You may think that London Mayor Boris Johnson is less suited to controlling one of the world’s most powerful cities and more to, well, just bumbling about, really. This month, however, Boris was able to combine his two roles in a particularly amusing way.
In order to promote volunteering, Boris was present at a clean-up project at the River Pool in Lewisham. The project was run by charity Thames21, which is committed to ridding London’s waterways of pollution and stagnation.
Whilst striding about importantly in the river, rolling up his sleeves and helping other volunteers pull out harmful plant Himalayan balsam, Boris stumbled into a deeper patch of the water and sank chest deep into the murky liquid.
As one on-looker proclaimed the tumble as “classic” of the Mayor, volunteers rushed to the floppy-haired-one’s aid. During an interview later, Boris said:
“In order to promote this (volunteering), I took the maybe ultimate sacrifice. I decided to fall in a very spectacular way.”
It wasn’t all self-deprecating joke, however; Boris had a serious message about volunteering. He said:
“Volunteering is good for individuals and great for London in tough economic times.
“By giving your time, whether a one-off few hours or a regular commitment, we can both help to make the capital a more civilised, pleasant place and reap the rewards of putting something back into the communities in which we live.”
Boris did not mention how useful volunteering, especially in an environmental project, can work wonders for your CV if you are looking to get into a green job or an ethical career. The experience and contacts gained are invaluable, so get volunteering and get on the ladder!
Author
Rachel Charman, a writer for JuicyJobs; Ethical Jobs UK – an environmentally friendly green job search board which offers free job listings to Environmental, NGO’s, NFP’s and ethical companies promoting green, fair trade services and support sustainable living. For job seekers Juicyjobs can help you find the ideal ethical jobs in London.
