Graham Moses – Farsley Rehoboth

“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 an amazing part of your life.

Graham worked down the road from Farsley Rehoboth and walked past the gates each day, after he took voluntary redundancy, he saw the help wanted sign on the gate. Having come down for a shift Graham then seemed to be hooked, starting with a couple shifts a week, he now adds one longer shift onto that as well as taking on more skilled volunteer roles.

Alongside weeding and maintenance, Graham is a trustee of the charity and part of their grave rebuilding team. Graham told me about the work that goes into rebuilding the graves, with some taking a day or two and the biggest taking the team 11 months. This year the grave rebuilding has been paused. The Rehoboth has focused on forestry, aiming to remove the small sycamore trees that grow and “cause havoc”.

The boost to the community that comes for the Farsley Rehoboth redevelopment is clear when hearing the story of the charity from Graham. It was a Church burial ground that was sold to developers 35 years ago and forgotten about until it was bought by the charity in 2019. But 35 years of neglect meant the space needed lots of work to become what it is today. When the charity started the simple job of opening the gates was impossible and Graham described how volunteers had to climb over the wall to clear the overgrowth from the back to open the gates. With this beginning it’s amazing to be able to walk around and experience the Rehoboth as it was designed and intended.  

Graham wanted to encourage others to give volunteering a go, simply to see if it’s for you. Volunteering for Graham is “whatever that person wants to get out of it”.