This Volunteers' Week, we will be catching up with various volunteers who have all made a big impact during their time with the Foundation of Light.
We want to know what made volunteers want to join the Foundation and the impact volunteers feel they have made since joining the organisation.
Ann Hall, who recently joined the Foundation as a volunteer is an ambassador for the Game of II Halves programme – a programme which aims to raise awareness around mental health issues and suicide prevention.
Ann spoke very positively about the Foundation of Light and the impact we have had on her and her family. She said: “The main reasons I joined was because my daughter qualified as a coach here, has a disability and struggles badly with her mental health. She also has Fibromyalgia and like myself I also have the disability.
“The Foundation of Light have brought Mia on so much and they have brought my little girl back. From this, I had no second thoughts about joining the Foundation - they’re absolutely brilliant and I love being here. It’s a lovely place to work and they do so many good things for the area as well. There was just no question why I wanted to be a volunteer."
As well as being a positive influence to those in her local community, Ann also dedicates her time on a Saturday to the Game of II Halves five-a-side initiative – an activity ran to help improve your physical and mental wellbeing. Sessions are supported by our Game of II Halves ambassadors, where participants are given the opportunity to have a 90 second wellbeing check-in.
Ann continued: “We’ve got a lovely bunch of guys who come along on a Saturday and they sit and have a chat with me and they are quite relaxed around me so I feel like I’ve made a little bit of an impact there.
“I never switch off and I’m always an ambassador 24/7 because I think it is such an amazing campaign.
"Men’s mental health is huge – the north east has one of the highest suicide rates and we just want to get people talking more and hopefully as an ambassador I’m doing that.”
To find out more about the Game of II Halves programme, click here.
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