Lesley Forrest uses her Day to Make a Difference
Lesley first heard about A Day to Make a Difference in 2018 when her department organised a series of group volunteering days for staff.
Lesley Forrest is a Senior Clerical Assistant within the Financial Information Reporting and Strategy Team (FIRST) in the Finance Department at the University. Lesley tells us about how her experience as a mum inspired her to volunteer in a local school for children with additional support needs, and how getting out of the office and into the open air to volunteer on gardening projects helps with her own wellbeing.
“I first volunteered with the University when the call went out for people to help at St Crispin’s School, a school for children with additional support needs. We helped to clear the garden which was pretty much overgrown so the children could enjoy the plants and trees and play area.
As a mother of 3 I understand the benefits of a safe outside area for children to play. It’s a local school to me personally, which I hadn’t actually realised was in the area, so it was encouraging to hear about all the fantastic work they do, and this motivated me as a local, to support an organisation that’s having a positive impact in my area.
I love volunteering as you feel you are giving something back to the community, and you get that “feel-good feeling” after doing something constructive. I have experience helping out with other organisations so I’m a good organiser and enjoy utilising these skills. However, volunteering opportunities like this where I can take a break from the office environment and get out in the open air to do some gardening feels great for my own wellbeing, and actually you gain experience and skills by doing this kind of activity.
I also helped with the Christmas shoebox appeal, helping to pack and decorate boxes. It was a great initiative from the department to provide different volunteering options, as we were able to choose how we spent our time across different opportunities. I spent half a day to St Crispins and half a day for the Christmas shoe boxes.
In my personal time I volunteer when I can. Throughout the year I volunteer with the Edinburgh Transplant Team as Secretary for the organisation. This involves organising a team of 50 to take part in the British Transplant games. I also sing with a community choir at Christmas time.
I do believe that the more you give the more you get back. There are a lot of good organisations locally who could really do with the help, even just for one day. But if we all gave one day, what a difference we could make to so many.
I’m really pleased to see that A Day to Make a Difference is being promoted more widely across the University, and that people are being signposted to different opportunities. This will make it easier for people to volunteer and hopefully increase the University’s impact across the city.”