Donna’s career dreams come true – Volunteering success

Why did you choose to volunteer with Beyond Housing?

I achieved my degree in 2019 and then suddenly the COVID19 pandemic happened, which meant customer-facing roles pretty much disappeared overnight. I found it extremely difficult to gain work experience and as a result, this had a negative impact on my confidence.

I started some free online level 2 courses to gain extra qualifications and increase my knowledge, and one of them was ‘tenant support in housing’ – and this was when my interest in the housing industry piqued, and I decided to apply to volunteer with Beyond Housing.

What do/did you enjoy most about volunteering?

I enjoy meeting and helping people so initially I began on the reception at Westfield Farm – here I met some lovely, supportive and extremely friendly colleagues and service users. After a few months of volunteering at the farm, I moved to headquarters where I am still volunteering with the Income team. I enjoy learning new skills and gaining experience and this has been hugely beneficial in raising my confidence. All my colleagues are helpful and went out of their way to make me feel like part of the team, which I am extremely grateful for.

How has volunteering helped you?

Being a volunteer at Beyond Housing has had a significant impact on my confidence. I went into volunteering suffering a crisis of confidence and will leave having discovered that I am more than capable of learning new skills, forming work-based relationships and becoming a valued part of the team.

After months of being mentored within Beyond Housing by various colleagues, I was confident enough to apply for jobs and I am so pleased to have now secured full-time employment within the criminal justice system, working in sentence management in a case administration capacity.

I absolutely cannot thank everyone enough for their support and advice and feel extra praise should be given to Lucy (Volunteer Coordinator) for initially giving me the opportunity to volunteer and for being there for my many questions and queries, her patience and kindness did not go unnoticed.

Also thank you to all colleagues in the Income team for their support, advice, kindness and patience. You are all amazing!