Thank you to our residential volunteers
Last week, the HR team hosted a lunch to say ‘Thank you’ to this year’s amazing residential volunteers who completed a voluntary placement for this academic year.
It has been more than I ever expected
Mette from Finland came to Treloar’s for her gap year. “It has been more than I ever expected,” she said, admitting she didn’t know what to expect when she arrived, but she has enjoyed working with the students and seeing how much she has been able to help. Mette knew she wanted “to do something useful” with her gap year and “make a difference”.
Mette is returning home to study medicine to become a doctor. She believes her experience at Treloar’s will prepare her well for her studies, and has taught her to see and understand different points of view. She said our students had taught her and helped her to understand how one can lead a meaningful and positive life with a disability.
Inclusive environment
Sofia is returning to Germany to study Cultural Science and Sustainability. She has enjoyed getting to know the students personally, and watching them grow and develop their independence over the year. She has enjoyed working in “an inclusive environment” and “will definitely use the values she has learned here” in her future studies. Being part of the volunteering programme has widened her horizons.
Learned together how to communicate
Sambi is from Japan and has been working with the PE team. “The best team I ever met; I would love to work here again,” Sambi summarised when we asked her about the time within the PE department. She has enjoyed seeing the students become more independent over the school year. At the beginning, she was nervous about communicating with students, but she learnt so much from both students and staff – they “learned together how to communicate”.
About our volunteering programme
Every year, we offer a small number of places for residential volunteers at Treloar’s. Residential volunteers spend an academic year (September to July) supporting students and staff in the College, School and therapies department. Our volunteers are recruited through ICYE Inter-Cultural Youth Exchange, who provide international volunteers to support local charities in the UK.
The volunteers are provided with accommodation and food on campus; they complete a full induction programme and training (mandatory staff induction and basic feeding skills training) to support them in their roles in the classroom.
If you’d like to learn more about opportunities for volunteers:
