Mick's volunteering story

Mick has volunteered in lots of different ways for Demelza, from helping out at our distribution centre to driving families and supporting at events.

Mick says: “I’ve done things like Easter egg runs and dropping off Christmas presents – where my wife dressed up as an elf to make it extra special for the children.

“My wife volunteers at the Kent hospice on reception and it was her volunteering that spurred me on to become a volunteer. I thought volunteering would give me another interest and something else to do rather than just spend my days staring at the screen.”

Mick remembers one particular family that has meant a lot to him.

“I enjoyed dropping of the Christmas presents to families, my wife knocked on the majority of the doors as I was driving, but I did do the families I knew. Including Zak’s family, so I could wish him and his family a Merry Christmas and check-in with them. It was a nice opportunity to touch base with Zak’s mum and dad.

“Zak was over the moon with his present, he was running around like a good-un. An outsider looking in wouldn’t have known anything was wrong, he was so energetic that day.

“I drove Zak to his hospital appointments on four occasions. His mum came with him the first time and the other times it was David, his dad. On the way back that first time I could hear he wasn’t feeling well, so regularly asked if they wanted us to stop, so they could take care of him, but Caroline, his mum was keen to keep going and took care of him while I was driving. That is the benefit of us driving families to and from appointments they can focus on the child and not the driving and just take care of them.”

Sadly Zak died, but Mick has never forgotten him. Supporting families can be challenging, but being there for them is truly rewarding.

“If you’re thinking of driving a family, my advice is that it can be quite upsetting and you need to be prepared for that. This is something that I am learning along the way, sometimes things hit me hard. Like Zak, I got to know him and his family really well and it did upset me a bit.

“I still think about Zak. I really enjoy helping the families and hope that my assistance gives them support at difficult times.”