My name is Sharon Bernstein and JVN helped me in more ways than I ever could have guessed it would…

I woke up on the 1st of April 2021 and realised I had done something stupid. Retiring voluntarily after 50 years in the Marketing, Advertising and Tourism sectors. Not as glamorous as it sounds. One memory, back in the 80’s was a 6am drive to Peterborough to show a journalist a pre-cast concrete factory with ice hanging from every part of the building!

No complaints about my career, as the final 30 years I found my way into tourism representation, and I was lucky to visit some of the most beautiful places on this planet.

Back to 2021. I thought I had a plan that included time with friends and family visiting galleries and art shows and taking holidays. By lunchtime on that day I knew I needed a better plan and that is where JVN came in. This excellent organisation opened a world of possibilities in the volunteering sector, guiding me through the process.

Within a few weeks I was helping Norwood open post and doing other admin tasks, going into 2024 I’m still volunteering at least one day a week with Norwood, fully integrated into the Learning & Development team, also when needed supporting the Marketing and Events team, and in the past working with Trusts and Foundations.

With some other spare time I took up another volunteering admin position with Kisharon Langdon. This has been a really great experience and after six months a job offer was presented to me, which I accepted readily and am now working two days a week, supporting the Administration Manager, in a wide variety of tasks. Most importantly I’ve found fulfillment in my retirement, even if it meant going back to work!

My message is get involved. Everyone has a talent to offer, you meet new people and find that giving back really gives more to the giver, than the receiver.