Hi, my name is Lesley Jack and I am the Office Manager at Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSI).

I was so excited when CTSI announced that they were giving staff time within our working hours to volunteer and give back to the wonderful community that we watched come together during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I am not a stranger to volunteering and have previously volunteered with Volunteering Matters as an Older Person’s Befriender, but as we were in the middle of a Pandemic, I wanted to find a volunteering role that would help me as much as it helped the charity.

I approached a Trustee from the Brionni Trust. The Brionni Trust is an independent local charity created in memory of Brionni Alexander, who passed away aged 11 months from the genetic condition Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The Brionni Trust aim to raise awareness and improve the lives of children with terminal conditions. The Brionni Trust have been raising funds since the year 2000. In that time, they have raised over £140,000 doing various charity Walks, charity bike rides, making and selling handmade cards and wedding stationery and lots more. As a keen card maker, I was delighted when they accepted my offer of help.

Now I look forward to the last Friday of every month as this is when I log off from the work laptop, pop my headphones on, press play on my audiobook and head to my craft shed to lose myself in all things sticky and glittery, not only am I giving back to this wonderful charity but they are also helping me, I am not ashamed to say that my mental health is not the best, I suffer from severe anxiety and as a result I do not sleep very well and have occasionally suffered from panic attacks, when I am volunteering I do not think about the stresses of life, I am totally lost in my own little bubble and my mental health definitely improves.