Morning all!
Well, it’s fair to say we were pretty bad at keeping this guy updated. We will attempt to get some more stuff out in the next few weeks as the Project is rounding up – it can become a more reflexive blog instead. In the meantime we wanted to give a word to our great volunteers who were pivotal to the Project and aided in so many of the processes! Kosi came to us via a contact with Scope and was an amazing asset to the Team, so much so that she and fellow volunteer Shannon became our official Heritage Officers. We’ll pass you over to her:
In August 2008 bayc (Birmingham Association of Youth Clubs) had employed me as a part-time Trusts Fundraiser. This opportunity only came about because I had been volunteering in the same position for two years. My role involved researching potential charitable trusts to fund in-house projects. Each week I had to write appeal letters to trusts and wait for cheques to arrive. At the beginning I was 74% successful but when the recession hit bayc struggled to compete with other charities to receive funds. I began to feel stressed and anxious because I wasn’t meeting funding targets and I regretfully resigned from the position in 2012.
After two years of doing nothing I thought it was high time I did something productive! With the help of a Bid Services support worker I contacted Scope to find out if they needed a volunteer for anything. Unfortunately their work mostly focuses around supporting parents with children with CP (Cerebral Palsy) so it wasn’t ideal for me, but they referred me to their Regional Officer. Jackie came to visit me at home to discuss which areas of volunteering I would be interested in. I had informed her that I was keen to work with adults or children with CP.
A few days later Jackie emailed me to say that she had contacted Adam (Development Officer) from Cerebral Palsy Midlands in Harborne and he suggested that I could either volunteer supporting the service users with daily activities, or get involved in their heritage project. I was intrigued about the heritage project and wanted to find out more! Initially I thought the project would be based on the services which people with CP would have required over the decades to improve their lives. However, when Lottie and I started to exchange emails, I learnt that the heritage project was aiming to hold an exhibition on the history and achievements made by the Centre, staff and, most importantly, the service users.
I had arranged to meet Lottie at the Centre to talk about the heritage project. The saga of getting to the Centre was a nightmare because the taxi didn’t show up on time and I struggled to communicate my difficulty with the taxi operator. With quick thinking, I thought to call Lottie and ask her to book me a taxi. The reason I am mentioning my transport issue is because many volunteers don’t realise how easy it for them to travel to their work placements and some still don’t bother showing up! As I am a wheelchair user I have to arrange transport in advance in order to get to the placements.
Once I arrived at the CPM Centre, Lottie explained to me what the Fulfilment Through Achievement Heritage Project entailed and which areas I could help in. I was introduced to Sam, an Ambassador of the Centre and I was bowled over by Sam’s knowledge of the Centre’s history!
The following Thursday I began my volunteering on the CPM Fulfilment Through Achievement heritage project! My friend Shannon (another volunteer) and I started the process of cataloguing special needs equipment and old photographs of service users on to the item database. I was assigned the task to write out labels for objects which were loaned to us by the Museum of Medicine and Health in Manchester. The objects, including a small child’s club shoe, needed time spent researching what they were and where they’d come from, as no-one knew their original purposes. The research revealed some amazing facts about the objects and all the items from the Museum have been carefully displayed in glass cabinets in the exhibition room!
I have gained a huge amount from volunteering on this heritage project. The most interesting fact I learnt was that Paul Cadbury founded the charity because his daughter had Cerebral Palsy and he held a strong belief that other children and adults with the same disability would benefit from attending the centre, which was originally a school. Having the chance to look and touch very old pieces of hand and leg splints, as well as shoes, from the Museum was a huge privilege, and one usually reserved for conservators and curators so I felt honoured and excited to prepare them for the exhibition! With time my confidence grew and I enjoyed working with the Heritage Team, which was passionate in supporting each other in delivering a project to the community that is so closely connected to Cerebral Palsy Midlands.
The whole Heritage Team worked extremely hard to ensure the evening of the CPM Fulfilment Through Achievement exhibition launch went well.
So why should you consider volunteering? If you have spare time or you are unsure about what kind of job you are looking for, then it’s a great idea to do some voluntary work with charitable organisations like Cerebral Palsy Midlands. In the past thirteen years I have volunteered for several charities, including the West Midlands Refugee Council. It gives me self-satisfaction because I know I am a making difference for service users. Through volunteering you are learning about the charity, its aims, the staff and its users. It is certain that you will make friends with fellow volunteers and, in this setting; you are able to learn, develop and share your experiences of volunteering! The added benefit is that you are able to develop your practical and professional skills as well as confidence for a paid job.
I was born with Cerebral Palsy so I could relate and input my own life experience into the Heritage Project. When reflecting on how the older service users of the Centre have lived with CP I feel very fortunate. Even though I was brought up in a good Muslim household in Birmingham, my family didn’t understand what Cerebral Palsy meant because the doctors had failed to explain the condition in depth. Hence my family held a negative view of the outcome of my life. Despite this I had the chance to be educated and I managed to learn to read and write. The social services placed me in a special needs school and while I personally felt deprived of not having the chance to be a pupil in a mainstream school, due to my physical disability, I still managed to achieve some impressive physical feats, especially becoming a regional and national boccia player!
With my determination and willpower I also achieved my academic goal. After completing an Access to Higher Education course at Bournville College I was enrolled at Coventry University. The day I received my 2:1 BA (Hons) in Social Welfare & Community Studies, I knew I could achieve anything in life! Yes there are social, cultural and physical barriers put it front of me but I don’t let them stop me from achieving my goals!
When my mind wonders at the realisation of what the older service users of Cerebral Palsy Midlands had to endure in order to achieve the acceptance of a sometimes arrogant and ignorant society. I’m truly inspired by their determination and empowerment to fulfil their lives with long lasting friendships, sharing their life experiences and finding happiness in the simplest things. It has been a pleasure volunteering alongside these aspirational people!
Kosi x
CPMids 