What do you do when you are not working for Inspira and NCS?
I retired in 2017, so now I do quite a lot of voluntary work. I am a trustee at North Lancashire CAB, Trustee, and Treasurer at the Dukes Theatre and a volunteer Marshall at several different events, including Park Run and the Mental Health Mile. I also invigilate at UCLAN with students with particular needs, motorcycle, and walk for fun.
Why did you decide to apply for an NCS role?
I knew about NCS from family and friends, and it seemed a very worthwhile and satisfying thing to do. Having worked in the voluntary sector for 45 years, a lot of my work had been in senior positions, and I liked the idea of going back to where I had started, working much more directly with young people.
What was your most rewarding experience working on the NCS programme?
For me, I enjoy watching the teams develop fabulous ideas for social action projects and going on to deliver them. Seeing what they achieved made me confident that the country is going to be in good hands in the future.
My inspirational story
In 1998 I was one of six people from different countries who decided that we would like to bring to life a vision of young and older people volunteering together for the benefit of themselves and their communities.
We learned and worked together, sharing ideas, and different cultural perspectives. We had very limited resources, but within 10 years, we had helped establish an international network and Journal, a UK network with 3000 members and national networks in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The impact of this work continues today. At a time when some of the media are trying to promote conflict and mistrust between the generations - our vision and work has never been more relevant.
The impact that a small number of passionate, committed people can have when they believe in an idea can be enormous.
Words to live by
Compassion, Trust, Positive, Together, Dream, Persistence