Our amazing volunteers!

#VolunteersWeek is a chance for us to say a big thank you to the amazing people who volunteer their time to help us.

Our volunteers bring different skills to our organisation and are passionate about making a difference to the lives of the people we support and we simply couldn’t do as much as we do without them.

We caught up with our volunteers to present them with certificates to recognise their contribution and to hear about their experiences of volunteering and the positive impact it has on their lives too. Find out more about volunteering and the roles we have on offer at Volunteers' Week 2023 (yvc.org.uk).

Aishat is a Masters student and an admin volunteer. She said "I joined as a volunteer as I love to help people. I love to see the satisfaction of making an impact. I like to put volunteering as work experience as it has helped me get a promotion at work. Volunteering is something everyone should aim to do at a point in their lives. We shouldn’t live for just ourselves; we should aim to do things for our world without compensation for it, just to make the world a better place.”

Ricky helps out at volunteer fairs and with training. He was initially supported by Your Voice Counts but has gone on to secure paid employment as well as being a volunteer.

Ricky said "he helped a person in crisis, using his own personal experience of autism to help people overcome their problems."

Jonathan is an admin volunteer. He has been with us for many years and recently came back to volunteering after Covid.

Jonathan says "I love admin, I love all of it, meeting new friends and helping out."

Christine (right) used to be an employee of Your Voice Counts.

She now volunteers with us and said "I like helping people to do the things they wouldn’t normally do. We went bowling with the women’s group, they hadn’t been before and they loved it.”

Ricky (right) helps us to run our regular drop in sessions for people with learning disabilities and autistic people. He said "I like helping people and have made friends who I help at the drop-in. I give them a lift. I am learning how to help other people to join in the activities. I’ve gained a lot of confidence in a couple of months. I used to isolate myself but have pushed myself to get involved in volunteering and other programmes with YVC. I get a lot out of it."

Anthony (left) has volunteered with us for a number of years and has gone on to join our staff team. He said "My time volunteering has helped to build my skills in communication and to be open to new situations.

"Also, with these roles it has been interesting to meet other organisations and other autistic people to find out their experiences; and what they are personally doing to help improve the lives of autistic people.’

Joseph is a Masters student at Sunderland University and has been offering his data analyst and research skills as a volunteer. Joseph said he "enjoys meeting new people and finding out more about them, that makes me happy and then I am motivated to do more.”

Read more about Joseph's role in our Volunteer spotlight - Joseph (yvc.org.uk).

Volunteer Heather said "I thoroughly enjoy my role at Your Voice Counts. I think it’s such an important service for so many people. I've enjoyed meeting new people and maintaining contact with Your Voice Counts users I have known for many years. I would recommend volunteering with Your Voice Counts to anyone considering it. The staff are welcoming and supportive and I always look forward to my visit."