Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈé

Where have you volunteered?

I first volunteered when I was a student in Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈé (when NTU was a Polytechnic – showing my age!), doing youth work in Radford and then afterwards in the Meadows. I, along with my wife, then set up and ran youth and children’s clubs in the Meadows which I volunteered at for about 8 years putting on weekly activities for local young people and organising annual summer residentials.

In 2006, I along with some other parents, set up the Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈéshire Down’s Syndrome Support Group, a parent led group to provide support to other parents and activities for the children, young people and adults with Down’s Syndrome. I have been the volunteer treasurer all this time, and in 2022 NDSSG became a charity and so now I am a Trustee, as well as being a volunteer at our football sessions too!

Why is volunteering important to you?

I originally volunteered because I wanted to help out and work with young people in an area of Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈé that I saw was disadvantaged and thought I could make a difference. I soon learned that actually this work is mainly about relationships, building trust and committing yourself to whatever you are doing.

It also made a big difference to me too – I decided that I wanted to take a different career path than the one I had previously been on, purely due to my volunteering as a student. That’s why volunteering is so important to me, as it’s a great way of confirming future careers or exploring new ones!

What impact has volunteering had on you? / How has volunteering helped you?

Volunteering has been an integral part of my life ever since university, as personally I haven’t stopped being involved, and for the last 20 years working at the University, encouraging staff and students to get involved, has been a privilege too. An integral part of my values is to give back to my community and support others, and volunteering certainly gives me a chance to do that and keeps me busy at the same time!

What advice would you give to people thinking about volunteering?

I would encourage anybody to volunteer, whether it’s just trying it out for a day or doing it over a longer term project. Getting involved in your community, or the community where you work or study, is a great way to discover a sense of belonging, and building relationships, as I said above, is the key to all of this, so make some connections and explore what you could do that links to a passion you have, uses your existing skills, or develops new skills, and go for it!