This month, we spoke to Asha Bordoloi, our new Volunteer Development Coordinator, who spoke to us about her background prior to joining the Foodbank, what she wants to achieve in her role, and how you can work with her to ensure that you have the best experience possible while volunteering with us.
Read on to find out more…
Can you tell us about your background prior to joining the Foodbank?
I was born and raised in India, and was teaching at a university while studying for my PhD before moving to Cambridge. I relocated to the UK after my husband started working as a researcher at Cambridge University, and transferred my studies to Queen Mary University in London to be with him. However, I made the decision to end my studies early, which was when I applied for my role at the Foodbank.
What are your roles and responsibilities at the Foodbank?
My role at the Foodbank is as the Volunteer Development Coordinator. It’s my responsibility to coordinate with you, our volunteers, to ensure that everything is running smoothly from a volunteer perspective. As I’ve recently joined, I’ve mostly been trying to learn about how each of our volunteer teams work, and it’s been amazing getting to know all the names and faces around the organisation. It’s been thoroughly enjoyable so far and I feel great about being part of the team.
What are some of the focuses for the Foodbank from a volunteer perspective?
At the moment, the focus for the Foodbank is on recruitment, retention and the development of the volunteer base, as well as ensuring that all of our existing volunteers are in roles they feel suit them. An equally important task is to develop an action plan that builds upon the insights from the Volunteer Learning Project, focusing on key areas such as community building, diversity, inclusion, and the integration of lived experiences. Having a diverse pool of volunteers widens the support we are able to call upon during the times where the need for volunteers increases, such as the festive period or when we hold supermarket collections.
An example of how we’ve successfully managed to develop our volunteer base this is through the Fairbite Food Clubs, as some of the members have now become volunteers themselves. We now have a service that serves the community that is, in part, run by the community itself. This is a really promising sign of what we can do when we work together as an organisation.
How can current and potential volunteers work with you to ensure their roles suit them best?
Being aware of your availability and what you’re able to physically do is a good place to start. If we know when you’re available, we can then offer you slots where regular volunteers are unable to make it due to things like holiday or sickness.
If you’re currently based in a particular area of the Foodbank and you’d prefer to do other tasks, you are also welcome to make that change. Whether you’re based in a Foodbank Welcome Centre and want to be more involved in the warehouse or vice versa, or you’d prefer to support with more admin or bookkeeping based tasks, we’re so happy to work with you to identify a role that works best for you. If you’d ever like to discuss this, please do email me at: asha.bordoloi@ccfb.org.uk
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at the Foodbank?
I’m learning how to knit and crochet which I’m really enjoying. I most recently knitted a blanket which my friends were most impressed with! I also do enjoy watching TV. I’m not into anything too serious or scary, so I tend to watch a lot of comedies. I also enjoy rewatching series and films that I’ve already seen as a bit of a comfort watch. When I’m not doing either of these, I love to cook!