Siri Rajesh Reddy is a third-year undergraduate student currently pursuing her degree in BSc Social Sciences. She's been involved in around 15 volunteering projects, so we think she's pretty amazing!
Hey Siri, why did you want to become a volunteer?
I just think it's a great way to have a positive impact, develop skills and meet new people.
During your first year, you volunteered at ReachOut, a mentoring charity that supports children from disadvantaged backgrounds. What was that like?
I volunteered at ReachOut for about two months. I was a mentor to a student with learning disabilities, and we ran weekly after school sessions to teach Maths, English, and Sports activities.
Do you feel like you made a difference?
Yes. In the beginning, my mentee was very hesitant to work with me. However, things changed with time. I was more persistent with him. Hearing how I struggled with Maths when I was younger helped him put his struggles in perspective. It made me more relatable to him, which enabled me to break this barrier and encourage him to become involved and engage with the activities I had prepared. Towards the end, he would write the problem sheets or complete the activities with me. He would even come up to me after sports sessions to thank and ask me when he would see me next. That was really touching! It made me understand the power volunteering has and how impactful it could be on others.
And then during your second year you volunteered for Oxfam?
I volunteered for Oxfam's charity shop in Camden for two months over the Easter break. I had to manage the till, create displays, provide customer support and help with the day-to-day running of the shop. I got the chance to meet people from different backgrounds and have conversations with various customers and listen to their stories and experiences, which was nice.
What impact has volunteering had on you?
This whole volunteering journey has challenged my perspective and broadened my way of thinking. It also helped me get out of my comfort zone. It made me understand what it meant to be a volunteer and help others. For instance, I always thought a volunteer was someone from a somewhat privileged community giving back. However, Oxfam made me realise that this is not necessarily the case. Everyone can be a volunteer. I met volunteers from poorer socio-economic backgrounds who wanted to give back as they felt the impact of other people's volunteering on their lives. It also made me realise that although you might not be making the impact you want to make, you are still making an impact, and any impact is good.
And has it changed you as a person?
It’s often easy to forget the "comfortable" life I lead and acknowledge how even the basic amenities I have such as a toothbrush, comb or a blanket which I tend to forget I own, other people might not have access to. I think it’s important to treat everyone with compassion and empathy by helping everyone irrespective of their background - which is what volunteering has taught me. Another lesson is to focus on the similarities we share instead of the differences because at the end of the day, we are all humans but on different journeys.
Volunteering has definitely helped me to develop empathy and learn how to be selfless.
It has changed me by allowing me to be cognizant of other people's beliefs or perspectives instead of being embedded in my way of thinking. I understand that although someone might be different from me in terms of their socio-economic background, we still have similarities in terms of music or even food. It’s challenged me to become open-minded instead of being stuck to my beliefs.
Why do you think more students should consider volunteering?
When you think of volunteering, you often think of helping someone else and making their life better with your time or resources. It’s important to change this narrative to how volunteering can be beneficial for yourself. It could help you develop skills like communication, confidence, or leadership. It could help with your CV or challenge your way of thinking, or you could learn more about yourself and there is always an opportunity to make friends. Volunteering is definitely a great way to help people and altruism is the reason most people do it, but it would be nice to highlight all the different benefits not only to the people you're helping but yourself as well.