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Charity accolades for student volunteers

Wednesday 4 July 2018

Student volunteers from The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) have been recognised for their contribution to projects run by Leeds Jewish Welfare Board (LJWB).

LJWB presented two awards to GSAL sixth form students at the charity’s recent volunteer awards, an annual celebration of the achievements and impact of its volunteers in the community. There were 120 volunteers nominated for awards, which were presented by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Graham Latty.

The award for intergenerational work went to a group of 16 Year 12 students who since January have dedicated their Wednesday afternoons to LJWB’s communications project, an innovative scheme to help older members of the community with IT skills.

Angie Furminger, volunteer development manager for LJWB, said: “Students have worked with patience and care during the sessions and have been extremely respectful of our members’ needs.

“It’s heart-warming to see the relationships built between the students and community members. Feedback shows the one-to-one support has been invaluable to our members, who now feel more confident in using their new IT skills.”

The award for community volunteering went to Year 12 students Millie Bickler, Sam Kunin, Ishak Rouf and Saumit Benkalkar who help out at a Sunday morning session providing creative activities for children with additional needs.

Session leader Alison Innes said: “The student volunteers bring a really good mix of skill and enthusiasm and have a great rapport with the children. They show great maturity and initiative in doing what’s needed and their input contributes hugely to the overall success of the programme.”

Angie added: “We are looking forward to building on the volunteering relationship we have developed during this academic year and will be working with some students over the summer for our Timeout Summer Club.”

All sixth form students at GSAL give their time to volunteering in addition to their academic curriculum, to contribute to the community and gain new skills and experience to help prepare them for life after school.

Pictured are (L-R) Cynthia Sumah, Eesha Umer, George Hughes, Sonia Akhigbe and Zelda Moyo, before setting off for their afternoon session at the communications project. Other students who have helped at the project are Lydia Derbyshire, Abbie MacLeod, Jess Seldon, Millie Bickler, Olivia Sellers, Danele Evans, Joel Bhowmick, Tayyab Haq, Roisin Furlong, Trixie Serrato, Aaisha Lodhi and Leyan Edhem

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