Volunteer case study: Ken Jones
Ken Jones lives in Whitestone, Nuneaton, and has been volunteering with the Warwickshire Employment Support Team (WEST) for the last nine months. He supports customers there to run the Credit Union.
Ken decided to become a volunteer after he was made redundant from the glass and glazing trade following 38 years of service.
“I was looking for a new challenge and decided this was a perfect opportunity,” says Ken, who has a nephew who uses WEST.
“Running the Credit Union is a real team effort and we support each other,” says Ken. “Working with people with learning disabilities has been a brilliant experience for me, I’ve learnt a lot and we have a lot of fun.”
WEST is just one of the collection points for Nuneaton Credit Union. It is the first one to be run by adults with learning disabilities and has been running for three years.
Claire Potter, Volunteer Support Officer at Warwickshire County Council, says: “We want to encourage volunteers to support people with learning disabilities into employment. The idea is that volunteers buddy with a disabled person.”