Volunteering testimonial from the Boaz Project- ‘Learning and Working Together’
Galina was made redundant in September 2019 from her role as a project manager with a large bank, and before returning to professional employment she volunteered at the Boaz Project, a therapeutic work environment for adults with learning disabilities located in Sutton Scotney. She said, ‘I decided it would be great to help the community and do something useful that would not actually require 24/7 involvement. Instead, I would do what I could to help some people, and feel good about that.’
In addition to developing COVID policies using skills from her previous employment, her role included working through the morning alongside members in tasks such as counting chickens’ eggs, feeding animals, and doing woodwork. She said, ‘to an unexpected extent, this experience changed everything- my ability to assess what people can do, and I learned from the members the passion they had for their work and their great resilience towards problems in life.’
‘The Project was a breath of fresh air after my previous job which could require traveling around Europe for 20 hours a day’. Boaz was so welcoming, and its country setting made me feel very peaceful and calm’.
Galina has moved onto a new job that offers a volunteering day and hopes to use this to continue volunteering at Boaz in the future.
If you think you might be interested in volunteering or supporting the Boaz Project, please visit their website at: www.boazproject.co.uk or contact site manager Stuart Palmer on: 01962 761749, or email: admin@boazproject.co.uk
