Interview with June, our Digital Champion supporting residents get online
How did you find out about the role?
June: I found out about the role on the Legends of the Forest website when I was looking for something I could do. I wanted to give my time to something in the community and this role really resonated with me, partly because I think it's so key these days that people have IT skills as so much is online and really disadvantages people if they can’t get online, but also, I thought it would be a way for me to keep my skills sharp. I’m not in the workplace anymore, I’m retired, and I know how quickly it changes. Already I have learnt new things because clients have asked me things and I have had to find out, it’s a win win really.
Is there a story you'd like to share of how you've supported one of our residents?
June: One day a lovely lady came in, she said she was in her 80’s, she’d never owned a laptop before and had been bought one by her granddaughter, and she wanted to know how to get started. We set her up with an email account, we looked at internet browsing. It was lovely to see, it was almost like a whole new world she had never had access to before. She’s now become a regular visitor to the library now, which is lovely. She goes away, practises and comes back when she gets stuck with something and is making incredible progress learning how to use technology.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about becoming a Digital Champion volunteer?
June: The important thing is you don’t have to be some technical genius, I’m definitely not it’s just about knowing a little bit about technology and also the willingness to explain it to other people and the ability to learn to a few new things so that you can help people with the queries they have.
How has volunteering helped you, what are the benefits?
June: It’s been nice to give something back to the community I live in. I really wanted to make sure when I retired, I did some of my hobbies and also have a voluntary role that helped people develop particular skills. What is really positive about this role, we get great training, the support is excellent. Even though we work in pairs we feel part of a team because we have regular team meetings, there is always somebody to discuss things with, it’s a very community based thing and its something I’ve really enjoyed being part of the community.
We are looking for Digital Champion volunteers for our new Let's Get Digital drop-in sessions starting in Chingford, and looking for more volunteers for our sessions in Wood Street and Walthamstow.