Volunteering at the BHF is not only a rewarding experience as you help raise funds for lifesaving research, but volunteering can also give you something back in return.
Meet Neil Sherwood, a volunteer at Taunton shop, who loves the flexible hours of volunteering so he can fit it in alongside house renovations and supporting his favourite football team Manchester City.
Volunteering has also really helped his self-confidence, opened the door to meeting new people and socialising. He’s also been able to practice his painting skills on shop windows and chalk boards, which have been the talk of BHF!
Neil, tell us about you! What do you do when you aren’t volunteering? How easy is it for you to volunteer around other commitments?
I’m a painter and am currently renovating the exterior of my house. I like playing darts and am part of a local team. It’s very easy to fit volunteering around my other jobs and commitments, as it’s so flexible. I often create the shop’s A-boards at home as my time allows, so it’s the perfect volunteering for me! My friends and family are always interested to see my next design.
What inspired you to sign up and why did you want to volunteer? My wife Jacqui joined the BHF as the Store Manager of Minehead, then moved to the Taunton shop, where she strongly encouraged me to join as a volunteer. I was happy to do so as I wanted to both support a great charity and help my wife; she is incredibly hard working and really looks after all her volunteers.
Is there a personal link to the BHF? Can you tell us about this? Everyone knows someone that has been affected by heart conditions, I wasn’t aware of the size of the problem or how so many young people are affected until I joined the BHF. I primarily joined to support my wife and help a great charity, but since being here for two years I feel humbled to be a small part of helping to try to stop heartbreak and I hope my boards help raise funds and awareness of what we need, like donations, and volunteers. It makes me feel very lucky to be healthy and be able to volunteer at the BHF.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering? I really like seeing the other volunteers and in small ways, I try and help them too. In Taunton I have shown one volunteer some drawing techniques as she says drawing helps her to relax but she doesn’t have confidence.
I love when I’m painting the windows and customers come in and have a chat, one customer thought I was a mannequin when I was concentrating on doing the Olympic rings, it caused a lot of laughter in the shop as she really jumped when I moved! I like the team atmosphere in the store, everyone is busy, but we all have a laugh and when Jacqui puts on parties and BBQs it is lovely to socialise and see other volunteers who work different shifts.
Has it helped you at all? I found after COVID I had lost some self-confidence, then I started to lose my hearing and now wear hearing aids which made me anxious about having conversations as I still struggle to hear clearly. But coming into the store and chatting to people has really helped, and being able to support volunteers, from going round making everyone a drink to bagging up rag, it has all helped to give me my confidence back. Seeing the comments about my boards and windows makes me feel very proud and touched. I think meeting the Area Manager, Phil, when he personally thanked me for all my efforts was a very proud moment.
Would you encourage others to get involved? And if so, why?
Absolutely, it is a lovely thing to be able to help a great charity and it helps you discover more about yourself, meet other people, feel part of a team and make a difference. I love volunteering!
We can’t thank Neil enough for his support at Taunton. Shop Manager and Neil’s wife, Jacqui, says, “When we did the Christmas party, Neil chatted to everyone and made sure they had enough food, so everybody felt included. He is patient and has also helped several volunteers by talking to them about how art helps to relax you and how you can improve your skills.”
A big thanks for all you do Neil, you truly put the ‘art’ in the British He’art’ Foundation!