Katy - volunteer with High Wycombe Shopmobility

Malcolm was a volunteer for the annual residential sports event where young people have an opportunity to try a variety of wheelchair sports. What is your volunteer role and what does this involve you doing? I volunteered for the WheelPower National Games in June 2023. The annual event provides children with disabilities to try a variety of sports and my role was to support the coaches and children. Over the two days that I volunteered, I assisted with Badminton, Boccia, Hand Cycling and Tennis. This involved collecting tennis balls, helping children into and out of the hand cycle and fixing chains, throwing, hitting shuttlecocks for the children to hit, and helping them to use the racket to hit the shuttlecocks. Why do you volunteer? I have always volunteered when I can. I volunteer as a team member for the Volunteer Matching Service – matching other volunteers – and enjoy talking to some great people who are willing to give up their time for others. I see a lot of volunteer opportunities through my role at the Volunteer Matching Service and the WheelPower National Junior Games caught my interest, so I offered to help. I had previously volunteered as a marshal with WheelPower for the Tour De Vale Cycle ride earlier in the month and had a very positive experience. What attracted you to this role? I have always had an interest in sports and once volunteered as a youth leader when I trained children in track events. I thought I would enjoy and be able to bring something to the role. What are the best bits about volunteering in this role? The energy and willingness of the children to take part, especially the smiles and laughter from them as they succeeded and improved in the events. Are there any challenging aspects to this role? It was a physical and tiring couple of days, but well worth it to see the joy on their faces. What do you gain personally or professionally from volunteering? The satisfaction that I made a difference to a number of children, enabling them to take part and meet their goals. It was great to see the energy and joy of those taking part. Would you recommend volunteering and, if so, why? I have volunteered in a number of roles during my life – some short term, some long term and some very exacting (Chair of Governors for a school for 12 years.) I have always felt that I have learnt from these experiences and that it has helped me to understand others better. Further information: To find out more about WheelPower and the National Junior Games, visit the WheelPower website .

Volunteering at her local GP Surgery, Julia provides administrative support. She says this means she builds her knowledge and experience and has fun while being helpful and making a difference. What is your role? I volunteer 4 hours a week at a GP Practice, doing a range of office and admin duties. I wanted to do anything that was needed to help with the post-Covid recovery of the NHS and, when I heard about this role from the Volunteer Matching Service, I liked the idea it was just one regular session a week and in a small setting as it would make it easy for me to find my feet and get to know the team. What does the role entail? I phone patients to invite them in for flu vaccinations and book them in on the computerised appointment system. Similarly, I’ve been booking in patients for men’s health checks and routine blood pressure checks. Other tasks include filing, copying and other general office work. Did you have training? Yes, it has mostly been task-based training as I go along, which was good from my point of view as it meant I was doing something useful from the start. The Practice Manager has been very supportive, and I am definitely more confident with my IT skills now. What difference are you making to the Practice? I have been able to help with areas of work that the surgery staff don’t always have time to do because of their high workload. I am just so glad I have been able to help. What difference has voluntering made to you? Family priorities have meant I’ve not been in a workplace for a while now and I felt a bit out of practice at first, but it has been good to embrace new challenges. I have expanded my computer skills. One of the things I have most enjoyed has been phoning patients. It has given me a sense of achievement. I find it rewarding and interesting, and I enjoy talking to the patients. It’s good fun, I’m building on my skills and experience, while being helpful and making a difference to the team. Would you recommend volunteering in this type of role? I have got a lot from volunteering, so yes – it is a really good thing to do

Voluntering at Aylesbury Police Station, Paul feels that this is an important role and says that he gets far more out of volunteering than he feels he puts in. What is your role? I’m part of a team of independent custody volunteers who make unannounced visits to people held in police custody to check on their rights, entitlements, wellbeing and dignity. The independent custody visiting scheme is run by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and all my custody visits are to Aylesbury Police Station. What attracted you to this role? I have been volunteering for years in various roles, including those that the Volunteer Matching Service matched me to. They have always tended to be practical roles, very worthwhile and rewarding but the Independent Custody Visiting role offered more of an intellectual challenge than some other roles. I worked for the Police Service many years ago and that also played a part in piquing my interest. What difference do you think your role makes? It is an opportunity to be an independent voice commenting on the running of the custody process. It is important to both the person being detained and to the Police who have placed that person in custody, providing an independent perspective to both sides. Was there a long induction process before you could get started? It did take a while – I was matched to the role in July but did not do my first custody visit until December. For a while, visits were difficult to do because of Covid-19. Both the interview stage and the induction process were positive experiences and so didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the role. What has the experience been like so far? It is living up to my expectations and the induction process prepared me very well, so there have been no real surprises. The most interesting bit is meeting people in very unusual circumstances and working out how to have a conversation with them that reassures them of my independence and can establish whether they are being properly treated without prying into how they came to be detained. Some detainees definitely welcome the human element that the custody visits provide. Would you recommend this role to others? Yes, I am enjoying it and would be happy to talk to anyone about the role. Anyone who has an independent perspective, and an open mind could volunteer as a custody visitor. It would actually be good to have more diversity across the team reflecting other the wider range of equality characteristics. Would you recommend volunteering generally? Yes. It seems to me that in every role I have, I get more from the experience than I feel I have given. I have met such a variety of people that I would not otherwise have done. Most importantly, I feel I am part of something that is delivering for the common good. Additional information: You can find out more about Independent Custody Visitors on the website for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner .