Claire - Early Years Alliance Volunteer for the Best Start project
Story submitted by Katie Blay, Early Years Alliance Skills Development Team Leader on behalf of Claire
I started volunteering last July. The recruitment process was really good and efficient. DBS checks and the paperwork was pretty straight forward.
The Early Years team in Abbey Children’s Centre are like a family as I'm living away from home. I volunteer in Early Years sessions. I’ve found it easier to interact with the older children and struggled a bit with the babies but the more you do something the easier it gets. I feel valued by the staff because they tell me how much they value me after every session. I also feel valued by the families.
Volunteering is like, you are doing some good and helping somebody else - especially the babies. You see them coming into sessions, and they are very shy. You can tell they're looking for reassurance, but then they keep coming back to group and each time they get more and more relaxed. It has been an enjoyable and positive experience.
It’s helpful working in a team, Abbey Children’s Centre is a busy environment with new families coming every week. It’s given me the confidence to talk to different people.
The Early Years Alliance provided me with opportunities for development personally and professionally. The training was really good, a good variety. I've done a lot of training before, but it's always good to establish when things change and good to refresh. I liked that the training I needed to do was relevant to my voluntary role.
It’s been good to be involved and not spend too much time just being at home. It refreshed my skills, because I've not been in work for such a long time. I recently applied for jobs because everything's going up in terms of prices. Now I have a job I will miss going to group and volunteering -volunteering gives you that boost afterwards. You might feel a bit ‘yuk’ before and then you come out of it feeling like you've done something good with your time. Giving my time to a good cause has been a great achievement.
Claire