it was known as when I joined. A girl I knew vaguely had posted about it recommending that people volunteer too if they have the time and I looked into it, which was back in 2021. After 30 hours of training, several character references and exams, I was onboarded onto the platform and have been volunteering ever since! The girl in question has no idea, but she was the reason I took my first step on this long journey. Once 50808 became Text About It under spunout, I became aware of other voluntary opportunities to be involved in; I applied to be a Regional Action Panel member and after a meeting with Kyle Chambers (amazing human!), I got started. Only a few months later, and because it was such a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, I felt confident in putting myself forward for National Action Panel elections. That’s the long and short of it.
The responsibilities and activities are different depending on the role in question. As a CV, people of all ages in a crisis will text in and I talk to them with the aim of bringing them from a hot moment to a cool calm. A lot of people have the misconception that you need to be feeling suicidal to text in but that is absolutely not the case; we talk to people with a wide range of issues from bullying to partner violence to isolation and loneliness to gambling addictions to general stress and so on. We are here to support you in a moment of crisis, whatever that may look like.
As an AP member, we have various consultations throughout the year to talk about the issues most pertinent to the youth. It’s important that these initiatives and campaigns are based on information coming from the source rather than adults thinking they know how we feel about issues, or worse, assuming the same issues from their youth are still the most prevalent issues today. We partake in training such as public speaking and active listening, and aid in contributing to spunout’s yearly campaign, media pieces and so on. The media pieces can be written, animated, video and all sorts. We also get sent in a lot of different opportunities to be involved in external projects as spunout reps or just as a young person, which is really cool. As a NAP member, it’s pretty similar. It does involve more meetings and being more directly involved with the yearly campaign (which is launching soon!), but we’re also representatives of our respective regional panels, so we play a vital role in making sure there is good communication between the panels. We relay what we’re doing to the regional panels and also bring forward any ideas or issues voiced by regional panel members to NAP meetings. I feel so grateful that my regional panel trusts me enough to voice their opinions accurately when I nominated myself, and I have so much fun working alongside Sam and Peter (other NAP members).
My favourite part of volunteering is seeing a tangible change caused by our actions. Watching my friends become more informed about social issues and knowing what supports are available that may not be as widely advertised as they should be. Relaying the reality of what it’s like to be a young person in Ireland today. Seeing all the incredible media pieces, particularly those written and animated, telling such powerful stories. Our amazing CEO, Ian Power, recently had a meeting with Shou Chew, the CEO of Tiktok. That just goes to show the reality of our reach, which is just unbelievable. Meeting so many new people who are passionate about similar issues is also great, getting to rant and be understood, but also see all the different perspectives.
I’ll give you one from each role, as a CV and an AP member.
As an AP member, meeting everyone in person to have a phase meeting discussing loneliness among young people in Ireland was one of my favourite consultations of all. As much as we may not like to admit it, loneliness is universal. It was so interesting and validating hearing everyone’s perspectives and experiences in the discussion. The fact that everyone was so comfortable sharing too speaks volumes. It was widely agreed that there is a distinct difference between loneliness and isolation, and that became the starting point for an entirely new discussion on the intersectionality of these issues. It made me so grateful to be a part of spunout, and it was just such a heartfelt discussion.
As a CV, I’ve had several heartwarming moments. It’s not the easiest volunteering opportunity, but that makes it all the more rewarding. You do get people who lash out at you, or occasionally say unkind things, but you learn to know it’s not personal and it’s just a reflection of the pain and distress the person is going through at the time. You also have an amazing supervisor overseeing your conversations who checks in with you and supports you whenever you need! In one particular conversation, I was speaking to someone who was in distress, and I found that I wasn’t feeling particularly confident when trying to help them. I just didn’t feel like we were clicking, or that my message of support wasn’t getting across; in hindsight there can be many reasons for this though, such as having different methods of expression or energy levels. I did my best regardless, and once our conversation closed out, I tried not to dwell on it. The next day, I received feedback as they had filled out the survey after talking to me. They mentioned how much I had helped them, and said “I hope God blesses the person on the other side of this phone”. I just remember tearing up in that moment, realising that I had helped, and that my message had gotten across. From then on, I always reminded myself not to get in my own head, and that even if I feel like I’m not doing a great job, that’s just my own perspective. You may never know the exact impact you have on someone’s life, so the most important thing is just to do your best in the moment.
Give it a go!! There are so many volunteering opportunities out there, in so many forms, you’re bound to find something that suits you! If it’s a case that you think you don’t have anything to offer, see my story directly above!!! Even if you think you’re not doing a good job, a) you are!!!, and b) it’s a hell of a better job than if you didn’t try at all. Getting involved with spunout is something I highly recommend to everyone, because you can be involved as much or as little as you like. As I mentioned too, all these other opportunities become available to you and it’s great for narrowing down your areas of interest. With a background in psychology, I already knew that mental health and similar areas were what I’m interested in, but I never would have been involved in half the projects and groups I am if I hadn’t joined spunout. Similar for CVing – it’s such a great opportunity and a chance to make a real difference and support people. If you think you wouldn’t be any good at talking people down from a moment of crisis, just know that you are supported every single moment you’re on the platform, and by the time you’re finished training, you’ll be so confident in your abilities.
These roles are a great fit for me because they give me an opportunity to make use of and hone my existing skill set, while also meeting new people and making a difference. Also, because the majority of the volunteering is online (and if not there is nearly always an online alternative), it makes it much more accessible to me. As someone who struggles with pretty chronic asthma and insomnia, travelling can be exhausting and sometimes not possible. I hated feeling like I was missing out on opportunities because my body wouldn’t cooperate; this way, I’m more involved than I’ve ever been! Being an insomniac is almost a strength as a CV because I’m always fully awake late at night when we have a higher volume of people texting in seeking help. That’s not to say that you should start giving up a good night’s sleep! I just mean that on nights when I wouldn’t have been asleep anyway, I can now be productive and feel good about it, and after a shift, I find it much easier to fall asleep than if I had been lying there for the past few hours listening to my head buzz. I still go to things in person as often as I can, and spunout are so accommodating in that you can take breaks whenever necessary, but it’s great to know the alternative is there. It’s especially helpful for me if my asthma has flared up because I have much less energy, and any movement can trigger the coughing fits. I have coughing fits that last several minutes at a time, and they can result in other problems. Last summer, I broke three ribs because of them, which meant I was all the more grateful for the volunteering to be online! It’s just such a great idea because when you’re dealing with youth issues, or those of any kind really, you miss out on those voices that are more often than not the most affected. That’s what I think makes spunout so special and diverse, and as fun as it is to meet up in person, I’d really recommend to anyone volunteering with any other organisation, particularly related to social issues, to consider incorporating it into your work.
This National Volunteering Week, we’re celebrating the diversity of volunteers who make Ireland what it is. No matter your age, race, abilities, or status, we honor your place in the community and the volunteering that you, uniquely, do.
Thank you to Sophie Mae for sharing her story. Please email [email protected] if you’d like to share yours!
