Our Volunteer Stories
We work with over 100 volunteers every year who we recruit, train and match with our children and teenagers at mainstream activities. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have different levels of experience working with children and teenagers with additional needs.
All of our volunteers complete our Volunteer Induction Training, undergo an enhanced DBS check and two references are taken up. Once the volunteers have completed this process they are matched with a child at an activity and their journey as one of our volunteers truly begins.
The volunteers build amazing supportive relationships to enable the children to take part fully in their chosen activity.
Every one of our volunteer and child matches has a story to tell and here you can find out more about two of our volunteers Jayne and Yalmaz.
Meet Jayne
My role as a volunteer is to provide 1 to 1 support to a young person called Dalia at an activity of her choice and she has chosen Pilates. I meet Dalia and her mum outside the venue before the session starts. This gives me the chance to see how she is feeling and what her week has been like so far. It also provides an opportunity for her mum to share anything I need to be aware of. I then accompany Dalia in the session and together we take part in Pilates instructed by the teacher. My role is to support, encourage and ensure she enjoys the Pilates session and our time together. After the lesson Dalia is met by her mum and we share how the session has gone.
The best part of the volunteer role is seeing how Dalia has grown in confidence, observing her feeling comfortable to engage with other people in the class, helping to build her social skills, watching her persevering when finding a part of the exercise class a little difficult and hear her laugh because she’s happy and enjoying herself and benefiting from the exercise too.
I work full time in a role that I love but now my children are young adults I wanted to give time to a young person so they could benefit and enjoy a mainstream activity like my children did. Me2 Club is local, the volunteer training is outstanding, with support and help if needed. I would thoroughly recommend volunteering because of the difference it can make to a person and their family, plus it’s hugely rewarding as a volunteer.
Meet Yalmaz
My name is Yalmaz and I am a 17-year-old sixth form student. After being introduced to Me2 Club by my sixth form and attending their training workshop, I was moved by the personalities and goals of the team and was urged to volunteer. I also found it to be a fantastic opportunity to gain experience with additional needs and help my community. I have been paired with a charming young individual, Kieran who attends Cubs. Together we take part in a whole range of activities from fencing to gardening work. I’m there to make sure Kieran stays on track with the activities whilst keeping his excitement bubbling, centring the focus onto the task and making it more engaging. It feels great to see him contributing to the activities increasingly by asking questions and sharing facts he knows about the topics. Noisy situations are difficult for Kieran, so working through them is always a challenge, but playing minigames to take a break and interacting with others at Cubs is great fun. I would absolutely recommend volunteering with Me2 Club for personal growth and helping wonderful young people.
