Volunteer Stories
From patient to volunteerCarolyn wanted to give us something back
It was while staying at our respite apartment in Whitby that mum of two Carolyn Ashley, 48, decided she wanted to volunteer for us.
She’d been looking forward to spending a few days at the flat after undergoing breast cancer treatment in 2017, and she loved her time there.
“It was so relaxing. There was so much space and I sat on a bar stool in the lovely big kitchen and just told everybody else what to do!
“I went with my husband and sons and two friends who had helped us out while I was having my treatment. We walked, we ate fish and chips and we pottered around.
“One afternoon I was just sitting and looking through the guest book that is in the apartment and saw just how much it means to everybody. I thought how fabulous it was and said to myself, ‘I need to give something back.’
Back home, primary school teacher Carolyn contacted our staff to inquire about opportunities, and was offered the chance of a shift at our shop in the foyer at York Hospital.
“I enjoyed being in the shop but the best bit is not so much about the shop, it is about the people who come and talk to you while they are visiting, going to and from their appointments or waiting for the hospital bus to take them home,” she said.
“Spending the time to talk to them is wonderful – I love that side of it.”
Would you like to join Carolyn on our list of helpers? As well as staffing our volunteers also help us with office admin, driving, baking, collecting and a variety of other tasks that help us deliver our services to local people with cancer.
Learn more and apply here: https://www.yorkagainstcancer.org.uk/volunteer-york-against-cancer