We caught up with one of our new volunteers to hear what she had to say about volunteering with ReachOut. Trista O'Sullivan works for one of our fantastic corporate supporters, Barclays, and saw ReachOut advertised on their intranet. She has been mentoring Evan on the Year 8 boys project at Haggerston School since November 2016.
How and where did you find out about ReachOut?
Barclays Intranet Volunteering site
What motivated you to volunteer with ReachOut?
I was looking specifically for a volunteering opportunity that involved mentoring kids or young adults.
What keeps you coming along?
It’s fun and the kids keep you entertained. If they have a good week, do the work and are motivated then it can be really rewarding. Other weeks can be challenging if they are distracted or not in the mood but I enjoy these weeks too as the reason I wanted to do this type of mentoring was to be put out of my comfort zone and learn and develop new skills.
Is it a challenge to balance work with volunteering? How do you do it? Is it worth it and why?
I have to leave at 5:15pm to make it on time. It’s been fine so far and the majority of colleagues are supportive if you let them know the reason you need to leave.
Would you recommend volunteering with ReachOut to your friends or colleagues?
Yes! You get to develop additional skills you may not have exposure to during your day job, as well as seeing the kids develop and learn both behaviourally and academically.
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