Volunteers of Leeds

Ravinder is an inspirational volunteer who currently volunteers with MAECare and the BAME Hub. Ravinder talks about the value of connecting with others and particularly in being able to speak your community language....

The most striking thing about Barbara is how ingrained volunteering is in her way of life; it is part of her very being and DNA. Barbara has been awarded an MBE in recognition...

Joan is a people person who will talk to anybody, she finds the social aspect of volunteering to be the most exciting part. As a child growing up in Jamaica, Joan was hugely...

The words that Kam chose to describe volunteering were love, service, hope and relational. For Kam, the most important thing is love. Kam's faith plays a significant part in his volunteering, as a...

"Interesting. Vulnerable. Community" These are the words Tessa uses to describe her volunteering role...   Tessa finds her volunteering role very interesting.  As an Anti-stigma Champion, she reaches out to communities to talk...

Ali first thought about volunteering when he was at the barbers chatting with friends, he popped down to the Volunteer Centre where he chatted to a volunteer, telling him, “I am an asylum...

As a first-generation Irish person, Teresa volunteers to continue her connection with the Irish community or as she puts it, “rubbing shoulders with your own”. After retiring from Leeds Irish Health and Homes...

Experience – Learning - Connected Lizzie is a huge advocate for volunteering and this began in her recent experience of volunteering oversees. Lizzie’s main motivation for volunteering is to gain experience while she’s...

“Giving back to the community, helping others and giving them that opportunity” For Adel Chermiti volunteering was something he jumped into with both feet, using his love for football as a way to...

“Suckered into it” Not necessarily the most glowing review for the beginning of someone’s journey with volunteering, but Graham’s story at Farsley Rehoboth shows how volunteering can creep up on you and become...

“Rewarding, challenging, community” Anna is a volunteer for the Youth Justice Service, she works with young people as a way to keep them away from custody after they have committed a crime. With...

Helping, Creative and Confidence are the three words Waqas used to describe his volunteering experience. Waqas was a volunteer for Community Champions.  He helped to translate health messages relating to Covid-19 and in his...

“Useful and enjoyable” - “something to do” For Ann and Tony volunteering is something to do, as rather altruistically described by Tony, whilst being more than that, Tony went on to tell me...

Heathcliff is a student and a volunteer. He volunteers for a charity that offers mentors to young people wanting to access higher education. Heathcliff as a mentor has meetings with his Mentee on...

“Aspirational, satisfying, needed” “There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing someone smile when you’ve helped” - Suzanne is a volunteer coordinator, who began her career by volunteering for Leeds Bosom Buddies. They run hospital...

“Character improvement, confidence and motivation” Sherin’s volunteering has been a way for her to get out of her comfort zone and push herself to try new things. She described to me how she...

“Rewarding, thought provoking, challenging” Mike volunteers within St James’ hospital as a part of the Leeds Way Welcome team. He spends time greeting and directing patients as they enter and navigate around the...

“Community, Camaraderie and Friends” That’s how Lynda and Paul described their experience of volunteering to me, quickly followed by Paul describing how it’s kept them active “physically and probably more importantly mentally”. The...

“Give something back” Johnathan and Christine, like Paul and Lynda first started volunteering at Farsley Rehoboth due to a family connection with the graveyard, but it’s become so much more than that. They...

“Therapeutic, useful, enjoyable” “I’ve always been interested in gardening, and I love where I live, I’ve lived in Beeston for 84 years, and I'm fond of it so I like to do something...

“Rewarding, friendship, community” The logo for Beeston in Bloom is “promote community pride”, they aim to improve their local area through gardening. Linda told me about the “precious green space” that Cross Flatts...

“learning”, “socialising” and “compassionate” are the three words Leroy Ivanov used to describe his experience volunteering. Leroy volunteers for Battle Scars, a charity the supports people who self harm, their volunteers have all...

For Ellie, volunteering is about getting involved in communities and being a part of building their own community. It’s also a way for them to feel empowered by contributing to causes they care...

“making people happy” For John volunteering is about the joy and satisfaction he gets from doing the gardening work he loves and from other people enjoying and complementing the spaces he works so...