Thank you to Paula!

Today we would like to say a big thank you to Paula Sharma - our Local Coordinator (Support) for Stevenage, who is stepping down from the role as she moves jobs within the primary school that she works in.

Paula was our very first Local Coordinator, running the pilot programme in Stevenage then being a support coordinator to Kirstie, ever since. She has been a truly wonderful member of the team with lots of positivity and passion for community. It's been a joy to work with Paula and meet her lovely son, Akash, and to mark her departure we sat down and asked her some questions about her time with FVC! We hope you enjoy this conversation, and we wish Paula all the very best for the future.

Can you tell me about your first experience of coming to FVC as a participant?

I believe my first one I came to was with The Felix Project in London - we came along to that and I loved it because I used to do volunteering in life before my son Akash, so when I had him, I wanted to continue but wanted him to come with me. So this was perfect. He was packing food bags, he had a checklist, he was doing something meaningful and that had an impact on the community. I loved it and it was exactly what I had been looking for.

How did running the programme in Stevenage come about?

I saw it on instagram or a newsletter I think, I saw you’d put out a post saying you wanted to spread it out, and I jumped at the chance. And I contacted you as soon as I saw it.

How did you find being the Local Coordinator for FVC?

It was all very new but in some ways it didn’t feel new, because I’d been a volunteer before. But I was doing it from a different angle. It was really cool, because I was working but I was taking my son with me. So he was part of the whole experience - that was my number one thing I needed to happen. There was some stuff happening in my community that I didn’t know about, and I enjoyed looking for and discovering new things in my community. And then meeting the families, and seeing some of the same faces come back - it had that community feel about it. I was meeting people from my community, so it was nice.

Are there any standout sessions or moments that you'd like to share?

The first one that comes to mind is at Church Farm in Ardelely - we were apple picking in the orchard. I had no idea the orchard was there, but I'd been to the farm loads of times. We fed piglets that I think were just 2 weeks old - that was really lovely. It wasn’t meant to but it ran over! Everyone loved it - they really enjoyed it. And my last one actually stands out, we weren’t sure if people were going to come because of the Amber weather warning but 3 families turned up and we made bug hotels and all the kids loved it. To be working and seeing my son enjoying it, and he helps collect the pens, gives the forms out - to see him being an active part of it, it’s exactly what I’d like. Oh and cupcake making in Brixton! That was great - it was very hard to resist licking the spoon!

Can you tell us about the difference it has made to yourself and to Akash?

It’s given me a stronger sense of community - definitely. We came to London to do things, so to see it’s continuing and to see these events happening locally it’s really nice. Moving forward, I can look for these events - it’s happening on my doorstep so I can continue to enjoy the events we’ve always loved going to. With Akash - there's a bigger sense of confidence and responsibility - he noticed when kids don’t have gardening gloves or a gardening fork has been left out. He's developed a sense of maturity and he thinks about how we can help the families who attend.

Will you still be coming to FVC sessions?!

100%! We’re coming to one this weekend! We’ll still be looking for sessions in Stevenage definitely and also London.

Any final thoughts about FVC?

I think it’s brilliant and my experience from both being a participant who turns up, and someone who runs the sessions. The kids love it, the parents love it and I am just really, really grateful for you for doing it, and I’m really grateful that I know about it and I’m able to go to them. I just think they’re really brilliant. They do everything they’re supposed to do - they get you in the community, meeting people, the kids have fun and they learn things - things that you wouldn't necessarily expect them to learn - for example wrapping presents for kids in hospital. It teaches things on a different level. I’m just so proud to have been a part of it!