Bill Alves – My Volunteering Story

Bill Alves joined the team at Big Hearts in 2018 when he became a Big Hearts Volunteer. In that time Bill has completed a variety of roles including bag packing at a local supermarket, matchday foodbank collection, leaflet drop and bucket collection and every week he attends Big Hearts Memories Group.

 

 

Bill tells us all about his time volunteering with Big Hearts and what it means to him:

 

“I really enjoy working with Big Hearts. Since retiring I have helped with fundraising at an Edinburgh supermarket doing bag packing and holding out a bucket collecting cash on match days at Tynecastle Park. Both were fun!

 

I love helping with the Memories group in the Shed, Big Hearts community space, learning new skills and meeting and sharing ideas with staff and other volunteers.

 

Big Hearts help in the local community in so many different ways and everybody has got skills to help. I love it!

 

Volunteering with Big Hearts has become a really important part of my life since retiring. It has kept me young, working with volunteers of all ages, and has allowed me to make new friends and do you know what – we just seem to smile and enjoy every day.

 

If you want to smile all day, join a volunteer group and help others!

 

Meeting new people and learning new skills has been so good for my self-esteem, I feel good about myself being able to help others.

 

Retiring from full-time work can be daunting, but volunteering with Big Hearts has really improved my life. The staff have helped me gain new skills and made me feel useful in the community.

 

The best thing I ever did was start volunteering with Big Hearts. I love the staff – they are so helpful and supportive. I love the volunteers – we’re a great team! I love feeling good about helping others in the community.

 

I thought by volunteering I would be helping others – this is true, but the reality is that I have also gained so much by being part of the football memories programme. Playing a part in bringing people together and seeing friendships develop is a joy and I get to go to Tynecastle every week.

 

Thank you Big Hearts!”

 

Find out more about Big Hearts’ Volunteering opportunities here.

 

– May 2023