Volunteering with Family Fund’s Grant Delivery team

To mark National Volunteering Week, we caught up with one of Family Fund’s incredible volunteers, Joy, who has been giving her time to support Family Fund over the last three years.

Why did you decide to volunteer with Family Fund?

I’d been retired a couple of years following a career in a wide range of roles in the public sector, when I saw Family Fund were looking for volunteers. I have three children and many years ago, my two daughters both worked for Family Fund! One worked as a Grants Officer for two years and the other worked on a temporary basis whilst she was studying. They both loved Family Fund. To this day they say it’s the best office they’ve worked in. And we all love the work that the charity does, so I decided to apply for the volunteer role.

What does your role involve?

I come into the office two days a week to help with admin tasks to support the Grant Delivery team. Some of the tasks I do include opening and sorting the post, scanning, and collating and sending award letters. It’s great because I’ve been able to see the whole process a family goes through, from the moment we receive an application to sending out a grant award, and everything in between. I can see how much the grants are needed and what a difference they are going to make.

As we move away from paper and everything becomes more digital, there’s less to manage and so I’m getting involved with other tasks now too including data entry work.

What do you enjoy about volunteering?

I enjoy having the routine in retirement, coming into the office a couple of days a week. But the best thing of course is the people. There’s a real sense of camaraderie. I do agree with my daughter about it being one of the best offices I’ve worked in. More than anything, I like feeling like I’m doing something useful and contributing to something worthwhile.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about volunteering?

Volunteering for Family Fund has been a great experience. I’ll carry on as long as there is work for me! It’s an excellent team with real care and concern for their people, and I have seen first hand how vital the support we give is. I would definitely recommend volunteering.

“We’re so grateful for all of Joy’s time and commitment to Family Fund. Joy embodies Family Fund’s core values and her passion and determination over the last few years has been tremendous.

“Joy has taken full ownership of some of our administration tasks and training new team members, which has freed up the rest of the team to make vital grants to our families. Joy is our first long term Grant Delivery volunteer and she has played a huge role in shaping how our future volunteer placements will work.”

Ben, Grant Delivery Manager