We love this time of the month: when we get to shout about our amazing volunteers and the quite literally life changing work that they do to help Fresh Futures run smoothly and effectively.
This month we are giving a very special THANK YOU to Tracey Mcknight, who started volunteering over two years ago as a befriender!
We caught up with Tracey to hear about her Fresh Futures Volunteering Journey so far…
- Name: Tracey Mcknight
- Tell us a little about yourself? My journey with Community Connections started during the covid pandemic, I spotted an advertisement on social media for the role, but I wasn’t quite sure what qualifications I would need. Well, I took the first step and soon came to realise the only qualifications needed are to be a good listener, have a good bit of chat, and most importantly have a whole lot of fun.
- How long have you been volunteering for the charity? Over 2 years
- Please explain your volunteering role in a nutshell: I was originally matched with two gentlemen, and we had weekly telephone calls as we couldn’t meet during the pandemic. This didn’t stop us enjoying our time together, I learned so much about Liverpool football club, we did quiz time and singalongs to some great old songs, and nattered about how things were when my gentlemen were growing up in the 1930’s. Despite our age differences, we loved sharing our life stories together.
- What made you want to start volunteering with YCC? Having elderly parents, I realised that there were many elderly or vulnerable people in our community who were feeling lonely.
- Tell us a little bit about your role: My role has developed and now I not only have telephone conversations with my community connection friends but I am able to see them face to face. I have recently been matched to the most interesting and lovely lady who has so many stories to share about her cruises and ballroom dancing I love looking over the old photographs and reminiscing with her.
- And finally, what advice would you give to people considering volunteering with YCC? This is such a rewarding role, and I would highly recommend anyone who has a spare hour or so a week to give it a go! Putting a smile on someone’s face is priceless and just being that bridge between loneliness and having a feeling of companionship is really what it is all about! Just give it a go and make a difference!
If you feel inspired to become a volunteer like Tracey, or if you would like to volunteer in any way for our charity, please contact Lucy on 01484 519988 or email [email protected]