Kingsley Bray tells us about his volunteer journey- and look where it has taken him!
I have been a volunteer at New Moston Community Library for over eighteen months, since December 2016. As a dedicated book lover, reader, and writer, working in the Library was immediately a pleasure for me. But other aspects of the experience have been even more valuable. As I explained to Irene Kay, who interviewed me for the position, I welcomed the opportunity to be able to work with the community. This has been a really positive experience in that regard. I have worked with children in the Summer Reading Challenge, and with older people and senior citizens helping with computer tasks and issues, and in advising on book choice and how to place reservations, down to printing out airport boarding passes needed pronto! In so doing I’ve learned new skills, aptitudes, and hopefully broadened my outlook and empathies for fellow-Mancunians. There’s a great team who work in Manchester Libraries North, and I’ve gained new friends among them. To top it all, I have been able to find part-time paid employment at Manchester Central Library, at an age when I’d begun to fear that my working days were past. Volunteering at New Moston has been a completely positive experience!