Thank you to our Volunteers!
The past few months have been unpredictable and a massive shift for all industries and sectors. Volunteers have signed up in incredible numbers to support charities and the non-profit sector at this crucial time. Amid this new normal, working remotely has meant that volunteering has also had to adapt. When we moved to working remotely, we were nervous about whether we would be able to complete the same workload. This is why we have been so incredibly grateful to the volunteers who have joined us over the last few months. As a thank you for their hard work, we wanted to share a post to celebrate the contributions they have made. We also asked each of our volunteers to share a bit about themselves and their time with us.
Thank you!
Beatriz Silva Porto
Bea runs Blep, where she is a graphic designer, illustrator and translator. She mainly works with the third sector. She has volunteered time to help us with graphic design and communications.
I have been working remotely for years now, but during COVID, paid work trickled to a stop. I was lucky enough to not have to worry about income too much but having that much time on my hands while stuck at home was awful for my wellbeing. Volunteering has been a lifeline during this time, allowing me to hone my skills and upgrade my portfolio while helping organisations that needed it. I think everyone is feeling very helpless, at the moment, and volunteering really helped fight that feeling for me — after volunteering for several charities and social enterprises during lockdown, I have even pivoted my design and communications business to this industry.
As I said, I wanted to do whatever I could to help organisations doing good in the world. Gather was looking for support with their graphics, and this felt like something I could really help with. After a chat with John, it was clear that I had the opportunity to improve Gather’s approach to graphics on a long-term basis, rather than a simple one-off — this was especially exciting for me. Gather impressed me with its focused mission and its widespread reach, especially given its relatively small team.
Kenrick Tan
Kenrick works as a data scientist and senior associate at PwC UK. He has been helped us create the country reports for our Benchmark project.
I really enjoy volunteering with Gather. Although it has all been virtual, Indigo and the team have been very welcoming and approachable throughout my time with Gather, often inviting me to team calls to meet everyone.
My favourite thing is how Gather manages their volunteers and how they taken into account what they want to get out of this volunteering experience too. I regularly had chats about what my interests are, and what areas I want to develop in, and often there would be a project in Gather which aligns to my interests and where I can value add as a volunteer. I am also very inspired with some of the work Gather has done thus far, ranging from plotting beautiful insightful maps to launching a global sanitation data report.
I personally took some time getting used to working from home, especially encountering screen fatigue after multiple video calls. On the bright side, I’m glad that I am still able to support as a volunteer to Gather and play a part in Gather’s plan to leverage data for good. It’s now more important than ever to contribute to good in this world!
Holly Simmons
Holly is a recent Business Administration and Management graduate from the University of Bath and has supported our fundraising efforts.
I only volunteered for Gather for about a month, but I really enjoyed it. I had a call with John, at the start of my project and then we just communicated via email throughout the project. I then had the chance to present my work back to John which was great, and I hope my work in prospecting has really helped your team in moving forward with fundraising.
As a new BBA graduate, I was looking for a volunteering opportunity that would enable me to leverage my business skills to support a charity amidst the uncertainty of COVID-19. I was especially interested in working for Gather as I’ve done several research projects on the WASH sector in the past and have a lot of experience working with businesses that operate across the African continent.
I have experience working in venture capital and I work with another social enterprise who supports charity funders and their grantees with digital coaching. This has offered me a lot of insight into the fundraising process and I always love to see the funding outcomes, whereby charities and businesses can utilise capital to really grow and meet their goals.
Josh Wilson
Josh is a GIS analyst and recently worked in Cambodia to evaluate the effectiveness of numerous irrigation proposals. At Gather, Josh has been applying his experience and skills to help us develop our Sanitation Risk Index.
I felt instantly welcomed upon starting my volunteering at Gather. The daily stand-up was a great way to meet everyone virtually and feel in the loop with everything that was going on. It was also really nice to speak to John and Lindsey in my first week and to be given a chance to say what I wanted to get from the experience. Everyone at Gather is so friendly and I feel as if I can reach out to anyone which is so nice and reassuring.
I really enjoyed the opportunity to research Sanitation Risk Indexes and be given responsibility to develop my ideas into a useable formula. It’s so exciting to be part of something that has the potential to positively improve the lives of thousands of people. The fact that Gather has such a small team means you can become super involved with a project straight away.
I enjoy the flexibility that working from home provides and have tried to break up my days with activities such as running and cycling. It can be difficult to stay in the same space for most of the day, but the regular stand-up calls and Trello board has kept me on task and made me feel more connected to the rest of the team.
Charlie Stubbs
Charlie is currently studying at the University of Exeter and is one of our Gather alumni, having previously worked with us on policy, project operations and thought leadership. He recently volunteered to support us with vital research to complete the reports we have produced through our Centre for Sanitation Analytics.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time working at Gather. I found the working environment positive and nurturing yet at the same time I felt I was always challenging myself. I felt comfortable and motivated to learn new skills. This drive to develop as an individual and as a team reinforced a healthy culture between me and my colleagues.
I really appreciated not being under constant pressure to make mistakes. Being able to learn in an experiential way when confronted with new tasks enabled me to find my best way to tackle them with the help of the rest of the team. If I did make a mistake or couldn’t complete a task, I always felt comfortable to ask another member of the team for help. This helped empower me and grow my skill set in a short period of time as I wanted to learn new skills and felt I had the tools to do so.
Benjamin Stratton:
Benjamin has just graduated from the University of Bristol with a master’s degree in Physics. Ben will be working on tool design and python development for our online dashboard. Ben joined us a volunteer this week.
Throughout my degree, I undertook a series of programming tasks mostly related to simulating physical phenomena such as gravity and heat. Since completing my degree I’ve continued to develop my skills as a programmer and volunteering for Gather will allow me to continue to do this while being part of a larger project that has the potential to make a real difference in sanitation sector.
Sam Stratton:
Sam has recently graduated from Imperial College London where he studied Electronic and Information Engineering. He is working on data security for our online dashboard. Sam also joined us as a volunteer this week — and yes, he and Ben are twin brothers!
I worked on a variety of projects in a large range of domains throughout my degree and particularly enjoyed those that were data-focused and involved machine learning. With my degree, I am equipped with a powerful data analysis toolkit and valuable programming skills. Through volunteering with Gather, I hope to apply these skills for a good cause and help develop change in an area I’m passionate about improving.
Each of our volunteers has brought unique sets of expertise and experiences to support our mission. Gather would like to show our appreciation and gratitude to all our volunteers for their time and work!
