BrightSparks excited to welcome new volunteer Sarah to the team
With prior experience in a variety of public, community and educational settings, Sarah has attended a number of BrightSparaks courses, including Essential Skills for Working with Children and Young People, Developing Emotional Resilience and Positive Futures Parenting Support. BrightSparks is now very pleased to share that Sarah has joined us as a volunteer on our current Positive Futures Parenting Support course in Acomb, York.
“Sarah is a very natural, supportive person and we feel lucky to have her,” Director of Research, Learning and Development, Katie, said. “She has a wealth of knowledge and an admirable desire to give back to her community and we are so thrilled that she accepted our invitation to join our team.”
We asked Sarah to share a bit about herself and what she hopes to gain and give in her new role as a BrightSparks volunteer.
Hi. I’m Sarah, and I live in York with my husband and 10-year-old daughter. My personal interests are all things creative, reading, music, and getting out into nature with my family.
I have a BA Hons in Community Studies, Level 2 ‘Support Work in Schools’, Level 3 ‘Helping with Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools’ and an NVQ Level 2 in Environmental Conservation/Education. Additional training recently includes Level 1 and Level 2 training in Restorative Practice in School and Community settings.
I’ve worked in a variety of public, community, and educational spaces and settings with adults, children and young people, whilst working for North Yorkshire Police, The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and York St John University. More recently, I worked as a Teaching Assistant in a number of Early Years school settings.
I’m passionate about ‘learning through reflection on doing’ (experiential learning), and after attending the BrightSparks Parenting course, I really wanted to be part of a team who care passionately about people focusing on improving their own lives and those of their families. BrightSparks is a brilliant organisation that supports and facilitates all of this and more.
Volunteering is great and as I give my time, I’m not only using some of my own practitioner skills and experiences, but I’m continually learning both personally and professionally too, I’m most looking forward to meeting a new group of parents and listening out for some of the real positive BrightSparks moments of change.
Find out more about our courses here. If you are interested in volunteering with BrightSparks, please get in touch.