In the second of our blog posts to celebrate Volunteers Week 2019, we’re interviewing one of our longest-serving volunteers across our many projects. In this interview, they talk about their role, what it involves and what they gain from it.
This time, we speak to David Oates, one of our Autism Mentors with the Leeds Autism AIM project. David speaks about his role and what he gets from it.
How long have you been volunteering with Advonet for?
I have been volunteering with Advonet for three years.
Why did you first decide to become a volunteer?
I wanted to use my experience with my son’s autism to help other autistic people.
What does your role involve?
Being a mentor involves helping autistic adults to overcome or improve identified difficulties in their everyday lives.
What do you feel you get out of volunteering?
I get satisfaction in knowing that I have helped someone improve their life.
What have the people you support achieved since you started volunteering with Advonet?
They have gained more confidence in dealing with situations and people (especially people in authority), improved job prospects or change of job, become better at money management, and overall better self-esteem.
If you would like to become an Autism Mentor like David, please visit our Volunteering page for more information, including our Volunteering application form and a video about the benefits of becoming a volunteer with Advonet.
