Welcome to National Volunteering Week 2025. This year’s theme is ‘Building Community Together’. This theme gives us a chance to feature the social opportunity that volunteering offers. Outside of home and work, volunteering is the ‘third space’ for many people where they connect, empathise, laugh and nurture.

Our first story of the week is a powerful and heartfelt one from Annet.

THE DAY I WAS SEEN

My name is Annet. I remember everything being a blur when I initially got to Ireland. As an asylum seeker I was in a foreign place surrounded by people I didn’t know and my life had completely changed. I just wanted to start over and live in peace, but I felt invisible — like I was here, but no one really saw me. All I wanted was to get on with my life and somehow start over. But I felt like I was simply living, invisible. All of that changed when I got to know the South Dublin Volunteer Centre.

When I first entered the Volunteer Centre in Clondalkin I was introduced to the manager of South Dublin Community Volunteers whom I contacted through a phone call. She welcomed me – I still clearly remember it like it was yesterday. I felt nervous, unsure, thinking, “Am I dressed right? Did I bring a pen? I was unsure of what to expect. But rather than asking me questions or making me feel like I didn’t belong, they embraced me with open arms. For the first time in a long time, I was seen as having potential rather than problems. I wasn’t just an outsider that day either, they saw me.

I started helping with the preparation and planting of trees with Stepping Stones, I volunteered at the India Festival where the food almost made me cry tears of joy, at Cyclo  Cross event and  at St Patrick’s Day, where I finally understood why people wear green, and many other events. It was the first time in months I felt a sense of warmth when someone smiled and said “thank you.” I was reminded that there was still something I could contribute. small things, maybe, but to me, they were everything, every task reminded me that I was useful. I had a role. I mattered.

I met people through volunteering who didn’t care about my background. I made real friends. I learned new skills, I laughed again — not to hide pain, but because I was truly happy. That feeling of belonging helped heal something deep inside me. One of the Centre’s members told me one day, “You’re doing fantastic. Have you considered returning to school at some point?” I kept thinking about the question. I’d suppressed that dream for long, I no longer believed I deserved it, but I applied because of the encouragement. I’m currently back in school, learning, developing, and dreaming once more.

I got more than just experience from volunteering, it restored my identity. It served as a reminder that I am more than my circumstances or past; I am strong, capable, and have a future.

Thank you to the South Dublin Volunteer Centre. You not only gave me a chance, but you also gave me my life back.