A lifetime of volunteering: Ron’s 50 years of helping others

IF there was something wrong then Ron Daniel was the man to point it out – until he realised actions spoke louder than words.

Now 80, Ron has spent the last 50 years volunteering for a range of organisations, helping victims of crime, recording talking books for the blind and even giving out grants to other volunteers – and all because he was asked to get involved rather than criticise from the sidelines.

Ron, from Dunfermline, is the chair of Voluntary Action Fund, a role he took on at 74, and he believes that volunteering has enriched his life as much as he’s helped others.

But it all began with a knock on his door in 1966 after his latest letter was published in his local paper.

“I wouldn’t say I was a complainer – more I liked to give my opinions on things I didn’t agree with,” he laughs.

“But I didn’t think about actually doing anything to make a difference.

“One evening I answered my door to two women who asked if I was prepared to try to improve things rather than just criticise. They asked me to stand in the local elections.

“I had 10 minutes to think about it but I said yes – I thought I should try to actually do something.”

His first attempt failed but, says Ron, it was the realisation that you couldn’t do anything without the help of volunteers that prompted him to stand again – and he won.

“I was working, and back then being a councillor and a magistrate was voluntary.  It gave me an insight into people’s lives and society that I hadn’t had before.”

But Ron, like three million other Scots who volunteer every year and are currently celebrating Volunteers Week, had caught the bug.

He became chair of the Dunfermline Civic Week for 13 years, kick-started the Dunfermline Sound Talking Newspaper For The Blind and when he retired from his role as a human resources director he decided to get even more involved, and signed up with Victim Support Scotland as a frontline volunteer, receiving training in how to help victims of crime.

“It opened my eyes,” he says. “I had to speak to people who had been victims of all sorts of terrible things.

“It made me want to help even more, to make sure they had a voice.”

He became chair of his local group and eventually chair of the Scottish organisation, and was instrumental  in forming Victim Support Europe. It was for this work that Ron was awarded an OBE.

Despite his advancing years he has no plans to slow down.

The main thing he’s learned, he says, is that it takes dedicated people working together to make a real difference.

“My advice to anyone thinking about volunteering is to give it a go,” he says. “Especially now as there are more charities around and the need for more volunteers than when I started out.

“No matter how much you give, you will get more back. Volunteering opens your eyes and allows you to see first-hand how we can all help make a difference to other people’s lives.”

Has being a volunteer enriched your life? Or do you know someone who has done a lifetime of volunteering? We’d love to hear your stories. Send them to mail@sundaypost.com

READ MORE

Scotland Street: Calais migrant camp tribute to Dundee aid volunteer