“As a Marie Curie Companion I feel valued and fulfilled”

I stumbled upon volunteering. At the time I chose to quit my fast-paced job and move back up North, near Huddersfield. I didn’t have a job when I was looking for volunteering opportunities – I had no money but plenty of time to give.

After moving I started visiting a local bookstore and I found that within a few minutes of being there, the owner had shared his whole life with me. I thought he was possibly quite lonely and maybe didn't have the support he might need; that touched me, so I visited more and more. That experience triggered a feeling that I wanted to give something back, so I started looking at volunteer opportunities.

I came across an advert for a Companion and while I didn't know much about Marie Curie, I did some research and spoke to my parents about it. It just so happened that many years ago my grandfather had help from a charity, which meant my grandma, who was caring for him, had some time to do things for herself. He died when my dad was 18, but he remembers it clearly. Their story struck a chord with me about the positive impact volunteering could have on struggling families and that made me want to apply.

I currently visit two people, both living in different situations and with different needs. One is an older gentleman who lives with cancer, and I visit him once a week. He had been a full-time carer for his wife who died recently, so alongside managing his grief, his life as he knew it had turned upside down. On my first visit I discovered that he loves gardening and used to be very outdoorsy, going on hikes and tending his garden. I don't have my own garden, but I've got a lot of house plants – so we bonded over that.

I have a new job now, and amazingly I'm allowed one day a month off to volunteer, so I decided to take advantage of that and accompany him to various garden centres for coffee and cake or some shopping. Being able to tend to house plants gives a lovely sense of gardening without being outside doing physically strenuous work. His plants are flourishing and he’s taught me quite a bit as well!

The other person I visit lives with Huntington’s Disease which limits his mobility and speech. He used to enjoy playing musical instruments, which unfortunately he can't do now, so I’ve set him up on Spotify and we're building some playlists together. This was a great way to take the pressure off as it took me a little while to get into the swing of understanding him. Each visit, we listen to a few songs and he'll let me know if he likes them and we'll add them to the playlist. We don't really do too much talking; I share what I’ve been up to but it's more about me being there.

I think the biggest difference I make is for his family. His wife works full-time while caring for him, so my visits give her a chance to have some time to herself.

The most rewarding parts of my volunteering differ depending on who I’m supporting. For one, it was seeing him relax around me. He was quiet at first and didn’t want to share a lot, but recently he’s opened up about his wife passing and wants to talk about his family more.

With the other, the most rewarding thing was seeing him laugh. It's quite an effort for him to speak, so I never expect a response when I’m talking to him; I just tend to tell him about my day and he listens, but I cracked a joke recently and he let out a proper laugh. That was so nice because I hadn't heard him laugh before, so I felt like I’d brightened his day.

One thing that surprised me about being a Companion volunteer is the self-growth. I didn't realise how resilient I am. I’ve been figuring out how much I can cope with physically and emotionally, and I think I’ve got to know myself a bit better as I've never really pushed myself like this before. I work a full-time job and I volunteer after work – it can be emotionally draining sometimes, but I want to go and do it. Being a Companion at home volunteer makes me feel valued and fulfilled, but more importantly for me it showed me that we take our lives for granted, and this has truly opened my eyes for enjoying my own life.