Volunteering Week: Klair's Story

National Volunteers’ Week

1 –7th June is National Volunteers’ Week when organisations across the UK will be celebrating and thanking their volunteers. At the Centre, we benefit hugely from our wonderful team of volunteers, who not only expand the capacity of our team to reach and help more families and young people, but enrich the Centre with their support and enthusiasm for helping local people escape the risk of homelessness.

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English teaching volunteer Klair spoke to us about her volunteering:

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Tell us about your volunteering

For the past five years I have been teaching English to the clients at the Centre.  Now I teach an informal class, to mums whose children can play in the safety of the Centre at the same time.

 

Why did you want to volunteer at the Cardinal Hume Centre?

I volunteer because both my parents were very giving people. I was brought up in a religious background and giving has stuck with me.  Sometimes there’s no reason, it’s just as my mum would say, ‘step out in faith’.

 

What do you get out of your volunteering?

Volunteering is about all the things that come with it. It opens up your eyes to a whole new different world.  You would not think about the people that you meet whether it’s a staff or the people you’re volunteering with.  When you see that you help somebody it’s a reward that you can’t really put into words, it’s a satisfying feeling more than anything. I will go home and think I’ve done my good deed for the day and I’m happy.

 

What difference do you feel you make?

I would like to think that I have contributed to learners' confidence in engaging within the wider English community. For them to be able to try and partake more, especially in cases of emergencies, health or school situations, without thinking that they need to be fluent in the English language. In my opinion, confidence plays a big role in learners' willingness to communicate.

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What do you like about volunteering at the Cardinal Hume Centre?

Cardinal Hume Centre have the added touch that if they think if you’re capable of a particular role they will ask you. For example, they asked me to speak at one of their annual conferences in front of everyone. And they asked if I could sit in on an interview. They were interviewing for a particularly high role and they wanted input from all sectors of the Centre not just management. I thought that was really, really astonishing because I would never dream that an organisation would say ‘you’re a volunteer, come on sit on a panel and have your view heard’. I’m glad as well it makes you think they actually thought of me beyond the volunteering. It’s a feeling of worth they make you feel valuable.

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Thank you from all of us at the Centre!

If you’re inspired by Klair, you can find out more about volunteering at the Centre here

 

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