This week’s volunteer feature is all about Tony! Tony lived in Greece for 24 years working in television advertising and visual effects for film. Unfortunately Tony had to return to the UK because of the Greek financial crisis and because his father was diagnosed with Cancer. This was actually one of the main motivators behind Tony’s volunteering.
“A Middlesbrough charity picked him up, gave him people to talk to and gave him some ‘normality’ every day. When he sadly passed away I tried to say thank you and offer some of my time to the charity. They weren’t taking anyone on but put me in touch with another charity (Aging Better CIC) which got me interested in volunteering and I have never looked back!”
This was only the beginning of Tony’s volunteering efforts. He has since set up a walking group in Thornaby (The Thornaby Walking Group). He explained that they have lots of members with many mental health issues to whom the walking group has been a great comfort and help. Tony also put his love for cooking into play by volunteering for Little Sprouts CIC where he helped with making meals for the homeless. As covid restrictions have now eased, he is back cooking again for another charity (Lighthouse CIC) where he helps people suffering from mental illness by welcoming them in to chat and have a healthy meal once a week.
Tony also actively volunteers for our clients Catalyst Stockton, helping on their ‘Community Hub – Covid Support line. This then developed into a ‘Check in Calls’ service where he actively enjoys chatting to people in the community who are lonely with no family.
We also had the opportunity to find out about one of Tony’s most memorable volunteer experiences as he told us all about his time on the ‘Stockton Soup’ initiative.
“I love volunteering and helping people from all walks of life but especially those who society doesn't always recognise as ‘worthy’. I was thrilled to be involved in an event called Stockton Soup where we won £780 for the project of cooking for the homeless. The events were incredible. charities and individuals had the chance to make a pitch and then people voted for which charity they wanted to support”.
We were delighted to hear that Tony’s experience with our system has been a positive one whilst volunteering at Catalyst Stockton.
“I have found the app very useful. Having all of the information in the same place, from making the call to reporting how the mission went is wonderful and so easy to use. It’s a great app.”
A big thank you to Tony and his astounding volunteering efforts! If you'd like to know more about how your charity can improve the experience for your volunteers and save a great deal of time in the process, please get in touch or book a demo.
