ATD Ireland really values the support of all our volunteers. We could not carry out our work without them.
There are many different ways to get involved and volunteer with ATD Ireland. We have volunteers who support our admin, governance and family support work. Other support us in fundraising and in our public projects.
You many wish to get involved in a specific action.
Our volunteers also include our Community Activists who fuel all our projects through sharing their lived experience, knowledge and wisdom.
We also have many students and young people who carry out fixed term placements with ATD Ireland.
Volunteering with ATD Ireland can lead to an opportunity to get involved with the ATD international volunteer corps. Read more here.
Niall’s time volunteering with ATD Ireland
Niall joined our team for several months on his student placement. Read below his reflections and learnings from his time with ATD Ireland.
“ATD empowers people of all backgrounds to join a shared space and feel trusted, heard and valued, with a primary goal of eradicating poverty in all its forms.
In my understanding ATD works on three levels: individual, community and societal-political.
On the individual level there are many benefits – reinforcing a person’s sense of self is one of them. ATD provides a person the opportunity to explore themselves, trusting the person to contribute and offer their strengths. It develops confidence in this, a sense of internal dignity and reaffirms the person’s identity – becoming “the person they were always meant to be”. It takes the person in their, sometimes fractured, environment and accepts them for the way they are. This can motivate the person to contribute, partake and develop relationships with other people in more confidence.
On the community level, people are given the opportunity to develop connections with people they “would not speak to… walking down the street” and learn skills on how to communicate with others. Followed on by developing confidence it generates a sense of social dignity, sharing power and valuing each other’s contribution. “It was another ATD participant that helped me develop my confidence”, “it was very encouraging” – ATD Ireland Community Activist. ATD can provide a space for a person to meet other people and share their experiences; realising that they are not alone in their struggle. ATD brings a community of people together in the struggle against poverty, positioning the target of poverty eradication ahead and each other alongside in the fight.
On the societal-political level, ATD offers opportunities to be heard and can give you access to a seat “which you would not be able to access on your own”. It values participation in the organisation which promotes participation in society. This is brought out of ATD, into the home and shared. It promotes the engagement of the community in politics – something that can be considered absent in people’s lives beforehand – and tries to bridge any gap that may be in the way of meaningful participation. It strives to overcome the barriers to inclusion.
These benefits are not mutually exclusive and occur in relation to each other – the cyclical benefit to accessing ATD. For example, somebody walks into ATD, they feel valued and heard, “sometimes for the first time in their lives”, this helps their confidence and self-image. From here they build relationships with people they wouldn’t usually get the chance to and can discover their own strengths and talents. This opens them up to a variety of more opportunities in the ATD context, promoting meaningful participation, therefore furthering their confidence to speak up. This helping people along the way which increases motivation and commitment. The myriad of benefits being produced from the first time walking through the doors, highlighting the ‘knock-on’ effect of accessing ATD.
Received here in ATD, was a learning that I have found hard to conclude upon and structure into a clear set of learnings. Though, the seeds of ATD have definitely been planted such as valuing equal participation, collaboration and empowerment, which need to be mirrored into many areas of community work, relationships and politics. What was further useful in understanding the work of ATD was to examine the values, highlighting who we are, and who we are not”.
ATD Values: In their own words. (Just some comments from the interviews):
ATD strives for development where we learn and educate from different people’s experiences and stories. They have taught me a lot. – Jimmy
ATD encourages people to contribute according to their strengths. ATD trusts people within their own capacity to participate and lead their own lives.
ATD is strong on its values and does not tolerate discrimination or malice of any kind. ATD values everyone equally that walks through the door. – Paul
ATD respects everyone equally. They let you say your opinion – they might not agree with it but they respect your opinion. – Jimmy
ATD offers a space that welcomes in everyone and everyone is accepted – Andrew
ATD welcomed me in very well. – Christina
ATD acknowledges – It’s the acknowledgement, that keeps me coming back – that I am reaching people and they are listening to me. – Lorraine
ATD Values: in my words:
“The priority of participation is held highly in ATD; one necessary for a more inclusive society.
There are strong themes of hope, solidarity, reliability, and consistency in the organisation, especially on the weekly Tuesdays. ATD provides a space of acceptance and acknowledgement which empowers people to contribute and participate. ATD believes in the potential of all people that walk in the door, and builds a friendship based on trust, producing a sense of worth, value and self-belief in all participants.
ATD has a freedom “that is hard to put into words”, it is a space where you can explore the person “you were always meant to be”. ATD listens to you and wants to hear your voice. ATD welcomes you in, respects you and promotes the dignity of all, everyone can and should contribute, valuing equal participation. With an ethos of ‘getting the last person first’ ATD encourages those who may be ‘quiet at the table’ to contribute equally.
Within ATD people find their voice and once you’ve found it, “its hard to shut us up”. ATD strives to maintain the dignity and equality of all, and this is important when navigating meetings and conversations. Some group dialogue could be had about this – promoting a space for reflection in ‘how we use our voice’. This could explore the encouragement of self-monitoring skills, which is the awareness of others in our environment and being mindful of the ‘space’ we may take up in conversations. This may be of use to further the value of equal participation and respect.
What I have learned from ATD is what I am excited for young interns and students to learn too. Within ATD, there is something special felt and I believe its down to the many values that are upheld by the community – with the goal of making the world a better place; aiming to overcome poverty – collectively – in the long road to justice”.
Thank you very much to Niall for his dedicated work during his time volunteering with ATD Ireland.
