Sean Tillman, Student Experience Officer at the IoPPN, shares his favourite volunteering moments.

When I was young, my mom taught me the importance of volunteering. I began my volunteering journey with my mom at a ‘Toys for Tots’ volunteering event, I was about 9.

‘Toys for Tots’ is super American, so if you don’t know the term, it is when people donate toys for young kids, they would be sorted, wrapped, and then delivered around Christmas time. I tried my hand at wrapping and let’s just say Santa won’t be calling me anytime soon. I was much better suited for sorting and collecting donations.

I expanded my horizons as I got older and wanted to highlight some of my favourite moments volunteering.

1. Sharing snacks at a blood donation centre

I volunteer at blood donation centres - both giving blood and helping people feel comfortable after having given blood. I love giving people crisps, candy, chocolate, fruit snacks, a variety of drinks, and even STICKERS! Blood donation stickers are a huge hit and can make your friends jealous!

Now, I know donating blood or volunteering at a blood donation centre is not for everybody. Some people are afraid/get woozy around needles, blood, and the medical environment, trust me, I can’t look at the needle once it’s brought out, but, for me it is important. I have had family members who have been in accidents and needed lifesaving blood, so I have a personal connection to the cause. I have been giving blood since I was 16, now 29, and every time I give blood, I am reminded that my blood can save 3 lives each time I donate. That adds up. At this moment in time there is a blood shortage, so if you’ve ever been on the fence about giving blood, I would recommend you try it once. If it’s not for you, that’s fine, at least you tried and saved 3 lives in the process! Plus, don't forget about the yummy snacks after you’ve donated!

2. Volunteering at Deaf events

I grew up in the Bay Area in California, and there was a city nearby, called Fremont that had the largest Deaf population in California. As Fremont was a neighbour city, in high school we had the additional option of taking American Sign Language (ASL) courses instead of Spanish or French.

I loved my ASL courses and it gave me and my friends opportunities to practice our ASL by volunteering at ‘Deaf Events’. The events were great fun. Typically, we would serve food or register people for raffles. I enjoyed serving food as I was able to practice my signing abilities as well as get to interact with those I normally would not have the opportunity to get to chat with. Sometimes the signing was a bit advanced, but everyone was always so kind and happy to chat. I enjoyed those events, because they were not the typical type of volunteering events. It just felt great to interact with those who live in the community around you that I wasn’t able to before I learned how to Sign.

When I moved to the UK I was not able to continue with these event unfortunately, as British Sign Language (BSL) is quite different than ASL. I’m so glad I got to take part in the experience when I could!

3. Seeing clients achieve their goals

I’m also a Volunteer Life Coach, which fills me with joy. Seeing my clients achieve their goals and feel pure happiness from their accomplishments is one of the best feelings. I was ‘gifted’ a Coaching course by the MOE foundation during lockdown.

The MOE foundation is a charity organisation that specialises in teaching leadership tools and coaching methods. Being gifted the coaching course was incredibly generous as I could not afford the course at the time having been furloughed from my role in study abroad. After completing the course, I started volunteering with MOE, coaching those going through Coaching training. Through MOE I have also been able to help those in the community who cannot afford coaching sessions. I can’t give specifics because of Coach/Client confidentiality, but working with people who have a little idea of what they might want, are not sure how to achieve it, and then seeing that idea become a reality, is incredibly rewarding.

The older I have got, the more I find it important to donate your time and volunteer. Volunteering makes a rippling and lasting effect, ultimately making society a better place.

Service Time

All staff at King’s can choose to spend up to three days of Service Time per year doing voluntary work for another organisation or volunteering scheme.