Childline Foyle team manager Georgina McGlinchey has praised volunteers at Childline Foyle for their dedication.
She said: “The volunteers at Childline Foyle work late into the evening and do it with a smile on their face, they come prepared and ready to support the young people that contact Childline.
A student volunteer at the Childline base in Foyle has opened up about his experience of volunteering during lockdown for the NSPCC service as he encourages others to consider doing the same.
Dessie McCafferty, 20, from Derry, was enrolled on a health and social care foundation degree at North West Regional College in the city when he decided to volunteer at Childline Foyle during lockdown last year, as it required him to undertake work placement.
Dessie said: “I was able to begin training in December 2020, followed by solo shifts in January 2021. Although I have been volunteering for a short time, I have been able to pick up on a lot of different skills during interactions with young people.
“My experience was really worthwhile and beneficial towards furthering my skills, especially when it came to knowing what to do in situations where you need to help make a young person feel calm and relaxed."
Dessie praised the staff at the Childline base for their help and support, especially when responding the high-risk calls.
He added: “The main thing I noticed at the base was how helpful and supportive everyone is.
"There are on-call supervisors to help when you are struggling to figure out what to say or if it’s a high-risk call. There is always someone there to give input into the situation to help callers which is great.”
Childline Foyle team manager Georgina McGlinchey said: “Dessie is incredibly committed. He maintained his college work, attended shifts sometimes four times a week and approached every new challenge with a can-do attitude.
“I hope Dessie and all the volunteers are aware of how much we appreciate the time they give to Childline every week. We really could not do this without each and every one of them.”
Talking about how volunteering has aided him on his career path, Dessie added: “Volunteering at Childline Foyle has definitely helped me in gaining more experience in the health and social care field in the future.
"It has made me more empathetic, patient and my active listening skills have really improved, which is so important when working at Childline. I intend to keep volunteering for a long time and I look forward to continuing learning new skills.”
Childline in Foyle is currently looking for volunteer counsellors for weekly shifts at its Exchange House base.
If you have any questions about volunteering with Childline Foyle or would like to sign up to the next information session, contact Volunteer Coordinator, Amanda Doherty at Amanda.Doherty@NSPCC.org.uk or on 028 2044 1733 / 028 2044 1734.
For more De rry news, visit our new site MyDerry.
