Celebrating Brendoncare’s volunteers – Pauline Piper

Pauline saw an advert in the local newspaper in 2014 about a new club opening up in Portsmouth. She went along as a member at first but, for the past decade, Pauline has continued making a difference as a volunteer.

No session is ever the same at this club: Pauline talks about the fun members have after she sets up the quizzes and board games for them to play over cups of tea and coffee.

Pauline very much enjoys how often she will just start a chat with a member and before you know it, they are exchanging life stories.

Impact:

She speaks about how her impact as a volunteer has helped to create a supportive community which has expanded out of the social club. As a result, the members attend other clubs together as friends.

Pauline remembers one occasion when a particular gentleman simply needed a positive, supportive environment and to be comfortable within it. “He took all the members by surprise when he was dancing along at a Christmas celebration,” she recalls.

When members go on a day out, she feels as though they are not looking through a window. “They are a part of it now.”

Pauline said she gets just as much out of volunteering as the members do attending the club, calling it a ‘win-win situation’. One of the most significant moments for her during her volunteering experience is seeing the members flourish and ‘develop into greater versions of themselves.’

‘That’s the moment, when you know you are making a difference.”