Fayes Story

Hi! My name is Faye and I’ve been volunteering with the ‘Y’ for 3 years.

I started volunteering in Moray at the crèche because I wanted to get experience of childcare and I knew that the childcare development centre provided training. It was great fun working with the children and learning from the staff. I took part in training like child protection, first aid and introduction to play, so I was qualified to work with the children. I developed skills through other volunteers, like working with young women and learned how to conduct a social audit. I was also introduced to all the work that goes on across Scotland.

In 2002 was given the opportunity to take part in a trip to Australia for the 2003 World Conference. This was the chance of a lifetime. With loads of hard work with other volunteers from across Scotland we took part in team building exercises, fundraised, designed a workshop and survey about Body Image and made it to Brisbane! We had a fantastic time, learned heaps, bonded as a group and brought back many wonderful memories. This worked inspired the group take our new skills and knowledge forward, so we organised a conference of our own. We all got different roles - I worked with Moray’s girls group and put together a dance routine to illustrate Body Image. I’d never done anything like this before so preparing for the performance was really challenging, but it was a huge success. Everyone was so moved that the troupe had to perform again at the end of the day!

I love being involved and representing YWCA Scotland at different events, meeting new people and learning about all sorts of issues and opportunities. The new projects keep on coming! I still volunteer at the crèche, I’m taking part in the national conference in September and will be starting a new course in August to help me achieve my European Community Driving License.
With the friends I’ve made and the skills I’ve developed, I’ll continue to volunteer – I can’t wait to see what’s next!