I started volunteering with HEYCU in March 2024, but through the University of Hull, I worked alongside HEYCU from October 2022-23
When working with the University of Hull, I was able to see firsthand the difference the HEYCU makes to the lives of the children it works with. That made me want to start volunteering to be a part of what those children are able to experience. A lot of the children don't really know anything other than the city that they live in, so to be a part of some of experiences where they learn that the world is a much bigger place than just Hull and help them try and find what they think their place in it could be when they grow up is an amazing thing to be a part of.
My favourite experience has to be Goxhill Meadows. Any experience involving animals is always a fun one, but Goxhill is such a lovely place to be and getting up close with some of the animals there isn't something I've ever been able to do anywhere else. It's a genuinely lovely place to spend a day, and the children always enjoy their time there as well.
For one thing, some of the things the children (and even us as volunteers) get to do are things that otherwise they'd never be able to. We've been behind the scenes at places like the BBC Studios Hull and Bishop Burton College, but also, they always leave with more than what they started the day with. Sometimes that will be having learned about a job they didn't know existed; sometimes that's having tried something new and finding out that they're quite good at it; and sometimes they learn something about themselves that they never knew, such as finding something they enjoy doing. The younger groups always seem to leave with a lot more confidence than what they started the day with, too, which is always amazing to see.
I think the Children's Uni is an absolutely amazing charity, and I'm always more than happy to help on experiences when I can :)