Hello! My name is Finn Shearer, and for the last few months, I’ve been volunteering for It’s good 2 give.

When I was six, I was diagnosed with leukaemia, and four years later, I relapsed. It’s good 2 give has helped me and my family to cope with that experience in so many ways, from their weekly snack trolley on the ward to their incredible, purpose-built Ripple Retreat. In February this year, I decided to give something back.

Since then, It’s good 2 give has kept me on my toes! I have visited the Ripple Retreat to help out with the open day, counted out 600 envelopes for the property awards and written the newsletter for March. The fantastic Lynne has managed to find tasks for me to perform almost every week, and it’s given me great pleasure to carry them out to the best of my ability, knowing from first-hand experience that no matter how small or seemingly insignificant the task, the work we do will make life a wee bit easier for a huge number of families and patients across the country.

I am now 14, and in S3 at school. Volunteering with It’s good 2 give is contributing to my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award, as well as giving me an opportunity to learn about the tasks that the charity has to perform to function at the standard it does. It’s not all about dressing up in fancy clothes and going to Balls, you know!  It’s been great to meet more of the people who have worked so hard to make cancer treatment so much more bearable for so many families, including mine.

I would highly recommend trying to get involved with It’s good 2 give. The charity is hugely reliant on volunteers to keep it going, and the work those volunteers do is hugely satisfying because it’s so easy to see how the tasks they perform will go on to brighten somebody’s day. Lynne has a lot of experience managing volunteers. It’s good 2 give recently won the Investors in Volunteers award, so they know what they’re doing.

That’s all from me today. I might be coming back with another blog post soon, but I’m not 100% sure, so I’ll say goodbye for now. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Finn Shearer

It’s good 2 give Young Ambassador