Volunteer stories: Meet Lily

How long have you been volunteering with us? What was your experience with the recruitment process?

I’ve been volunteering with since November 2022. Recruitment was really smooth and easy, I had an introductory call during which I felt really welcomed and like it was definitely something that I wanted to pursue. I got sent a list of the current projects and was able to have a browse and see which ones I liked the sound of.

What made you get involved? Where did you hear about the opportunity to volunteer?

I had just finished a Masters in Public Health at the University of York and I am currently taking a gap year in order to set time aside to travel, which is a passion of mine. However, I didn’t want to lose touch with health and social care or the healthcare sector, and so I wanted to find some volunteering which would help me feel that I could be of use, aid me in keeping up to date with current research and issues within the field, and provide me with some relevant work experience. I spent a lot of time googling things like ‘public health volunteering York’ but wasn’t really finding anything that peaked my interest or that I could fit around my current job, until I came across Healthwatch North Yorkshire. I sent them an email on their volunteering page and they got back to me really quickly.

Is there a particular project or piece of work that you have been involved in that you enjoyed?

So far I have been involved in the literature review of one project examining the mental healthcare needs of certain groups, and another literature review for a project investigating the prospect of including rurality as a health inequality. I have enjoyed both, though was already passionate about healthcare inequalities, and coming from a rural area I was keen to contribute to this particular project.

Can you tell us more about your role and how you are feeling on about the projects? What are you looking forward to?

So far I have assisted with literature reviews on two projects, but I hope to follow the project on rurality as it progresses further down the line. Having worked as a carer over summers during my undergraduate degree I’d really like to be involved with any projects focusing on the care sector.

What is your favourite thing about volunteering at Healthwatch North Yorkshire?

Everyone I’ve encountered has been so welcoming to me and I know that they are always there if I have any questions or need any support, which I think has been the main thing. It’s also very flexible which is great for me as my weeks are very changeable at the moment, and so with the projects that I’ve been working on I’ve been able to make my contributions whenever I have a minute.