"As a single parent and a student, I found that as my daughter was getting older I had more spare time and I wanted to put that time to good use.

I have had contact with the Newtown & District Branch of Cats Protection for many years prior to my volunteering, starting back in 1996 when I adopted my first cat from the charity. Since then, I have adopted another three cats and the most recent was a ginger kitten called Oliver.

Initially, I was unsure how I could help Cats Protection, but I naturally fell towards the role of Fundraiser and have also taken on some publicity duties.

The role itself is varied, and involves lots of different aspects, from building relationships with local clubs and businesses to create fundraising opportunities, through to promoting our Education Programme where we provide education packs and talks at schools in the local area.

Since joining Cats Protection I have successfully helped to arrange a car boot sale, a Tombola and a Christmas raffle that collectively raised over £300.

Also, with the help of the local Freecycle website we have recruited two more volunteers and have received donations of some wonderful items for the cats and kittens in our care. We even had an electrician who donated his services for free to help us fix the lighting in our cat pens!

The generosity of people in Mid-Wales has been simply overwhelming and in the future we hope to continue expanding and recruiting more volunteers, especially new fosterers and people to help us fundraise.

I have also been involved in setting up our new branch website - see to to the right. A website can be a really great asset and although it's still fairly new, the benefits are already starting to show.

It is fantastic that people can view photos of all the cats that need new homes and the website also provides us with a great opportunity to advertise our events.

I would encourage anyone to get involved and volunteer for a charity. The great thing about volunteering is that you do as much or as little as you want, gain new friends and get a sense that you're doing something really good."

Article by Lynsey Owen