Volunteer Story (27) - Nerys

Another brilliant Childline Volunteer, Nerys Cross received a Wales Volunteer of the Year (Highly Commended) award for all of her hard work. This was presented to her by Liz Rowe, Head of Childline Services whilst all of her colleagues cheered on. Childline also got both their volunteers fantastic bouquets in appreciation. Nerys was nominated by a colleague at Childline and this was what she had to say:

“Nerys started her journey with Childline back in 2003 when she successfully trained as one of the first switchboard volunteers within the organisation, providing a first point of contact for children and young people phoning the 0800 1111 number.  In this switchboard role Nerys provided a warm and welcoming greeting to children and young people; praising them for picking up the telephone, letting them know that someone would be available to speak to them shortly and directing their call to the next available counsellor. After offering substantial time as a switchboard volunteer, Nerys decided that she wanted to do more for children and young people and as a result she went onto successfully complete the training required to become a Childline volunteer counsellor later that year.  She also became a volunteer shift leader, helping to run new shifts in the Rhyl base so that more Welsh calls could be answered.

As a Childline volunteer counsellor, Nerys offers weekly support to children and young people aged up to 19 years, living in the UK who contact us by phone, email and 1-2-1 online chat.  Many of these calls come from children and young people living in Wales who need someone to talk to.  She actively listens to children and young people’s concerns, providing appropriate support to ensure that every child or young person who contacts the service feels respected, heard and valued as an individual.  Nerys also consistently follows Childline’s policies and procedures to ensure that every child or young person whom she comes into contact with is safeguarded effectively.

Nerys has trained in almost every additional volunteer role available within Childline and this means that as well as counselling, she also offers her time interviewing new recruits for the Prestatyn base, training new and existing volunteers and provides coaching to trainees during their mentored shifts.  In addition to this Nerys also offers weekly support to the staff team through her shift support role which is invaluable on busy shifts.  Nerys is highly flexible and is happy to be called upon; often at short notice to undertake any of the roles she is trained in.  She never misses her weekly counselling shift and despite the other voluntary roles/commitments she has outside of Childline, she makes sure that this time is protected and that her work here is prioritised.”