Tell us about your employee volunteer role.
I have volunteered as a literacy coach at Mulberry Academy Shoreditch and as a numeracy coach at Beacon High. For the literacy coaching role, I do an in-person one-to-one session with the student, reading through a book of their own choice for 30-minutes every week, helping them boost their confidence in reading and also to explain any new vocabulary to them. While for the numeracy coaching role, I have been doing a 30 to 45 minute session with two students once per week, going through any topics that they are struggling with and interactively guiding them on solving example questions.
I have also supported a Dragons’ Den event last year.
What is the most enjoyable part of volunteering?
I think the best part of volunteering is when you see how the students improve and grow, especially in their confidence level when they get the support they need. I feel like most of the time, these students are not actually underperforming or not keeping up with their studies, but just need someone to give them a slight nudge and you will be amazed by how much they actually know!
What skills have you developed when volunteering?
Through the sessions that I had with the students, I have really improved my communication and planning skills – which is something that is essential for my day job too. It was important for me to understand what the students want to improve on (instead of focusing only on what we think they need to improve on), and then plan the sessions accordingly around the topics that they’ve chosen.
Does your employer offer volunteering initiatives?
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was something that I have always being interested in, so I have been very keen on learning about the different volunteering initiatives that Deutsche Bank offer. Volunteering has been a great way for me to not just bond with my direct team, but also to interact and connect with people across the bank.
How would you sum up your employee volunteer experience?
I have truly enjoyed myself and look forward to more volunteering opportunities to come! Inês has been a great help in introducing me to the different activities that I have been part of now, and for organising all the sessions between us volunteers and the schools. Volunteering has allow me to take breaks from my daily job, but at the same time also let me enhance on some basic skills that are useful for my day-to-day work.
Get in touch to find out how we can support your business with our employee volunteering programme.