Lysianne is a volunteer at our Exmouth charity shop and joined us in 2017.
My volunteering relationship with Devon Air Ambulance began back in 2017 when I was trying to get back to work after a long lay off due to surgery – I couldn’t get a job because I hadn’t been working for some time. It was suggested, to bring my CV up to date, I needed to have some experience of working with people again and volunteering was put forward as an option.
I thought about the suggestion and decided I would volunteer. For a number of years I had browsed and bought items from the Exmouth Air Ambulance shop and had also donated many times with money and goods so thought I would enquire if there was a need for any volunteers, fortunately there was. This was 2 years and 6 months ago.
The reason I chose to volunteer for the Devon Air Ambulance was, of all the charities around, you know what your hard work is going towards and can see the results of the money you help to generate. I like the opportunity to work with like minded people and get a chance to have a varied role as well as meeting the public. The thank you I receive at the end of the day is a great reward and enthuses you to stay part of the great team.
Even though this adventure started as a means to get back into the workplace I am happy to continue as a volunteer because seeing the results of the Air Ambulance team is reward enough. Meeting the Air Crew at the base was a fantastic reward and generated an even greater bond with the service.
