“Having reached a certain point in my personal life – being married and with time to give – I wanted to share something of myself which might bring benefit to someone else. I waited to be able to attend the skills training workshops – well worth waiting for. Training was interesting and challenging and equipped me with enough to feel …

“People are grateful for the opportunity to talk and I don’t have to solve anything”

“If I had received this training when I was a young mum, I’d have been a much better mum”

“I feel privileged”

“The reason I choose to volunteer was because I had the time and energy to be able to give to something that I could choose to do. I chose Family Lives because when I visited the office and spoke to the workers there i realised what a valuable job they do for people by being able to listen to whatever’s …

“I can hear the relief in people’s voices after talking to us”

“It’s great to make a difference”

“I am 50 and I have a three year old. Until I became a father parenthood meant nothing to me and I’d been focused on developing my career. The arrival of my new baby enlightened me to join ‘Dad’s life’, which is a three evenings course. I thought some of the dads might be shocked at my age, but when …

“Working as a city broker was very money oriented and I never enjoyed it. For some people, this sort of high pressure but high earning lifestyle gives a boost to their self-esteem – but it had the opposite effect on me, chipping away at my self-esteem.”