SAINT

"I’m not able to work at the minute due to my health issues, so the Job Centre referred me to VODA to help me find some volunteering. I really enjoy hands on practical tasks such as DIY and gardening so when I found out that the SAINT project had a plot at Whitley Bay Community Allotment, I decided to give it a go. I love it down at the allotment, I get to meet new people and I used to do this kind of work so it’s great to get back into it. It’s made such a difference to me, in myself. Not just how I feel, but also my health. " Read Jason's full story here... http://voda.org.uk/made-difference-saint-volunteer-jason-blogs-voda/

"I first got involved with the SAINT project after contacting VODA about volunteering - I had been involved with a few different opportunities but none of them had felt right for me. Josie from the SAINT project got in touch and I came along for the first meeting. I was a nervous wreck on that first day but I got on really well with the staff and the other volunteers in the Artists Unite North Tyneside (AUNT) group and that made me feel more comfortable. All of the other volunteers were creative too and had similar interests to me. Now I’ve been coming to the project for a while I feel like it has really given me my confidence back, I feel as though I could do anything, it has been such a big help. Our group has been making art work to donate to different causes in the local community and I feel like we have the potential to make a massive difference. We have been supporting the homeless community in North Tyneside and we are keen to strengthen these connections and find out how we could make more of an impact. I feel the SAINT project is different from other volunteering I have done before because as well as using our own strengths to help people who really need it we have the freedom to develop the project whichever way we like; within the group people are really supportive of each other’s ideas."

The very first SAINT project to be formed, Artists Unite North Tyneside (AUNT) is a group of volunteers who all have a passion for art and design, and for using that passion to benefit the local community. The group now meet every Tuesday from 10am to 1pm at North Shields Library and have carried out a number of social action projects – such as creating ‘welcome home packs’ for vulnerable people moving into new homes. The AUNT members raised the money to put these packs together by decorating and selling mugs and buying items including plates, bowls, tea towels and other small household essentials to make people feel at home.