Meet Katie
“The most rewarding part of volunteering with COVEY is making a difference to a young person’s life.”
When Katie was in her final year at Secondary, COVEY attended her school and gave a presentation. As Katie watched and learned about all the amazing ways COVEY was working to support the local community, she just knew she wanted to get involved.
Ten years on from that day and Katie is still volunteering with COVEY. She recently shared some of her favourite memories and explained why she decided to stay for so many years.
Beginning her journey in 2014, Katie first volunteered with the young people at COVEY’s East Kilbride ANGELS group (Additional Needs Gaining Experience in Life Skills). She then moved on to support the ANGELS Transition group in Hamilton. Her time at these groups holds many fun and happy memories for Katie:
“There have been so many amazing moments with COVEY and all the young people. I have loved the arts and crafts nights. These allow the young people to be freely creative which is great to see. I have also loved the messy games night. One time I had a shower cap on with shaving cream on top and the young people had to throw cheesy watsits at my head! It was very messy but good fun!”
When considering why she has stayed with COVEY for so many years, Katie thinks on what she finds most rewarding about her role:
“The most rewarding part of volunteering with COVEY is making a difference to a young person’s life, whether that’s being someone to talk to, making them laugh or just being a friendly smiling face. It has been lovely to see the positive development and progress of young people over the years and to see, first-hand, the amazing impact COVEY has had in their journey is incredibly rewarding.”
As well as the privilege of watching the young people progress and develop, Katie’s time with COVEY has given her opportunities to share her own passions and expertise with young people. Her commitment to this has enabled the young people to develop skills and interests in areas they may not otherwise have had a chance to explore:
“I always felt I had the passion and skills to help young people with additional needs and COVEY gave me a chance to share these at our groups. I have really enjoyed sharing my passion of engineering with the young people by organising Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) themed nights.”
Volunteering with COVEY has not only allowed Katie to share her own skills with young people, but it has also equipped her with skills that she has been able to transfer to other parts of her life. She recalls how her Befriender Training helped her overcome some challenges:
“It can be challenging to entice a young person to try new things, but usually ends with them enjoying it and having fun. The group dynamics is so important but can sometimes be a challenge with so many personalities. That’s where my befriender training comes in and where my role at the groups plays an important part. I help the different personalities come together and give the young people the confidence to try things they might not be sure of at first.”
Katie’s positive experience as a COVEY volunteer has made her a strong advocate for the work that COVEY does and it’s clear that she takes pride in being part of our volunteer community:
“COVEY do amazing work with amazing people, so of course I want to be a part of that. I am passionate about things that are important to me – COVEY being one. It is a very friendly, people-based organisation who always made me feel part of a team.”
Over the years, Katie has given an incredible amount of time and dedication in her role as a COVEY volunteer. She has had a wonderfully positive impact on the young people she has worked with who, without her support, may not have developed the skills and interests they have today. For this, COVEY are incredibly grateful to Katie for all she has achieved for us and for the work she continues to do.