This month we have not one but five Volunteers of the Month!
Calum, Vicky, Linda, Christine and Barbara are part of the wonderful team that help out at the Connect Café in Dundee. The café is run by volunteers from the community, for the benefit of the community and has been set up in partnership with Menzieshill Parish Church and CrossReach.
We asked them about their experience volunteering with Bethany and what they enjoy most about their role at the Connect Café:
“I became involved with Connect Café over 3 years ago. I just retired at the time and I was looking for something to do, I wanted to do something meaningful for my community. I now come every Wednesday to help out mainly in the kitchen.
I enjoy Volunteering in the Connect Café, helping out, and chatting with people… there is such a huge sense of community. I like getting involved with events, especially just before Christmas where we make special meals for people who have been coming to the café for some time, seeing their faces light up is a good feeling.
It is great being able to meet people and make friends through Volunteering.”
– Calum
“I began volunteering at Connect Café a few years ago, and though I don’t make it every week, I always come when I can.
Being part of Bethany truly enriches my life. It gives me a sense of belonging to this community and drives me to overcome those days when staying home feels easier. Each time I come to Volunteer, I feel revitalized and inspired. I feel that the people we support minister to me more than I minister to them.
I’m genuinely grateful to be a part of Bethany.”
– Vicky
“I have been coming to Connect Café to Volunteer for almost 4 years now. I was in a very bad place during the COVID time, and a friend of mine brought me to the café, and I never left since.
This place became a place where I built my confidence, found peace and, most importantly, I found myself again. I grew up in a non-Christian household, and through Connect Café, I learned about Jesus and discovered my faith, which grows every day.
I love being part of this community, serving soups and toasties, chatting to and praying over people—something I never thought I would be able to do this the past. I am happy and grateful: God is truly amazing!”
– Linda
“I am a part of Menzieshill Parish Church and this is where I heard about the Connect Café. I retired and I was looking for something to do and I joined as a Volunteer when the café first opened.
I come to help every other week to make soups for the café. I like helping people from the community, chatting and getting to know them. I also help out with the craft activities. I enjoy being part of this community.”
– Christine
“I have been part of Connect Café for the past 5 years. It was my late partner who introduced me to Connect Café and I continued coming along after he passed on. I feel like this was God’s gift to me, for me to be here where there is so much love and support.
This has been a very special place for me especially after I lost my partner. I feel God’s love through everyone I work with and being part of this is truly amazing. I love Volunteering here and helping people in need and when I see the glow in their faces it warms my heart.
I enjoy helping out with everything and anything, It could be as simple as talking about the café, chatting to people who come, or giving flyers out to advertise the café. It makes me feel good to be a part of this.”
– Barbara