Erin has been part of Horizon Youth Zone since she was 15 years old. Starting as a member of the Young People’s Development Group, way before a brick was laid for a new youth zone, Erin volunteered her time to help shape Horizon into what it is today.
“I needed to do some volunteering for my Duke of Edinburgh Award,” Erin explained on why she joined the YPDG, “I was supposed to be in the group for about three months to get my hours, but I just really enjoyed it and wanted to stay.”
“When Covid hit, the meetings went online and I found it really helpful having that structure of something to look forward to every week. I loved the group and all the volunteers were really lovely and supportive.”
As part of the YPDG at that time, Erin was part of the group that chose the name Horizon and worked on the branding.
“We worked with a local designer to come up with ideas for names and branding. I think it came down to two names ‘Horizon’ and ‘GY’. I loved Horizon a lot more than GY so was happy that got the most votes. One of the members also came up with the strap line: Look Beyond Your Limits – which was kind of perfect.”
Erin was looking forward to the day she’d be able to walk through the doors of Horizon as a member, however due to Covid opening was delayed meaning by time Horizon opened, Erin had aged out, contributing to her deciding to become a volunteer.
“I was really excited for it,” Erin said, “and then obviously because of setbacks I never actually got to come to the youth zone and enjoy it as a young person.
“I put so many years of my life into the Youth Zone; it’s such a passion project of my life. When it eventually opened, I was like ‘oh my god, this is amazing!’ I knew I had to get involved.”
When asked how it was coming in and seeing the space as a volunteer, Erin described Horizon as “how I’d always imagined it”.
“One of my favourite things has been seeing the impact it has on young people, it’s going to make such a big difference.
“For so many children it’s going to be a safe space with someone to talk to. That’s what I’ve always been so excited about and then just seeing it in action and getting to interact with the young people and guide them is amazing.”
Erin describes volunteering as “really rewarding” and encourages all young people to give it a go as in Erin’s case, it has also led to paid hours.
“I do quite a bit of volunteering and it’s really rewarding. I’ve been lucky enough to be offered a bank role at Horizon. I also have two other jobs so because the volunteering is so flexible and I don’t have to commit to a certain day or time, I can work it around my schedule.
“When I’m volunteering, I get to pick which rooms I’d like to help in, and it lets me try new things. I’m quite sporty so I usually stick to the sports hall or MUGA but I gave performing arts a go recently and really enjoyed it. You get to try a lot of different spaces which I think is rewarding as well because you meet different people who have different passions to you.
“I love volunteering here and I love working here, it doesn’t really feel like a job.”
If you’d like to meet new people, learn new skills, have fun and most importantly, make a huge difference in your community, then please consider giving a little of your spare time to support local young people. Visit our Volunteer page to find out more.