Say hello to one of The Key's brilliant Volunteers, James Garratt as we shine a spotlight on his role as a Volunteer Panel Member (VPM) for The Key!
With a passion for support young people, James has volunteered for The Key for many years. He's also been a trustee at Key partner, North Benwell Youth Project for several years. NBYP have empowered hundreds of young people to take on KEY+ during that time too!
James said he enjoyed “listening to the stories of the young people and how they had learned a lot and benefited from the excellent work from The Key.”
James became a VPM because he thought he could add a valuable contribution and knew that the role was vital to The Key's work as all young people rely on approval at panel to make their projects happen. He chose to support The Key because he believes that “it’s a tremendous concept: young people learn so much and learn to contribute and all it takes is a relatively modest bursary from The Key. What’s not to like?”
As for James’ favourite experience as a VPM, he most enjoys the panel because “it’s good to hear the dreams and wishes of the young people directly.”
And the most memorable pitch to panel that James experienced was “a group [who] wanted to develop a community garden in Cowage. What a great idea!”
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