'I love being able to say that I made a difference in someone’s life': Cork teen says volunteering locally has been rewarding

MEGAN FOX, 17, was recognised with a Volunteer Cork award after she started working at the local NCBI shop in Mitchelstown.

NCBI is Ireland’s national sight loss agency.

Their mission is to transform the lives of people who are blind or vision impaired by working with children and adults with a range of programmes all designed to ensure the individual can live life confidently and independently.

Initially taking on the role to gain experience in retail, Megan found volunteering at the charity shop was both enjoyable and rewarding in a number of ways.

Chatting to The Echo, Megan explained,how her cousin Shauna, who is the manager of NCBI Mitchelstown, encouraged her to get involved.

“I was looking for some work experience over the summer as I never got the opportunity to do any before that because of the pandemic. I thought it would also be a perfect experience as I got to help people at the same time as gaining that valuable experience.”

After spending the summer working with her cousin, helping out at the store, Megan said she was surprised but delighted to be nominated and chosen for the Cork Volunteer of the Year 2021 Youth Award.

Megan said she learned a great deal about working, as well as lessening her anxiety through her volunteering and she also became a lot closer with her cousin Shauna and enjoyed meeting new people and bargain hunting in the store.

“I enjoyed having structure in my day and meeting many of the different and interesting people who come into the shop. I like finding ways to keep people interested in the shop and what we have to offer.”

The young volunteer said she liked being a part of a good cause.

Megan enjoyed being able to make a difference 

“I love being able to say that I made a difference in someone’s life even if it’s just one person. As I am so young, I don’t have much money to donate to any causes I care about. By volunteering and giving up my time for a cause instead, I am able to make a difference despite being so young.”

Describing her duties, Megan said it did vary.

“If I’m in the shop, I spend the day sorting, steaming, tagging and pricing the clothes. Or I could be out the front sorting out the shop floor and talking to customers. On other days I manage the social media. I will compile pictures of our stock to interest people and spread awareness about the shop and all the interesting items we get donated.”

Life lessons 

As a Leaving Certificate student, Megan said she has had to pull back from her volunteering in order to keep on top of her studies, but she still looks after the social media aspect of the store.

Megan said she had learned a lot from helping out at the store.

“It’s taught me that people from all walks of life can make a difference in other people’s daily lives, even just exchanging pleasantries or talking about the weather can be really helpful to someone who’s feeling down or lonely.” The teenager also said working at the store helped her to get to grips with her anxiety and meeting all different kinds of people that popped into the store, really honed her people skills.

“I think the biggest reason that I volunteer is the people I get to talk to and interact with. There’s always someone you meet in the shop with an interesting story to tell.”

Megan said working with her cousin Shauna brought them closer together.

“Volunteering alongside my cousin also gave me the opportunity to get to know her better, in quiet moments in the shop and just chatting about life and other things at break times. I feel like we are closer now due to the time we spend discussing the shop and also just general conversations.”

The Leaving Certificate student said she was focusing on her studies at the moment to ensure a good result in the tests ahead.

She hopes to take up a degree in creative writing in Galway next year with the ultimate goal of obtaining work behind the scenes of a video game, writing the storylines.

“I love video games and I think I’m very creative and would be good at it.”

Megan is also hoping that her retail experience from working with NCBI in Mitchelstown will stand to her and help her gain employment as a college student in Galway.

As well as this, Megan said she endeavours to pick up volunteer work in Galway to continue giving back to society.

“I’ve really enjoyed volunteering, its very rewarding and I hope to keep it up in Galway.”

Megan also encouraged people to help out the NCBI organisation, in particular by shopping at the Mitchelstown store, NCBI Mitchelstown.

“Our instagram is @ncbimitchelstown and our Facebook is NCBI Mitchelstown”