Volunteer Case Study – Sue Ingram

Sue Ingram

I have been coming weekly to The Therapy Garden since February 2017 having been passionate about gardening since I was young. The most rewarding part of my time here is helping people experience the enjoyment gardening brings that otherwise they wouldn’t have the opportunity to do.

It is an amazing place to be with a great, inclusive atmosphere and we all have a good time together. I’ve made new friends and enjoy the physical demands of being in the garden as well as the social contact with everyone. Every day is different, it is rewarding spending time with the clients and feel like I am doing my bit for the community.

I volunteer on Thursday where there is a mix of older and younger clients with physical disabilities and learning difficulties. I find it a good challenge working with the dementia, Alzheimer’s and autistic clients – something I haven’t had any previous experience with until I came here and have developed new skills in this area. I feel like I have grown as a person since volunteering here.

There is plenty of support, help and advice available to volunteers which is really helpful if you have any concerns or need gardening information and the volunteer meetings are a great way of keeping us all up to date with what’s happening at the centre.

I love everything about being here – if you love gardening or being outside and are thinking of getting involved, do it!