'Big Bexi' - volunteered with Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People for 12 yrs
Rebecca Quinn is celebrating 12 dedicated years of working as a volunteer with Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People – and wants more people to join her.
Rebecca, 27 from Leeds, is Deaf and began changing children’s lives when she was only 15 years old.
A qualified playworker and with a hungry ambition to work full-time in youth work, Rebecca provides a positive role model to the hearing impaired youths of Yorkshire.
Affectionately known by members as ‘Big Bexi’, Rebecca says she feels like a big sister to everyone and loves nothing better than to see someone grow and develop as a person and start achieving their ambitions.
Rebecca said: “I have volunteered for many years now and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Working at Leeds Society has taught me so much about myself and enabled me to learn new skills that have helped me in my own life. Although being Deaf made it quite difficult at the start, I learned to overcome those communication barriers through the years and I’m now working towards a full time career in youth work.
“Volunteering is fulfilling because it’s very heart-warming to see your actions having such a positive effect on other people. For me it was all about drawing on my own personal experience and applying it to the situations of others, helping and advising people out of difficult situations.
“A big part of volunteering however is definitely the fun side of things. The perks of the job make it really rewarding, for example going to funfairs and enjoying camping holidays in the Lakes. It’s really great to see people having a good time, whatever their disability.”
Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People runs the Leeds Deaf Youth Club for all hearing impaired children and young people in the region. Operating an ‘everyone is welcome’ policy, members include people of all backgrounds – something that Barbara Fraher, youth development officer, says makes the club so popular.
Barbara said: “The youth club thrives because we run such an inclusive equality policy for those with some form of hearing impairment. Of course it wouldn’t be possible without the work of people like Rebecca, which is why we’re always on the look-out for new volunteers.
“Whether you want to volunteer for just a couple of months, or more like Rebecca, we are always keen to hear from anyone who is interested.”
To become a volunteer at Leeds Society, call Barbara Fraher on 0113 243 8328 or visit http://www.leedsdeafandblind.org.uk
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
