The Power of the Volunteer
This Mum Runs is a unique community - it’s one of the communities that operate with multi chapters across 26 location-specific online groups and 70 different locations within them. Not to mention our very big plans to launch new communities and reach 1 million women around the world! All of this is made possible by the women who have raised their hands to volunteer to help support TMR women in their communities. In this article Mandy September-Benini, TMR Communities Manager, shares more about why volunteering is so important to her personally and the importance of the volunteers that make TMR so special.
My Volunteer Story
I have been a volunteer for many years and continue to volunteer in female lead communities or organisations that support a local effort and bring people together.
As a volunteer, you are often stealing those last minutes of your day, catching up with your community on the fly, jumping in to help when it’s needed in the moment, and sharing your professional skills where possible to fill a gap.
Seeing the difference it makes in the lives of women is rewarding, empowering, and keeps many of us fuelled in our personal lives as we give back to our communities. I see this in so many of the women I volunteer with.
At the end of the day though, we’re here for women. We see the stories of women who found friendship, found courage, needed support through a painful life event, see the sweat, tears, triumphs, and joy in our community spaces. We see the women who need a safe space to connect, and that’s why we do what we do.
Volunteers at TMR
As TMR’s Communities Manager, I understand the love that goes into these communities. In my role, I work closely with the community leaders and many of the other volunteers who lead our TMR communities and support them as they support our mamas, women, and runners.
I’ve seen how bravely volunteers have stepped up for their communities, had to overcome challenges in their roles, and at times even chosen to go above and beyond what they’ve been asked to help us share our ethos.
With 500+ volunteers leading runs, managing our Facebook groups, talking, running, sharing, posting, and helping us learn from community experiences we’ve been able to do amazing things in just 7 years.
The volunteer culture at TMR is so supportive, kind, honest, sincere and friendship focussed. It’s a truly uplifting space that has been created by the volunteers in our community.
Our volunteers have helped us launch 24 new communities during the pandemic, helped us grow those communities each month so we’re always reaching more women who need us, and helped 6500+ new TMR women, mamas, and runners find a safe and supportive space during a very difficult time in all our lives.
Why we want to say Thank You
Even in my volunteer work, it took a while before I fully understood the impact communities like TMR have. It was not until I stood back, looked at the community, and reflected on the incredible skill-set we volunteers have, that I learned the power of community and volunteering in this role.
That’s why we’re taking a moment to honour our volunteers.
We want to share what happens behind the scenes, what incredible work they all do, share what our volunteers mean to us and the community, and say just how thankful and appreciative we are that they’re here supporting women with us!
Thank you to all our TMR volunteers for empowering women in your communities.
