Gillian's story

Gillian volunteers at the Cornhill Centre Gillian is a volunteer at WRVS Cornhill Centre in Banbury. She became a volunteer after her company was approached to help support a Christmas dinner, helping out with social events and a weekly raffle.

When she lost her job as an estate agent, it hit her hard but she decided to turn her misfortune around and take the opportunity to shift her WRVS volunteering up a gear. Full-time volunteering opened up a whole new window on the world.

Gillian’s experience was a springboard to a successful career change, whilst still volunteering with WRVS part-time.

“The benefits are an improved mental attitude and an appreciation of what you’ve actually got. You start to realise how many people are out there who’ve got so much less than you. If you’re feeling lonely and blue, it’s a great place to be, it will cheer you up, it gives you huge life enrichment.

"Most people say to me, 'how do you find the time?' And I don’t really know but I do I just decided that doing this is much more fun than doing the dusting and the hoovering so I’ll do that whenever. I would say to anybody just give it a go maybe it’s not for everybody but it’s just so rewarding and enriches your own life as well as many others – just give it a go."

“I’ve had to go out and get a full time job again but I’ve gone into caring so I now work in a nursing home as a carer which is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Back to list