{"id":13061,"date":"2024-05-16T11:47:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T11:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=13061"},"modified":"2025-03-05T10:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T10:59:08","slug":"a-beacon-of-volunteerism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/05\/16\/a-beacon-of-volunteerism\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beacon Of Volunteerism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CONNECTED speaks to Celebration of Volunteering award winner, alumna Laura Windisch, about her commitment to making a difference – from a listening ear at University of Reading Nightline, to spending her retirement ensuring children have presents at Christmas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"LauraThe Celebration of Volunteering recognises the volunteering achievements of the University of Reading community \u2013 bringing together alumni, students, staff and community partners to celebrate those who have given up their time to help others.

After years of volunteering, it was with great pride that we awarded Laura with an Alumni and Supporter Volunteer of the Year Award.\u00a0Read on to hear about her volunteering journey.<\/p>\n

Something new<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Laura\u2019s affinity for volunteering tracks back to 1980 when she pursued a degree in Modern Languages and European Studies<\/a> at Reading. During her first year, Laura found herself drawn to Nightline, a listening service that offered support to fellow students. Laura recalled: \u201cIt was out of my comfort zone because I hadn\u2019t done anything like that before, but I loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a phoneline and a drop-in service that two students would monitor from the basement of St David\u2019s Hall on the London Road Campus. We\u2019d be there from 8pm to 6am for any student who wanted to talk. It was mostly students who were feeling a bit lonely or down and wanted to chat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon graduating, Laura embarked on a remarkable almost 28-year tenure at the University of Reading, serving in various administrative roles before embracing voluntary redundancy. Laura went on to work at Oxford Brookes University and, in Spring 2019, decided to retire from her role as Head of Admissions, but was uncertain as to what was next for her. She explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s great saying ‘I\u2019m going to retire\u2019 but I didn\u2019t know what I would do with my time, so the idea of volunteering came to me and I thought I\u2019d see what was out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From there, Laura looked on the Reading Voluntary Action<\/a> (RVA) website for volunteering opportunities. She said: \u201cI hadn\u2019t planned to take anything on at that point because I still had six months left to work. There are hundreds of volunteering opportunities on the RVA website, but the very first one listed was for Reading Family Aid<\/a>. They were looking for someone to manage their Toys and Teens appeal, which looked like fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe person specification listed all the things I was doing in my current role, like resource planning, resource management, people management, and bringing together different elements of supply and demand and making it all fit together. I expressed my interest and, after a chat with the Chair of the charity, the following day I had the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI later discovered that the reason it was the first job on the RVA website was because it had been added that day. I couldn\u2019t believe it \u2013 it felt like the job was destined for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making a difference <\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"LauraThe Toys And Teens Appeal<\/a> helps children living with difficulties in the greater Reading area\u00a0by\u00a0distributing toys at Christmas. Last year the charity successfully distributed gifts to 2,500 children.<\/p>\n

Laura explained: \u201cIn a nutshell, we contact schools, social workers, health visitors, community nurses and charities to ask them if they have children in their care, or children that they know can\u2019t get any Christmas presents that year. With that information, we then ask companies, businesses, organisations and individuals across Reading to consider donating toys or gifts.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe then allocate the toys and our volunteers sort and pack the toys to get them out to the children.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The charity also provides outings throughout the year to families who wouldn\u2019t be able to otherwise go. Laura said: \u201cWe run about seven outings a year, ranging from farm trips, family beach trips and Christmas pantomimes, to theme parks and camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with specific people and organisations to take families on these trips, including Kelvin Husbands who runs a number of youth clubs in the Reading area, Home Start, Reading Refugee Support Group, Berkshire Women\u2019s Aid, FiFi\u2019s Vision and the Weller Centre. All these organisations help us reach out to families who might be facing financial or emotional difficulties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken families to the beach and sometimes the kids or the parents have never seen the sea before. To then be able to see them play in the sea, eat ice-cream or make a sandcastle, is just amazing. It makes such a difference to those families who can\u2019t afford a day out and don\u2019t get to go on holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n

The amazing work of Reading Family Aid won the highest award a charity can receive \u2013 the Queen\u2019s Award for Voluntary Service – in 2021. Laura said: \u201cIt\u2019s such a tiny charity. There\u2019s seven trustees and our committee has about 23 people \u2013 there\u2019s no paid staff, no premises, no funding or government grants \u2013 we run entirely on donations. I feel we achieve such a lot despite this, so to get this level of recognition is just amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond her role with Reading Family Aid, Laura also lends a helping hand to elderly individuals through the charity Age UK<\/a>. She explained: \u201cI shop for two people who struggle to get their shopping, as they\u2019re both in their eighties and have mobility issues. Again, I found this volunteering opportunity on the RVA website.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started this during the COVID-19 pandemic as elderly people were advised not to go out, but there are still people who need help and it\u2019s only an hour out of my day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the pandemic Laura also donated her time to the University Medical Practice, calling up patients to book them in for their COVID-19 vaccines, and she helped Activate Learning College in Bracknell to process testing their students for COVID-19 before they could return to school. From helping with shopping to helping students get back into classrooms, Laura\u2019s volunteering knows no bounds.<\/p>\n

Feeling good<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"LauraFor Laura, it\u2019s as simple as being able to help others that drives her passion for volunteering. She explained: \u201cI know it sounds corny, but I genuinely do enjoy helping others. If someone can do something with my help, that they otherwise couldn\u2019t have, then it\u2019s worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is that feeling that she endorses to those considering volunteering. Laura said: \u201cIf you\u2019re thinking about volunteering, you\u2019re thinking about it for a reason and you should do it! You\u2019ll make new friends, have new experiences and you will feel good about yourself \u00a0\u2013 what\u2019s not to love?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advice would be to try and find a role that suits your skills, whether that\u2019s talking, listening, planning, driving or gardening.<\/p>\n

\n

“If you find a role that uses your skills then you\u2019ll be able to make the biggest difference and find it more fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is this wealth of dedication to helping others that won Laura the 2024 Celebration of Volunteering Alumni and Supporters Award on 25 April. On hearing that she had won, Laura said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t wipe the smile off my face, it was just amazing. I couldn\u2019t wait to tell my friends at Age UK and Reading Family Aid \u2013 they were really proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interested in volunteering? Find out more about Volunteering<\/a> with the University of Reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CONNECTED speaks to Celebration of Volunteering award winner, alumna Laura Windisch, about her commitment to making a difference – from a listening ear at University of Reading Nightline, to spending her retirement ensuring children have presents at Christmas.\u00a0 The Celebration of Volunteering recognises the volunteering achievements of the University of Reading community \u2013 bringing together […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":13066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[165,54,64,34,108,157,47],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Beacon Of Volunteerism - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CONNECTED speaks to Celebration of Volunteering award winner, alumna Laura Windisch, about her commitment to making a difference.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/05\/16\/a-beacon-of-volunteerism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Beacon Of Volunteerism - 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