Volunteering with Beacon

Culm Valley u3a Marian shares how she became a volunteer with u3a member management system Beacon.

To celebrate the contribution of u3a volunteers, we are talking to some of the members who share their skills with the rest of the movement. Marian from Culm Valley u3a volunteers with u3a member management system, Beacon.

I first heard of Beacon when three of us from Fife u3a attended the 2015 Scotland u3a AGM in Oban. Before the actual AGM we had a presentation about the different Membership databases available at the time. We thought that Beacon sounded good and we reported back to the Committee that we thought we should take it up. We went ahead and went ‘live’ on Beacon in October 2016.

In 2017 there was a Beacon conference in Birmingham and I went along to see what I could learn. At the end of the meeting we had a chance to sign up to be part of a proposed User group. This group never got off the ground but I was then offered a place on the Beacon Team and have been with them ever since. I am the Team Administrator, which means I look after all team members and I also look after any Recruitment as and when required.

I think our theme song could be Star Trekking by The Firm as we are ‘always going forward as we can’t find reverse’

To members considering volunteering, I would say; find something that really interests you. It’s so much more satisfying than doing something just because you think you should.

Find out more about Beacon on the u3a Beacon website.

If you would like to get involved with volunteering at u3a, get in touch with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.