Childline appeals for West Lothian volunteers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A leading charity is urging people to follow the example of a West Lothian woman and become one of its volunteers.Childline Glasgow, run by UK-wide child charity NSPCC, urgently needs new volunteers to become counsellors on their free helpline.The service saw a 40 per cent reduction in the number of volunteers during the pandemic because many people had to isolate to protect themselves or family and were unable to attend the Glasgow centre.Sandra Gordon (63) from West Calder, became a volunteer Childline counsellor in 1999 after a work colleague, who was already a counsellor, told her how rewarding it is.After seeing an advert for volunteers Sandra went to a recruitment event in Glasgow and signed up that day.She said: “At the recruitment event, a lady who had been volunteering for many years told us how much she enjoyed it and that it makes a real difference and I thought yes, I’d like to sign up.“What struck me was it was people from all walks of life, and you didn’t just have to be a mum with kids, so I felt encouraged to see it through.”Sandra doesn’t mind travelling to Glasgow for her weekly shift because it’s so worthwhile.She said: “Young people’s challenges have changed so much from when I started, due to social media and the internet.“It’s one of the things I love about the role – you learn something every day.“They don’t know who I am, so it feels like such a privilege when they want to share what’s happening with them.“We make sure they feel listened to and help them to realise they are not to blame.

And if they’re not ready to share what’s happened, that’s also OK, we can go at their pace. We tell them we will be here if they do ever want to talk about what’s upsetting them.”Supervisors are always on hand to