Volunteer’s Week 2025 - Alison’s Story

We’re celebrating this week by sharing a couple of our fantastic volunteers’ stories about their journey with Space! Hear from Alison, a volunteer in North Devon, on why they chose to become a volunteer, and all the things they enjoy about their volunteering…

“Hi, I’m Alison. I’m 57 years old and work as a consultant in the insurance industry. I grew up in Barnstaple and attended the Park Community School and North Devon College. I was motivated to volunteer one evening a week at Georgie’s, starting nearly a year ago, when I became aware the club existed via a film project a member of my family was involved in (Food For Thought).

I think youth clubs are great as they can stave off boredom, offer a window into interests, skills and hobbies, and just be a safe and welcoming place for young people to hang out together, without having to shell out for expensive clubs and other activities. I’ve seen at Georgie’s that there’s a sense of being in a little community of young people of different year groups who get to know each other in a way that maybe they wouldn’t at school and make friends across year groups and their school friendship groups.

I particularly enjoy facilitating the cooking activities on a weekly basis. At the moment the Bideford Youth Club gets a share of foodstuffs via the supermarkets’ ‘FairShare’ programme and during sessions, the food is used by the young people, depending on what’s been donated that week, for cooking, with the staff and volunteers supervising. I also enjoy chatting with the young people, playing a bit of badminton outside, playing games inside and the karaoke sessions!”