What’s your volunteering role?

I volunteer in the Human Resources department as an administrator, usually one day a week.

The hospice has around 150 staff and 300 volunteers, and to support all these there is a surprising amount of data that needs to be managed by the HR team.

How long have you volunteered at Katharine House?

I joined in January 2019, but unfortunately stopped for a while due to the Coronavirus restrictions.

What do you like about volunteering at Katharine House?

Meeting and helping people, and being part of a caring team that works hard to provide a much-valued service to the local community.

How do you feel when you walk out of here?

Hopefully, that by giving my time I’ve made a contribution to minimising running costs of the Hospice and maximising resources going into services for patients and their families.

What skills have you gained from volunteering?

I previously worked as an engineer in the automotive industry where the focus was perhaps more on cars, processes and IT than people. Volunteering in the HR department of a hospice has emphasised to me the importance of people skills in the wider world – and I’m keen to develop these.

What would you say to a friend about volunteering here?

The staff and volunteers are friendly and welcoming. If you think you could contribute to the work of the hospice by volunteering in one of the various roles, then you will find it very rewarding. You may have some special skills that could be used to develop a new volunteer role.

What’s your favourite podcast?

Now that I’m older I listen to BBC Radio 2 quite a lot, and occasionally stream podcasts of shows I’ve missed. Otherwise I read books, rather than listen to them.

Country walk or city break?

Both. The countryside around here is very scenic so country walks are local and often. Breaks are normally to cities, my wife and I enjoyed a few days in Bath and Liverpool earlier this year.  

Dog or cat?

Neither currently, however we had seven cats for a short while when our children were younger.  

Eastenders or Corrie?

Neither, I’m more of a Grand Designs, Gardeners World or Salvage Hunters person.

Katharine House Hospice

• If you're interest in volunteering for Katharine House Hospice, please check out our Current Vacancies page for more information.
• To find out more about the work we do, read What we do or explore our For Patients and Families pages.
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