Sarita's Interview

What is your volunteer Role/roles within Age UK Sheffield?
I have been stepping into the following as and when required: Yoga Instructor, Half Marathon Marshal and Befriender

For anyone who doesn’t know, what exactly does your role involve? Could you give us a brief description?
As a Yoga instructor my role involves teaching gentle and restorative yoga exercises to the Age UK Sheffield participants

How long have you volunteered in this role?
I got associated with AgeUK Sheffield in Nov 2018 and started teaching Yoga from the beginning of March 2019.

What is your favourite part about the role?
I love the opportunity to interact with the people who are keen, interesting and lots of fun, it reminds me of my Grandparents in whose memory I dedicate this volunteering effort.

What is the most rewarding part of this role?
To be able to share what I know about Yoga and know that it is having a positive impact on people’s health and learning a lot in the process. In the other activities, knowing that I am doing my part to give back to the community and be an active contributing member gives me an immense sense of fulfilment.

What is the hardest part of this role?
None. I just wish I can make more time for volunteering.

Is there a moment / story that really stands out to you from your time volunteering in this role?
There have been several inspiring moments during my volunteering. I especially love when some of the people try to bring in new poses and the class follows them. This reaffirms some of the basic principle, that yoga is not a fixed set of body poses, but it’s a natural flow of the body, for everyone and we all know the basics. Besides, I have had lots of people tell me how they enjoyed the class and staff sharing positive feedback. Which continues to inspire me. There has been a special email of feedback for classes I run at Dore & Totley as part of the People Keeping Well initiative which was reassuring. I also like it when participants come and ask for advice.

If someone was interested in also volunteering with Age UK Sheffield, what advice and encouragement would you give them to help them make the leap and sign up:
I have been an active volunteer for several years now and try to look for opportunities to volunteer in the community I am part of, as I have moved a lot. Volunteering gives a wonderful opportunity to share whatever one can with the community, bringing a sense of belonging, being responsible and learning various skills in the process.

My advice to any new volunteer would be to have an open conversation with the Age UK Sheffield Volunteer Coordinator, identify the variety of areas of opportunities and try not to be shy in sharing the skills you have. You’ll not know what you’re missing out on until you volunteer. Everyone at Age UK Sheffield are lovely, encouraging and doing their best.

If you could sum up the importance and impact of volunteers supporting the work of Age UK Sheffield, what would you say?
Contributing selflessly through volunteering creates a more inclusive and caring society for all, especially the vulnerable. Given the social structure today and growing aging population the work of Age UK Sheffield is relevant and critical for the community. Through volunteering, the basic human values of kindness and compassion are reinforced, making it extremely fulfilling and rewarding for everyone involved.