3-9 June marks Volunteer Week, and we are taking this time to celebrate the incredible contributions our volunteers make to young people and communities across the UK.

Volunteers are pivotal in our mission to change young lives at sea, including husband and wife duo Richard and Caroline who support many of our activities including fundraising events, maintenance, and on our voyages as group leaders.

Caroline (left) and Richard (right) volunteering at Cowes Week 2023. 

We asked them about their volunteering experience with TSYT:

Why do you volunteer with TSYT?

“We volunteer, because we enjoy it, it is a change of scenery from home, satisfaction in doing new jobs on the boats, we like the people and are passionate about the Trust and the work that it does. I should say we both think the boats are fantastic – they are very special.”

What’s your most memorable experience?

Richard: “For me, it has to be spending a day in the bilge of Challenger 4 helping to run the new plumbing and waste pipes to the ‘heads’, a learning thing for me and satisfying.

Caroline: “It has to be as a mentor on the Plymouth trip. After a morning of being escorted by a pod of dolphins, we were all excited about, we were looking forward to lunch. Lunch was filled jacket potatoes which had taken all morning to cook. They were duly served to the young people who were all clipped on for safety reasons due to the conditions, on deck. At that point, the boat hit a large wave, and the mess tins with the potatoes in them were filled with water. My proudest moment was that the youngsters drained their tins and carried on eating their lunch.”

How has volunteering with TSYT supported you and your career?

Richard: “My work provides two Make a Difference days where we can go and put something back into the community, which I utilise at TSYT.  As an individual, I am immensely proud to be associated with TSYT and the work they do, and it gives me a positive feeling and memories to smile about.”

Caroline: “I get enormous satisfaction from helping out on a personal level, enjoy the chance to do something different and professionally work with volunteers and have earned greater respect from my colleagues at work by ‘being a volunteer”.

Interested in becoming a volunteer for TSYT? Find out more…