John's a star volunteer!

We are delighted to report that one of the Moving On project's beneficiaries, John, has moved into ongoing unsupported volunteering for 2 days a week after completing his 8 week placement with us.

John recently completed his placement at the PDSA Charity Shop in Chester town centre after showing that he was able to become a comfortable, able and productive member of the workforce at the store. The shop manager Barry Spencer said 'Johns a real asset, he's done really well while on placement and we are looking forward to him continuing as a volunteer'. John is also now working towards his NVQ level 1 in retail.

Below is an excerpt from John's Job Coach report:

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  Week 1. John was quiet, tense and nervous at first but gradually relaxed thanks to friendly support of volunteers and store management.
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  Week 2. John was quickly interested in what he needed to do and why – settling down to learn and willing to undertake tasks as requested by other staff and volunteers.
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  Week 3. John had started to show initiative and decision making in the sorting out and correctly hanging up of hangers which was appreciated by the senior volunteer.
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  From week 4 John quickly became confident in what he was doing, and why, settled in with volunteers working alongside him and felt comfortable with working on his own for long periods time. Very much more relaxed.
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  From week 5 John worked on his own with job coach fully acting as another volunteer which gave John the independence and confidence to become a valued and well thought of volunteer who asked questions only when he was unsure of what he needed to do.
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  Week 6 John was so well thought of by staff/managers he was offered the opportunity of working for a Level 1 (foundation) NVQ in retail which they believed he could attain.
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  Week 7. Manager needed extra volunteer for Mondays and asked John if he would like the opportunity of working the extra day for them.
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  During the 8 week placement John received increasingly good feedback from Managers and staff which resulted in him being asked to work an additional day and given the opportunity of taking a qualification along with other volunteers.

John works at a steady pace, continues going and attracts good feedback for his readiness and willingness to do what he is asked. A revision of his duties early on in the placement reduced distractions and John worked exceptionally well and went from strength to strength. This allowed John to form his own volunteering role over the remaining 4/5 weeks which he thoroughly enjoys, he asks questions only when he doesn’t know what to do and he is now a fully fledged member of the volunteering team.

With the revision of duties John’s confidence, concentration and communication significantly improved week by week and he is a more comfortable now with speaking to customers as well as volunteers he meets for the first time. As he continues to grow in confidence I think John will naturally and easily begin to develop an ability to do his job and chat to others without becoming overly distracted.

Well Done John!!