Hola! Birmingham's Si Senior! volunteers are ready and raring to go and looking forward to spending three weeks in Logrono, Spain. Our volunteers will be working under the supervision of our partner organisation, Gantalcala, to deliver a range of volunteering activities with young people.
You can find out a little more about our volunteers below:
Malcolm Stanley
Hi, I’m Malcolm. I’m currently employed in
the voluntary sector, with Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC).
My role involves working with and assisting
clients to find voluntary roles and non-profit organisations, find perspective
volunteers.
I have worked for many years on a voluntary
basis as a special constable where I participated in most aspects of general
police work. During my time in this role I was awarded a Divisional
Commendation, for professionalism, initiative and good communication skills.
I have a background in engineering, where I
have been employed in various areas which include quality, supervisory and
training roles. I
am a qualified football referee and officiate in matches most weekends. I
assist on a regular basis as an assistant Cub Scout leader, where I work with
young people aged between 8 and 10 years old.
My
other leisure interests include listening to music I have a large and vary
varied collection to suit my tastes. I
am a keen West Bromwich Albion supporter and regularly attend matches. I
am also a keen Worcestershire County cricket supporter.
I
have volunteered to take part in the Si Senior project, in order to develop new
skills, gain experience of volunteering in another country and to acquire an
understanding of the Spanish volunteering ethos.
I
am looking forward to working with Spanish people, studying and learning from
their culture, learning and developing new ideas which could be implemented at
BVSC.
Alan
Eaton
Hi
there, my name is Alan Eaton. I am 56 years old and live in Sutton Coldfield,
near Birmingham. Originally I am from Warrington near Manchester. I am retired
but work as a volunteer in a cafe and have trained as a volunteer advocate
supporting people with physical and learning difficulties. I enjoy gardening,
football, reading, cooking and travelling. Recently I have been learning
Spanish.
I
am married and we have five children - 3 boys and 2 girls.
Stephen
Fleet
Hi,
I’m Stephen G Fleet, but everybody calls me Steve.
We
tend to always shorten people’s names, as a force of habit in the West Midlands
and it is widely accepted, because it is always meant in a friendly way and
just a peculiarity of the region, where I have spent half my working life and
the other half I’ve spent in Somerset in the South West of England
I
have had a varied and interesting working life, I started working in the
Printing Industry, then moved into the
Retail Supermarket Business and then into The Charity & Support
Services, known here in the UK as the Third Sector and in the past two years
working as a Volunteering.
The
biggest part of my working life has been, working with Young People and Adults
with Learning Disability/Difficulties and Mental Health issues, in the Third
Sector. I have recently acquired a TELF (Teaching English as a Foreign
Language) Certificate to add to my qualification portfolio and hope to put this
to good use in the future.
I
have had experience in working and living abroad and been on Life Long Learning
Programmes and Training in Portugal and Turkey with YiA (Youth in Action), on
subjects of ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Inclusion’ and hold a European Youth Pass.
I
have a wide range of interests and hobbies which include Course Fishing,
Archaeology, Community Choir, Music, Art and History, to name just a few, but
my favourite interests and activities are The Theatre, Drama, Musical Theatre
and Creative Arts and Crafts which all complement one another in my work.
