Case study from VAST Volunteering
Fantastic Freddie!
Freddie is a volunteer with The Dudson Centre as a Caretaker. He started in May 2024 after being encouraged by his family and friends. Freddie is a carer for his mum, and due to being a young carer he was home-schooled and has never been in employment.
Emma, Project Support Officer, has known Freddie for several years after being friends with his mum. Emma originally started as a volunteer at VAST, so knew how beneficial volunteering can be. Freddie was encouraged to explore volunteering by Emma and his mum. He knew it would be stepping out of his comfort zone, but it was his time to shine!
Emma arranged an informal chat for Freddie with Sian, Senior Project Officer. Freddie was initially feeling quite nervous and overwhelmed but after lots of encouragement from Emma and Sian, Freddie decided he would love to volunteer at The Dudson Centre in a caretaker role.
Sian referred Freddie to The Dudson Centre Facilities Team where he met the Centre Manager, Caretakers and the Volunteer Coordinator. Before he knew it, he was signed up to officially start!
Freddie began volunteering once a week but now does at least two days, sometimes three days a week! He really enjoys his time at The Dudson Centre and has completed many tasks since he started.
In the warmer months, he made a massive difference to the courtyard through lots of pressure washing followed by sanding and sealing the block paving. He has also helped to renovate office space decorating rooms, stripping carpets, and moving furniture.
“Fred has been with us for several months now and is a real asset to VAST. When he joined us, he was noticeably quiet and didn’t speak a lot. He initially worked with Roger, one of our caretakers who explained to him the different tasks. To start with, he did some hoovering and cleaning to support the caretakers and made sure that the reception area and the stairways were clean and tidy. Fred’s confidence has grown so much over the past few months! He is very well liked by the whole VAST team and seems happy with the tasks given to him. As well as cleaning there is quite a lot of maintenance around the building. He has been renovating an office recently where a tenant has left, and the office needed to be prepared for painting and laying down carpet tiles. He has worked with one of the caretakers on starting this but has completed a lot of the work on his own. Fred is certainly one of the team and his work at VAST is invaluable, due to his work on this office it now means we can promote it the voluntary sector to rent out.”
Freddie has learned new skills and has enjoyed being around others again. These skills include painting, gardening, dealing with customer queries, organisation and timekeeping.
When asked about his volunteer role, Fred said:
“The banter and laughs I have when I’m here are what really count, I started doing only one day a week and now I do 3, because I love helping and being involved!”
The difference in Fred has been noticed by so many, and not just those at VAST and The Dudson Centre but also by his mum. It has also improved her mental health, bringing routine back to their home life and knowing that he enjoys his volunteering and engages in something new and exciting. Freddie’s Mum said:
“He’s so happy to have a purpose, and a routine. Fred is so much more relaxed, chatty and is a real part of the team! He has grown so much as a person; it is a pleasure to watch him flourish!”
Over the past nine months Freddie has established a fantastic rapport with the staff at The Dudson Centre. He mainly works with Roger and Jon and will complete any task that is asked of him. He always goes above and beyond!
Jackie, Facilities Manager at the Centre agrees:
Roger(pictured left with Fred), a Caretaker at The Dudson Centre, has formed a real friendship with Fred. It really goes to show how much volunteering can offer to those who embrace it.
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