Volunteering at MD Support Centre – an inside view!

Here at the MD Support Centre, we have some wonderful volunteers and quite frankly we could not do it without them. We have volunteers that give their time regularly to help with physio, complementary therapies, admin and marketing; and some that will help out during events, online meetings, and focus groups.

We appreciate every single one and would like to say a huge THANK YOU!!!

Terry, who was one of our long-standing volunteers, but retired last summer (and we still miss her dearly), has put in words what volunteering with the MD Support Centre has meant to her.

After about a year into my retirement I felt I would like to utilise my skills and volunteer for a charity. I searched admin volunteering in Coventry and the first charity that came up was the MD Support Centre. Following an interview, I started at the Centre the following week. Muscular dystrophy was something I had no knowledge of prior to being involved with the charity, but I learned what I could before the interview and have learnt so much more since

Initially I helped out on the reception, one day a week greeting and meeting clients, booking appointments using various electronic diaries, and prepared banking. As the charity grew I helped out, usually from home, by preparing various monthly reports, reconciling them to the bank statements and inputting donations onto a database. I also prepared and claimed the Gift Aid and when I was in the Centre I would prepare income for banking.

I volunteered at this amazing charity for almost eight years and still very occasionally, if needed, help out at Open Days. Over the years I have grown very loyal to this amazing charity and feel a real sense of satisfaction from volunteering. I really wanted to give something back to the community and believe that joining the team at MD Support was ‘meant to be’ – it’s a fantastic charity that does wonderful work improving the lives of so many people. I have been inspired by the wonderful people I have met from Service users and therapists to trustees and I have been thrilled to see the charity grow from strength to strength.

For anyone thinking of volunteering I would say if you have the time no matter your skills the charity will benefit from any help you can give and the rewards are immense. In addition a volunteering role can be flexible and so perfect as it will still allow an individual to partake in their hobbies.”

Terry – retired admin volunteer

If you are inspired by Terry’s experience, please contact getintouch@mdsupportcentre.org. We would love to hear from you and have you join our team of volunteers.