4 June 2020

Gurmit Singh has been volunteering at Above & Beyond for three years. He is an office volunteer, meaning he comes into the office to help the team with admin tasks.

Here he tells us all about what he gets from the role.

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First of all I would like to say I enjoy coming into work at Above & Beyond, the staff are very friendly and I have a good time talking to everyone and doing the tasks they have left out for me.

The role

My role is to do odd jobs such as, collate details about supermarkets in Bristol and put them into a spreadsheet, for someone to ring or email later. Other roles include carrying furniture from the Fundraising Hub back to the office, and I sometimes sort out items for sale at the Hub. Each week it seems I am always kept busy and the work is rewarding and varied, no two weeks appear to be the same.

I have been a volunteer now for three years and I am happy to work there for another three years if they’ll have me. It’s the personal touch that makes working there a treat, and nobody has ever gotten cross with me, in fact they all show me huge respect and they all are very eager to hear what I did during the week.

What I enjoy

My favourite thing about volunteering at Above & Beyond is getting to know everyone and doing the work. I think the work is worthwhile, but it makes it even better by the conversations I have with the staff. You know they say weight training gives you endorphins, I say Above & Beyond gives me endorphins whenever I’m there, as I am on a natural high.

My work for me and others seems valuable, it is work that must be done. Because the work is varied, and no two weeks are the same I never get bored and I think to myself this is work that is helping the hospitals and makes me want to complete it on the single day I come in.

Volunteering at Above & Beyond has benefited me in my life as I believe it has made me a more confident person and given me a purpose to do things.

I always tell my friends with pride my highlight of the week has been working at Above & Beyond and I tell them funny stories that have happened during my time there.  I think volunteering has made me eager for more and I am currently looking for more volunteering roles as I have had a good experience working with them.

A good volunteer

What makes a good volunteer is someone who does the job they are given and does it to the best of their ability.

For anyone wanting to be a volunteer at Above & Beyond I would highly recommend it, it is an experience that is both rewarding for the volunteer as you are giving help to the hospitals and both rewarding to the company as your time with them is needed. To say it bluntly your time is needed, and you will feel wanted.

Further if you want to volunteer, I would say go ahead, what’s stopping you, everyone’s friendly and nice and they will help you as they helped me, I have had my picture on the back of a bus and I have been to a photo shoot. Both things I don’t think ever would have happened without their support.

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