HELLO JANUARY, MY OLD FRIEND

Is it time for a change? Joe Emery discovers how volunteering for a local charity could change your life, and make a huge difference to others too

The Christmas decorations are back in the loft, and it’s cold and dark outside. Your bank balance has taken a pounding and you’re struggling to fasten the button on your jeans. To top it off, summer seems a billion light-years away.

Either Father Christmas’s elves have spent December in your wardrobe, naughtily restitching your clothes or you’re deep into a festive food and drink hangover – the latter being most likely – and it just feels like your life needs a little refocusing. Does this 12monthly cycle sound familiar?

A top university professor has calculated that Monday, January 13, 2020 will be 2020’s Blue Monday – the most miserable day of the year. It’s drilled into us that January has to be the month of low expectations, self-berating and cutting out vices, but it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom.

In fact, St Francis Hospice has plenty of reasons to be cheerful, namely, all of the wonderful volunteering opportunities that are available to give your life more of the feel-good factor. Whether you’re looking to upskill, change career or simply help those who are less fortunate, now could be the perfect time for you to make an impact.

Some older helpers volunteer to keep them on their toes during retirement while many younger volunteers like to add some oomph to their CV.