Peter’s Story

My name is Peter and I started volunteering for Simon Says about 4 years ago after a good friend of mine who was a trustee of the charity at the time asked me if I would be interested.

At the time I was in the process of winding my business down to retire and had been looking for a charity to get involved with and this seemed perfect for me.

I met Ben for a chat and then met Georgie at the office and an hour later I had my photo taken for my lanyard that we have to wear at the sessions and I became a volunteer.

I did my training and went to my first session at the Basingstoke Group and I still remember how nervous I was as the first parents and children arrived. It took a few sessions to get used to how it all works and the different challenges we face as every session is different.

After around a year I was asked if I would like to help at YPG (young people’s group) which is for the older children and I said yes and found this to bring a whole new set of challenges but as with the younger groups was very rewarding.

I have been to three Residential Weekends which are great fun, luckily the weather has been kind on each occasion.

I have made some great friends with fellow volunteers and always look forward to seeing them each month to catch up.

I look forward to each session and it is so satisfying to have a child open up and talk about the issues they face from their loss or losses and it is wonderful to hear parents say how much their child or children got out of a session and that they can’t wait for the next session to come around. That makes the drive home for me a pleasure as I have helped someone and hopefully improved their life just a little bit.