The first three months of my placement within Paths for All has really opened my eyes to the inner workings of the third sector. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work within Paths for All which is so dedicated to making a positive change for Scotland. Beyond the work, getting to know everyone in the Policy team and out within in the rest of the organisation has been lovely. Three months in and the care my colleagues exhibit for this work continually makes me excited about what I get to do and how Paths for All operates within Scotland!
During this first stint within Paths for All, I’ve gotten many different opportunities to see across the entire third sector. Even just in my first week on the Policy team, I helped liaise with a French organisation, ADMA, sharing information and learning about the differences between the scope of Scottish charities vs French ones. I shadowed a great many meetings and saw other organisations, but another highlight was my work experience with public affairs agency, Grayling. Through this opportunity, I feel I understand much more about the necessary work that goes towards promoting Paths for All as a worthy cause for the government to support.
Through the policy team, I also helped with and attended various conferences. My favourite events to attend were the Volunteer Awards and a workshop event about international walking strategies. Directly preceding the Volunteer Awards, the workshop discussed the progress of various walking strategies across the world and showed how Scotland is leading the charge for walking internationally. Shockingly enough, this workshop was not only interesting, but it was also inspiring to see how countries have developed their action plans for active travel while understanding that there is much more work to be done.
Later on in the evening, I was also lucky to be at the Volunteer Awards which took place at Scottish Parliament. Apart from how impressive it was to be in Parliament, it was delightful to see the recognition for our volunteers who give up their time and work so hard to make a difference in their respective pockets around Scotland. It is a beautiful reminder that nothing truly good can be accomplished without the kindness of a community. (Or in this case, several dedicated communities and individuals throughout Scotland.)
Beyond the events and opportunities I’ve gotten to participate in, the variety of work within this placement of course involved desk based tasks to catalogue key information for the Policy team. I created a database of MSPs who support walking initiatives, contributed to policy consultations, made guidance documents for various processes within the policy department and more. By completing this work and observing this team, I feel I’ve learned a large amount in a short period of time. I’ve gained a much more thorough understanding of what drives good policy work and the greater objectives of a third sector organisation in relation to government work.
While I am sad to leave the Policy team, I am also thoroughly excited about moving to another area within Paths for All- Movement for Health. I am looking forward to understanding this new perspective inside Paths for All and getting insight on how they function within the overall organisation. This hopefully means I will still get the chance to sneak across Paths for All and see as much as I can – I’m in the mood to wring everything I can out of this opportunity and so far everyone is willing to play along!