On Tuesday mornings I make my way across town towards the busy Hanover Community Centre for my regular date with the Brighton Breast Feed Drop-In. This is an informal weekly session run by trained volunteers offering support to breastfeeding mums, and since January I have been going along to help out. The group has been running for 15 years thanks to the commitment of its passionate volunteers. I can usually do little more than make cups of tea at the moment but its wonderful to chat to the mums who have come with a question or problem and find that they have been helped by attending the group. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and of course make you feel good, so while I was signing up to various groups and activities for Baby I knew that I would like to do something for me too and started investigating charities I could give some time to. I started by looking at the main loves in my life – Dog and Baby, we have been giving to charities associated with both for years – and then thought about what I had some recent experience of and was interested in.

It can be difficult to find the money to give regular charitable donations so the giving of time or skills can be a fantastic way of helping out a charity you have an interest in and most can find an affinity with something – environment, wildlife, ex-services, a certain condition or illness etc. And it’s easy to get involved if you’d like to – maybe ask about doing a shift in a local charity shop or find out what groups meet at your local community centre. Community Base close to Brighton Station provides information for all local voluntary groups and volunteers, and the Brighton and Hove Volunteer Centre is situated on Palmeira Square – am sure both would be thrilled to hear from you!

If you do volunteer you don’t have to spend your time just making tea either! If you have skills from your work or background then you can usually find an outlet that would be incredibly grateful for your knowledge. I am looking into how I can help get publicity for the Drop-In using my previous experience of working in public relations (hey maybe I am doing that here?) and that could be the best use of my time for them. Or incorporate something charitable into an interest – bake a cake for a local fete, why not do a sponsored walk, swim or run? The season for such things is upon us and there are plenty of websites that will help you find a suitable event. I never felt happier than the day I managed to jog a measly 5km while raising a lovely £500 for Breast Cancer Research in Regents Park a few summers ago.

If you really have no time to spare then there is plenty of other things you can do if you feel like it, unwanted items can be a real bonus for a charity or community concern. Old blankets, towels or bedding would be appreciated by your local vets or there is a massive Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre in Shoreham that could probably do with them – maybe ask about walking an unwanted pooch in their lovely fields while you are there? Those tiny vests, sleepsuits and nappies that babies grow out of so quickly can be donated to your local maternity unit and clean, unbroken toys would be welcomed by the many baby and toddler groups in the area. When we moved house in December we had a massive clear out – all those DVDs, CDs, books and clothes we knew we would never watch, listen to, read or wear again we donated to a charity shop and were delighted to hear in a letter a few months later that our old stuff had managed to raise nearly £800 for the PDSA – it’s a lot easier and much more rewarding than listing it all on eBay which had been my first thought!

Sadly my time helping out on a Tuesday morning is coming to an end soon as I am returning to work but I hope to continue working with them in the future. I won’t miss the walk up the hill on Southover Street (especially with a 12kg baby in a 7kg pushchair) but I will miss the regular contact with the mums and other volunteers and the thought of being part of something, in fact my search for another suitable volunteer position begins now.

The Brighton Breast Feed Drop-In runs every Tuesday morning 10am-12pm at the Hanover Community Centre, 33 Southover Street, Brighton BN2.