Volunteer wins learning achievement award

Becci volunteers with our Employment and Skills team, closely supporting the work of Lisa in the team. After being nominated for Outstanding Learner of the Year with Lambeth Adult Learning, Becci was thrilled to have won, with a prizegiving held last week.

“My role involves supporting Lisa with the work she does helping people improve their skills and access employment and volunteering opportunities. I’ve been helping out with the TRaVEL course, after attending the ‘Introduction to Volunteering’ course myself previously.

“I got involved with volunteering when I spoke to my local council about getting back into work, and I was told about the TRaVEL course, which helps people build confidence so they feel ready for work or volunteering. Now I help deliver this training, and help with other things like supporting people making job applications, when they might struggle putting pen to paper themselves. I like that the role tests my limits and allows me to help other people; I really enjoy helping people and learning new things.

“In the long run, I want to work with young people. I went through the care system myself and was a young mum, and the stigma around that is awful. I want to help people who went through similar experiences, as I believe the system can be really cruel and unfair, and having someone around who can listen and understand what you’re going through is really important. I want to use my passion for working with young people along with my skills and experience to make a difference.

“Last week I was presented with the “Award for Outstanding Learner of the Year” with Lambeth Adult Learning. I was nominated by Lisa, and when she told me I really wasn’t expecting to win, but I got the call and was so surprised to hear that I had won! It’s the first time in my life that an achievement has been recognised outside my immediate circle, so that was really nice. The students from the TRaVEL course came to celebrate with me at the ceremony, which meant a lot.”

Lisa, who nominated Becci, said: “I realised very quickly when Becci was a learner on the ‘Introduction to Volunteering’ course that she was going to make an excellent volunteer.  This observation was based on Becci’s calm and steady temperament, her enthusiasm to learn, her helpfulness towards me and other learners, and her relevant and edifying anecdotes of how she puts the classroom learning into practice in her own life.  She is willing to give anything a go adopting the “what’s the best that could happen?” approach which we covered on the course.  Where Becci is a classroom volunteer, learners appreciate her perspective on the topics covered.  She is also skilled at explaining elements in a different way, which is very helpful for me and for the learners.  She is an all-round asset!”