Volunteer Week 2024: Giving Back

My name is Richard and I volunteer in Cedar’s Springtown office in Foyle developing and maintaining the outside space. I have been volunteering for approximately 2 years and when I first started, I was presented with an unused courtyard and asked to create a usable space. Over the 2 years, I have cleaned the space, built raised flower beds and painted the walls and fence.

Each year I add to the space as well as maintaining a well-used, colourful, relaxing environment for staff and service users. One of the developments for this is year is to create a positive affirmation tree – this is where people can write their thoughts down and place them in a container on the tree. I hope that this will help people think through their concerns and maybe come up with solutions. 

I wanted to volunteer to give back to Cedar, other organisations and the people who helped me through a difficult time. I acquired a brain injury which changed my life and adapting to this is very difficult. Throughout my journey, I have been encouraged by my Case Officers to broaden my horizons and utilize their support to try new things and new experiences such as horticulture and bee-keeping. This gave me the skills and confidence to apply my vision to the courtyard in Springtown. 

It’s a pleasure to be able to volunteer and to contribute something tangible and positive to the very people who did the same for me.  

Click the link to find out more on volunteering here with us at Cedar: Explore Volunteer Opportunities | The Cedar Foundation (cedar-foundation.org)