Volunteer for a local charity or community event.

“I showed up at the event, 30 minutes early (as the video explained), and it turned out that I was the only volunteer ambassador there – meaning I was checking everyone in. I was very nervous since I thought I would get to “shadow” someone. Instead, it was all me – the site manager showed me how to check donors in, and the first donors, all veteran blood donors, also helped me (I think they loved being the experts to guide the newbie). And for the rest of the day, that’s what I did: donors showed their ID, I scanned it with a scanner, I checked off their name, I gave them a nametag, they had a seat and then got called up for the donation. It was easy, it was interesting (nice to chat with people, interesting to watch how they go through the different stations of donating), and there was about 30 minutes when no one was scheduled and I was able to eat the lunch I brought.”

“At first all the volunteering I did was in person, I first started volunteering for a few hours on a Saturday at my local charity shop and then shortly after I also started volunteering at the school where my Mum worked, working with disabled children. At this point my condition was severe enough that being in school all day wasn’t an option, but I could manage a few days here and there of volunteering to keep me busy. I was spending most of my time at home, resting and being very bored, so volunteering gave me a purpose and showed me what I was still capable of.”