Reinette is part of The Door’s Youth Voice Board as well as volunteering in our Charity Shop.  As part of our Volunteers Week celebrations, we asked her a few questions about what it is like to be a young volunteer at The Door.

Hi Reinette!

Hello.

To start us off, what is the Youth Voice Board?

Ok, so, it’s a group of young people that visit The Door’s office once a month. We have a meeting for a couple of hours to discuss important issues and plans that are being made by The Door staff. They ask us to give a young person’s perspective.

What are the meetings like?

They are really inviting and productive, we talk about a lot of things, and everyone is so kind and listens to each other. The snacks are great too!

Snacks are always a bonus! What do you enjoy about being part of Youth Voice?

I like meeting new people and seeing them each month, it’s interesting to see young people from all parts of The Door – from different youth clubs and services. Not just the people I see every week.

Have you found any challenges working with new people?

When we first started it took a while to gain trust and trust each other. We also had to learn a lot about communicating well, not getting too distracted from the issues in hand. Thankfully the staff always keep us on track and on topic. 

Now it’s not just the youth voice where you volunteer, what else do you do at The Door?

I’ve been volunteering in the charity shop for the last couple of months, I started because I wanted to learn how to socialise with different types of people. I really enjoy it, I love serving the customers and just seeing different people. It’s interesting to see how shopping fits into different parts of their day, it helps me feel connected to the wider world.

Is there anything you don’t like about volunteering?

No!

Great! Why is volunteering about for you?

I think that what The Door does for young people is really important and I want to be a part of that. I want to be of service to The Door and help us much as I can so they can help other people. They can’t do what they do without their volunteers.

So, what would you say to someone thinking of volunteering?

Do it! It’s exciting and fun to meet so many different people, some of my closest friends are the people I met through Youth Voice. It keeps you busy and gives you something to do in the community. 

Brilliant, thank you Reinette.

Thank you!