Jo Gray
Volunteering role: Tai Chi teacher
Why did you want to volunteer with Age Cymru?
Living away from my parents as they get older and seeing all the things I could do if I was ‘round the corner’.. made me want to do that for older neighbours who actually are ‘round the corner’. Having worked in the NHS all my life I also wanted to do some preventative healthcare (which I think tai chi is with its falls prevention research).
What difference to your life has volunteering made to you?
I have got to know a section of my community that I would never otherwise meet, and met some lovely, funny people - I actually look forward to these sessions every week!
What do you enjoy most about your volunteering experience?
Connecting with the participants – in sessions and when we see each other around the village. Annoyingly they are more up on local information than I am, so I have to work hard to tell them some local news that they don’t already know!!
What would you say to someone who is thinking of becoming involved with volunteering?
Do it – choose to work on something that you love and make a commitment you can easily manage and then you will love it- it gets addictive!