Our candidate for Baldock Town and CLP BAME Officer Tina Bhartwas discusses her love of volunteering as well as her experience as a young Trustee on the board of the North Hertfordshire Centre for Voluntary Service (North Herts CVS) and being the Lead Board member  for the #TeamHerts Volunteering Project. Find out more about Tina and her volunteering below!

Tell us a bit about yourself:

I am an 18 years old student from Letchworth Garden City. I am a climate activist, local campaigner and volunteer. I am also heavily involved in local politics.

How long have you been a volunteer?

I have been a volunteer for most of my life and have a wealth of volunteer experience which started at school. I have coached athletics to disabled children and in the sixth form I took part in the school council, running charity events and helping out in history as part of the ambassador programme. In the local community, I have volunteered in a range of places such as a pop up shop for a local homelessness charity and supported local community cafes. In January I became a Trustee at the North Herts Centre for Voluntary Service and I am currently the lead board member for the #TeamHerts Volunteering project.

Why did you decide to start volunteering?

I decided to start volunteering to give back to the local community that I feel so passionately about. I became a Trustee because I wanted to use my volunteering experience and personal experiences to support and promote others undertaking volunteering opportunities and to aid the development of the voluntary sector in Hertfordshire.

What’s good about volunteering?

I find volunteering incredibly rewarding. It gives you the chance to make a positive difference to the local community and the world around you.

Biggest challenges you have faced as a volunteer?

There are a lot of preconceived ideas about the kinds of people that do certain kinds of volunteering. As a young working-class BAME woman that is a Trustee this is something I come across regularly.

Why would you recommend volunteering to others?

Volunteering is such a large factor in improving wellbeing, it is a chance to meet new people, gain new skills and experiences while helping the community.

What do your family and friends think about you volunteering?

My difficult upbringing led to my desire to help others and volunteering has enabled me to do just that. My friends have always been supportive of my voluntary work and they have wanted to get involved too!

Is there anything you’ve been doing specifically relating to or as a result of coronavirus that you’d like to tell us about?

During coronavirus I have been supporting vulnerable local people access food and medicines.