From a three-month placement to a three-year stay - Hattie's Volunteer Story

Date
07/11/22
Category
General News
From a three-month placement to a three-year stay - Hattie's Volunteer Story
Hattie Berry began volunteering with Wakefield Hospice in our Horbury Shop in May 2019, initially for three-months as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Three and a half years later Hattie is still volunteering and below shares her reasons why, what she most enjoys about her role and why others should consider taking up a voluntary role too…
 
1. Full Name
Hattie Berry

2. Volunteer role/location
 Volunteer at the Horbury shop

3. When did you start volunteering?
I started volunteering in May 2019

4. Why did you start volunteering?
I started volunteering with the hospice because I had to complete three months of volunteering for the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. I chose to volunteer for Wakefield Hospice because it felt like contributing to a big community network of volunteers and the people that the hospice supports whilst also being local to me and a charity that was close to my heart. It was good to feel as though you were helping people local to you who may share similar experiences of Wakefield rather than volunteering with a nation-wide charity who may not share the same similar connections to the area and the people within it as you have. I enjoyed my three months volunteering as part of my Duke of Edinburgh award so much that I have stayed on as a volunteer since!

5. What do you most enjoy about volunteering?
What I enjoy most about volunteering is being able to connect with other volunteers and contribute to the community. By volunteering regularly I got the chance to get to know other people who regularly visit the Horbury shop and make these connections that I would not have gained if I had not volunteered. My favourite part of volunteering is when we have the Horbury street fayre, helping out on these days makes me appreciate the work that goes into running the street fayres that I love attending! Volunteering with the hospice gave me a reason to get up and out of the house on the days I volunteer when otherwise I might have just been stuck at home not doing anything useful.

6. What do you do outside of volunteering?
Outside of volunteering I am currently studying for my A Levels this summer in computer science, geography and psychology. I’ve found that volunteering in the Horbury shop is a great chance for me to get out of a work and revision loop, breaking up my week and giving me a rest from the academic side of my life. I see volunteering as part of my downtime that helps me greater manage the stresses that come as part of being a student. Beyond my studies, I attend the sixth form’s book club and run a true crime society in the school where we look at famous cases, host debates and look at criminological theories such as why people commit crime. I am hoping to study criminology at University next year.

7. Why do you think people should consider volunteering?
I think that there are a lot of different reasons why people should consider volunteering. If you want to get out into the community and make a difference, do something with your free time, help out a local cause or try something new - there is a space in volunteering for the hospice for you.

8. Why did you want to volunteer for Wakefield Hospice?
I wanted to volunteer specifically for Wakefield Hospice because it was a charity that I was familiar with. For all of my life my family have donated to the hospice and took part in charity events to help fundraise, so it already felt like I had a connection to the hospice. Moreover, I knew that if I volunteered for Wakefield Hospice, the voluntary work that I would be doing would be helping local people and the Wakefield community around me.

9. Any further comments
Volunteering with the hospice really broke me out of my shell. Since volunteering I have gained a lot of confidence that has boosted other aspects of my life - I don’t think I would be where I am without the volunteering that I have done!

Feedback from our Horbury Shop Manager, Tracie Spurr:
“We were delighted when Hattie chose to stay on and volunteer with us beyond her initial three-month Duke of Edinburgh placement.

“She is a wonderful asset to our shop and it has been a joy to watch her blossom over the past three years into the person she is today.

“Hattie possesses great customer service skills, has learned how to merchandise throughout the shop (despite her initial doubts) and continues to grow in confidence in the role.

“We are so grateful to Hattie for her voluntary support, she is a kind, thoughtful and talented young woman who is a great example to other students of the positive impact volunteering can have, both for young people and the subsequent impact this has on the charity.”
 
To find out more about retail volunteering roles, Duke of Edinburgh placements or any further voluntary opportunities within Wakefield Hospice, please contact Sophie Baker, Volunteer Services Coordinator: Sophie.baker@wakefieldhospice.co.uk / 01924 373923.