Hi I’m Lily, a Criminology and Psychology student doing a volunteer placement at Yellow Door as part of my course. I recently interviewed Charlotte who undertook her placement here with the STAR project, Yellow Door’s education and outreach team, whilst completing her law degree at Southampton Solent University. Read through my chat with Charlotte to learn about her volunteering experience.
“If I didn’t move away, I never would have left Yellow Door!”
Charlotte
How long did you volunteer at Yellow Door for?
“I volunteered at Yellow Door for nearly a year, roughly 10 months. I started in September and left early June.”
So, what did you do when you volunteered within STAR?
“I would shadow sessions with the facilitator and later got involved helping teach children about the topics, reading from the PowerPoints and being involved with the interactive games. I helped create social media posts and was involved with filling in feedback from the sessions. I went from teaching, to administration, to creative roles.”
I felt slightly nervous coming into such a diverse organisation when I started, how did you feel at first?
“I had never done anything like this before, I had the same part time job since I was 16! I was really nervous to begin with as it was really outside of my comfort zone but I was also really excited to be pushed to I could do something different and be able to work in a new environment.”
What aspects of your time here did you enjoy the most?
“I enjoyed working with everyone. It is such a friendly and knowledgeable environment, and everyone shares the common goal of working for a good cause and helping others out. I loved working at the schools and I enjoyed learning about sexual and domestic abuse. It’s a prevalent topic and my knowledge surrounding its laws grew immensely. The knowledge I gained about supporting people is easily transferable to real life.”
What inspired you to conduct your placement at Yellow Door?
“Yellow Door really stood out to me as it aims to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Domestic abuse statistics are increasing and it affects everyone in some form. A big motivation was that by teaching preventative materials in schools, my work would be helping other people.”
Did you learn any new skills volunteering with the STAR project?
“I learnt so many new skills! The most prevalent was the ability to publicly speak which enhanced my confidence too. The thought of speaking to 30 children was nerve wracking. At the end I almost led the sessions, running interactive parts and engaging with the children”
Have you taken any of these new skills into your academic/career development?
“I never would have been able to deliver presentations before Yellow Door. The ability to interact with a variety of people taught me communication skills, I now know how to cater my language and how I speak to my audience.
I have since gone onto a job at the MOD which I love. Everything I learnt at Yellow Door including the admin experience and professional environment has really helped with the new job. Volunteering helped open me up to what it would be like after university.”
I have heard you achieved the highest grade for your placement; Well done! Can you tell me more about how you viewed your placement?
“I saw the placement as a two-way system, I wanted to get the most out of it but also let Yellow Door get the most out of myself.”
How did you feel when you got your results back?
“I was over the moon! All the hard work had paid off. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. The grades reflected how I felt about the experience and I couldn’t have asked for better.”
If you had to name one thing, what was the main takeaway you gathered from your experience at Yellow Door?
“I would always want to work within an environment as supportive as Yellow Door. Everyone was so supportive, and any questions I had they would always help and accommodate. I enjoyed going to work, it really felt like a big team where I was fully supported. The team went above and beyond to help me.”
And finally, would you recommend volunteering at Yellow Door?
“100% yes definitely! To anyone who wants to do something meaningful and impactful, and to be pushed outside of their comfort zone. I would recommend to anyone definitely.”