About us News Volunteering for your future: Maddie's story Student Volunteering Week has named today 'Transferable Skills Tuesday’. To highlight the employability benefits of volunteering, we’ve put together a Q&A with Maddie, who volunteers twice a week for our Gentle Exercise and Warm Space groups. Maddie is volunteering to build valuable experience and skills in health and social care for her future career. “Being able to spend time with older friends has made me realise that we’re all the same. We all want to be able to socialise, have friends, and keep busy, no matter what age we are. Even simple things like remembering how someone likes their coffee can make a big difference to someone’s day." Tell us about how you found out about Link Age Southwark I am local to the area and had seen the signs for Link Age Southwark. I am studying for my Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care and 100 hours of work experience is part of the course. When thinking about where to apply, I thought about the charity. I spoke to a family friend who had done some volunteer work there, who recommended it highly, so I got in touch. I was so happy that they said yes! I have been going since October and I love it. How has volunteering helped your career goals? I feel that it has really helped me to develop my employability skills because it has given me real-life experience in the workplace. I have developed my teamwork skills - working alongside staff - and my time management skills – being reliable and on time each week. It has also helped me to develop my communication skills, as I am constantly communicating with a varied range of people: tutors, staff and older friends. When did you realise you wanted to help others, especially vulnerable people? I have always wanted to do this from an early age. Doing my work experience with Link Age Southwark has given me a lot of exposure to different roles in the social care sector, such as occupational therapy, art therapy, care work and social work. I have enjoyed it so much that I have decided I would definitely like to work in this sector. The staff and the older friends have been so welcoming and friendly, I look forward to going every week. What have you learned from volunteering so far? I think I have learned a lot. Before I started, I was given a great induction session so that I knew what to do in different situations. I learned a lot about safeguarding and confidentiality, as well as health and safety. Since then, being able to spend time with older friends has made me realise that we’re all the same. We all want to be able to socialise, have friends, and keep busy, no matter what age we are. Even simple things like remembering how someone likes their coffee can make a big difference to someone’s day. The staff are always so careful to treat everyone with respect and kindness, and seeing the impact of that on the people who go to the centre is amazing. Many thanks to Maddie for volunteering her time for the charity and answering our questions. If you want to make an intergenerational connection, click below: Find out more about volunteering Manage Cookie Preferences