Volunteering is an important part of life
Laura got involved as a volunteer for our prescription deliveries during the first lockdown. Having been furloughed from her job as an Outdoor Instructor she wanted to do something that was helpful, so once she found out about Move the Masses, she signed up.
Like so many of our volunteers Laura then looked at what else Move the Masses did and was instantly drawn to the Move Mates project.
I have always been keen to support charities and volunteer, Move Mates sounded such a great project, so I was keen to walk with someone as soon as possible.
At the same time she found out about Move Mates, she also saw that Egg was restarting doing online workouts during the second lockdown. She loved the idea of helping people be physically active, even in their own home, and offered her services to run a weekly Zoom yoga session for us too.
Laura has practised yoga since she was a teenager. During the first lockdown she actually started her training to teach others, so she was particularly keen to share her enjoyment and knowledge.
Laura’s first cycling trip was back in 2015 which saw her cycle 4000 miles to Turkey and back. She had never done anything like it before and basically learnt whilst on the road. Doing it for a local charity and having sponsorship behind her really spurred her on.
“For a period of years I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome following a bout of glandular fever and yoga really helped me through that. In contrast I have also done mammoth cycling trips and once again, yoga helped me recover after miles on the saddle. I think yoga basically always compliments life, whatever your life looks like.“
Since October Laura has been paired with Craig as a Move Mate. Craig is a young man on the autism spectrum who lacked the confidence to meet and socialise with others. He didn’t really know how to breakthrough his shyness with strangers.
Laura and Craig were both very nervous about their initial walk together, but they both felt instantly at ease on their first meeting.
Over the months they have have got to know each other pretty well, not missing a single week in all that time. They chat about many different subjects and amongst other things, Laura’s learnt lots about nutrition and cooking from Craig.
Laura loves how the walks give her a reason to get out in the fresh air as well as motivating Craig to get out and about too. And it feels great to be supporting someone, especially now that Craig’s confidence has increased so much since they first met.
“I appreciate my health so much, and really strive to look after myself and help others. Our walks are just as lovely for me as they are for Craig.“