"I learnt I could make a real difference in someone’s life just by simply talking to them about Geography!"

Volunteering is not only a great opportunity to give back to a cause or causes that are close to your heart, but it also gives the opportunity to explore the many opportunities that are out there and support young people in their journey of choosing a career.

Below we hear from Samuel Fagar, a volunteer at Bright Futures UK, who are a charity supporting children and young people who have had to take time out of education due to serious and long-term illness. They offer their support to those aged 5-24 through befriending, mentoring, tutoring and workshops.

Despite having not wanted to get into education - and claims he still doesn't! - Samuel shares how volunteering has been an important part of his life and why working at Bright Futures has changed his perspective...

1. How did I get into volunteering?

My first experience of volunteering was in 2019. At the ripe age of 14, I was eager to do my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and within that, I started volunteering at Monkton Nature Reserve in Kent. Once finishing my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, I continued to volunteer at Monkton Nature Reserve until 2020 – that pesky Covid-19 always finds a way into people’s stories! 

Once the pandemic and lockdowns were over, during the summer of 2021, I decided to go back to volunteering at Ramsgate Tunnels. Whilst I enjoyed it, I would end up shelving my volunteering experiences in late August of that year as I was to start my A-Levels! 

A couple of months afterwards, however, despite doing my studies and securing a part time job at Ask Italian in Westwood Cross, Thanet, I would re-enter volunteering, but in a different capacity. As someone who was deeply fascinated in history and politics, I become a Kent Youth County Councillor, Secretary to my Sixth Form’s Eco-Committee, a member of the British Youth Council (alongside the UK Youth Parliament scheme as a Deputy Member) and an Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust. From then, at the age of 16, my volunteering opportunities proliferated. 

Before starting university, I had volunteering experiences around a variety of things, from leading public speaking workshops, chairing meetings and working with Kent police as a Youth councillor, helping form the Thanet Youth Council and even organising my first event as Regional Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust. 

After joining university, eager to carry on my volunteering experiences, I would join other organisations such as the WWF, Bright Futures UK, the mentoring organisation, Business Education and Events (BEE) Network, Herts Young Homeless, Shoutout UK, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and even going to Calais to help volunteer with refugees. 

At the age of 21, I look back on a strong history of volunteering with happiness and excitement, but at the heart of all of the things that I have done, I can trace it to my early days of 14 when I started my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

2. What attracted me to the role?

I had always found teaching fun and exciting. Although I never wanted to be a teacher, nor do I still want to now, I still thoroughly enjoyed sharing knowledge with people. 

When I started at the University of Hertfordshire as young fresher, there was a part time careers fair ran by the university’s careers team and among the members of staff, was Bright Futures UK. As I was eager to know what each stand was offering, I went over. 

In this discussion, I learnt I could make a real difference in someone’s life just by simply talking to them about Geography! I was really eager to join, but as a first-year student, adjusting to university at first was quite difficult. It wouldn’t be until mid-way through the year, after learning the ropes, I realised I had time and the ability to start doing online tutoring. 

From then on, I began to email Bright Futures UK and they told me they were holding an online information session about the charity and what I could do as a tutor – I was hooked straight away. As someone who passionately believe in the power of education, I knew I needed to do something and from then on, I would join. 

3. What do you enjoy about it?

Honestly, I love everything about it! 

The young people you get to meet are incredible. Despite the things they have gone through, they are beyond inspiring. They constantly ask questions, they make you think and adapt and it is a wholly amazing experience. 

The thing I enjoy most however, is the connection you make with the young people and watching them grow. They begin to open up to you and they bring you into this exciting world of their own and it is terrific to be a part of. As they let you in, you help them with more than just the education side. You help them develop as young person and it is honestly an incredible thing to be a part of! 

4. What has it brought you?

It has brought me to understand the value of connecting with young people and believing in them. 

People can often dismiss students because of the ‘low’ grade they got and in reality, it is more than they just didn’t revise or don’t care.

Bright Futures UK is a great way to bring young people back into education and I think being a part of that has be the most rewarding thing that I can think of.

5. What would you say to someone who is thinking about volunteering?

At the risk of sounding like a Nike advert, ‘Just do it!’. It is an incredibly rewarding experience. You develop so much and you really begin to learn a lot about yourself. 

It is amazing the things that you end up doing, it pushes you so much and the impacts that you end up doing are incredible. 

You get to meet amazing people, whether fellow volunteers or staff, along the way and honestly it just makes the experience even better. 

I can never describe, nor put it into the words the feelings you can get or why you should do volunteering – I think partially that is because I change my answer every time someone asks me why should I volunteer. But the one thing that never changes  no matter who the person that's asks me, the first three words that come out my mouth are ‘just do it!’.