Over the last year at Escape2Make, the generous & talented people who believe in our vision for a brighter world for 11s-18s have spent over 2000 hours volunteering with us! Without our amazing volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to do nearly as many of the fantastic things we do! That’s why we’d like to say a special thank you and shine a spotlight on some of the incredible people who dedicate their time to providing young people with safe spaces in our sessions to let their creativity run wild! One of these incredible people is… Sandra!”
Sandra is a retired IT manager who now spends her days engaging in fun and creative activities. She leads an exciting life consisting of a lot of camping, walking, swimming, and cycling. She has completed many long-distance cycle rides and has even swum the length of Coniston (5.25 miles) four times, as well as the length of Ullswater (7.5 miles) twice. And when she’s not doing all of that, she likes to relax by doing some knitting, crocheting, embroidery, dressmaking, oil painting, watercolour art, pastel art, wood carving, and woodturning. Naturally, someone with this much energy and creativity flowing inside them is a perfect fit for the E2M team. Sandra first heard of Escape2Make from our Craft Club facilitator, Melanie McKay. Her natural love for teaching and sharing her passions with others immediately drew her to E2M. Her volunteering journey with us started almost a year ago as she joined Bicycle Club when it first started. She now regularly supports both our Bicycle Club and our Craft Club, combining both of her areas of interest.
“I love seeing people when they learn something new that they are proud of, or seeing their face when the “penny drops” and they understand what you are explaining.”
During her time with Escape2Make, Sandra has been able to build many meaningful relationships and create lots of fun memories. Some of her favourite moments with E2M include playing table tennis with the young people in between activities, hiding under the canal bridge with Bicycle Club, sheltering during a very heavy downpour, meeting up with everyone from the Woodwork and Printing workshops at the Judges Lodgings Museum and getting to walk around while it was closed to the public (“It was so special being there when it was closed and having museum staff give us all a private guided tour”), helping the young people blow up an inner tube with a bike pump during a Bicycle Club session (“It was so exciting and loud!”), making bunting at craft club with some participants making traditional triangles and others being more adventurous and making unusual shapes, being taught how to do a dance called flossing by one of the young people during a break at the woodwork and printing workshops.
All of these experiences and many more have helped Sandra realise that she can learn just as much from the young people as they can from her. She believes that volunteering has enriched her life in many ways and helped her learn more about what it’s like to be a teenager in the 21st century.
“Volunteering has increased my confidence in my own abilities, and I have learned more about young people. I look forward to each bike club and craft club session as they are always fun and they make me feel good too.”
Her experience with E2M has brought her nothing but positive feelings before and after each club session. This has included meeting some wonderful and inspiring young people, learning new things and overall having a good time, surrounded by good company.
And to anyone considering volunteering with Escape2Make, she would like to say:
“If you are considering becoming a volunteer then you should do it if you can commit the time. Pick a subject that interests you. You don’t have to be knowledgeable in that subject, but I do think there needs to be a spark of interest so that you can inspire the young adults. Every single person I have met in E2M are great people, very warm, patient, friendly, and knowledgeable in their field. Don’t be worried about meeting them or working with them.”
We’d like to say a massive THANK YOU to Sandra for all the time she’s generously given to Escape2Make; be it repairing bicycles, crocheting quilts, or crafting with wood! She has helped bring joy to the lives of young people in our local area by being an instrumental part of our workshops!
If YOU like the sound of what Sandra’s been up to and are interested in volunteering with us, then get in touch with us at info@escape2make.org or on our social media channels @escape2make or fill in this form! We’d love to hear from you and are always on the lookout for enthusiastic and friendly volunteers!
By Lina Yordanova, E2M Production Assistant, March 2024
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