Everyone has their own reasons for volunteering and using their time to give something back. A fantastic example of this is our very own Young Carers Support Officer, Lindsey. Before becoming a permanent member of the team, she was a volunteer at The Carers’ Centre.

Lindsey moved to Bath to begin a social work degree and no longer felt she had time to dedicate to volunteering. But as she describes it, "in my mind, or rather my soul, I felt something was missing." She wanted to gain confidence and build valuable skills whilst enjoying herself too!

Fast forward a few months and Lindsey had her first experience working with young carers at a placement experience day. "To say I enjoyed the day would be an understatement! I felt completely regenerated and invigorated."

What did you do in your volunteering role?

My main role was supporting young people aged 5 – 17 on activities.

The activities were usually during school holidays. It could have been anything from a picnic in the local park or a trip to the soft play with the younger children to outdoor laser tag or a weekend of camping at the Young Carers festival with the older group.

I really enjoyed being able to help the children make friends. Being a young carer can feel really lonely, so to be able to encourage and nurture those connections during an activity was amazing – especially when they carried on interacting between activities.

It was important that as a team of staff and volunteers that we created a warm, friendly, safe and comforting environment – giving young carers a place to just be kids. This also included supporting them when they wanted to share their experiences of being young carers.

To be a just a small part of that was extremely rewarding.

How do you think being a volunteer helped the young carers that you supported?

It’s extremely important to have lots of volunteers in order for activities to take place safely. More volunteers means that more young carers get to have a break and have fun!

On a more therapeutic level, I think young people really enjoy having the opportunity to talk to adults that aren’t family members. I’ve found that lots of young carers feel like they don’t want to share their concerns with parents as they don’t want to add extra worry onto them.

It’s also lovely to just be silly and go down the drop slide at Avon Valley for example, and show them that it’s ok to have fun and be happy, even if just for a little bit, no matter what is happening in their world.

What do you personally get out of volunteering?

One of my favourite quotes is “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”, and for me, this is why I knew I needed to add something special into my life – which is what volunteering with The Carers’ Centre gave me.

I’ve had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities. It’s helped me see things in a different way and definitely helped me think more positively.

It’s also just pure fun, tiring yes, but with an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and achievement from doing something wonderful with no underlying agendas or reward – other than kindness and giving something back.

What would you say to someone who is thinking of volunteering?

Just do it! There is so much to gain from doing it.

To know you have done something for someone else, whether that’s making someone smile, telling them you like their jumper, sharing stories about favourite movies or just simply asking someone ‘how are you’ can really make someone’s day.

The Carers’ Centre are extremely supportive and want to look after their volunteers, so if you want to do something regularly or just a one off – there are always opportunities to have a try.

Volunteering really is food for the heart and soul.