My name is Jenna Bishop I am a volunteer of hope in the community. I first came across the charity threw the healthy holiday scheme as I received a letter from my daughter's school. just by choice and convenience, I came across hope in community charity. perfect location great venues and activities ticked all the boxes. for me, I wanted to try and meet new people and let my daughter mix with outers as threw covid 19 and lockdowns she needed to mix with others and made the holidays more enjoyable and affordable.
after attending the healthy holidays, I was invited to attend the carers garden social group I met more kind caring people, and bit by bit my confidence started to grow and developed. I must thank peter the founder of this charity, his phone calls, and messages to prompt me enough to attend the garden and his friendly approach made it all less daunting. he made me feel safe enough to want to travel to the garden, he also gave me listening support Which helped me and gave me a lifeline of hope.
threw attending these different facilities provided by hope in the community I met some amazing volunteers made some really good friends and I met Kim who again at healthy holidays came and spoke to me made me feel welcome and offered me to come to the charity shop Which is where my role as a volunteer started. Kim took it upon himself to befriend me he made me feel confutable so with both Kim and Peters's support I was unstoppable. my confidence, strength, and self-esteem blossomed.
I was offered to volunteer at the charity shop where Kim taught me a lot about what to do along with peter.
with this new opportunity, I had been given I wanted to give back to the community in a way I was given hope back in my own life.
volunteering isn't just about dedicating my free time or doing good for others, for me it was all of that and much more
It was through this organisation that I not only enjoyed volunteering and giving to the community, but I developed a love and excitement for new skills opportunities and fulfillment.
my newfound confidence came from a push in the right direction from a much-loved team of people. I'm Eger to see just how far I can go moving forward to new challenges new ideas and opportunities with hope and community.
What volunteering taught me…. 1. I realised that I am a lot stronger than I ever thought I could be. Emotionally, mentally, and PHYSICALLY. For me, the decision to volunteer for a month was a massive leap into the unknown. It was overwhelming, surreal, transformative, and incredible. I learned that I am capable of far greater independence, resilience, courage, and hard work than I previously thought possible.
“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” — Ronald Reagan
