Volunteering is like a “Busman’s Holiday” for Lynn Hammonds, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Where volunteering is concerned, some people may prefer to do something totally different to their day job, but not Lynn.
During the week, she works full-time at Broadacres’ Rivendale extra care scheme in Northallerton, where she is a Support Worker.
This includes helping to run the weekly bingo sessions that the residents enjoy so much.
But once a week, after work, she gets in her car and drives to Broadacres’ Town Close extra scheme in Stokesley, where she volunteers as, yes you guessed it, a bingo caller.
Lynn, 58, explains:
“When I first started working for Broadacres I was a Support Worker in the community in Stokesley, so now when I visit Town Close I see some of the people I used to support in their own homes who have now moved here.
“I volunteered at Town Close because I enjoy working with older people so whilst it may seem like a Busman’s Holiday, because I do this for my day job, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“It’s two hours out of my life each week, which is nothing but seeing their faces light up, is one of the highlights of the week for me, as the residents enjoy seeing a new face and, more importantly, they know I am here to help run their bingo.”
Lynn says she would have no hesitation in recommending volunteering to others.
She adds:
“I see it as giving something back. It gives your self-esteem a boost and I don’t see it as a job, but as a hobby.”
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