My name is Matthew, I am 39 years old, and I volunteer at the Rainbow Food Warehouse.
I found out about volunteering for the charity when I attended a Work and Health Programme run by Shaw Trust, who have offices in the same building as the Rainbow Centre in Folkestone. Shaw Trust referred me, and after completing an application form, meeting the volunteer coordinator and getting DBS clearance, I started volunteering in September 2024.
I had heard about the Rainbow Centre before because their charity shop is near where I live in Cheriton. The warehouse is in Hythe, it takes two buses to get there but I don’t mind the journey.
On my first day, I was nervous. I had been out of work for ten years; I was shy, not confident in myself. But I found it a friendly environment, cheerful and happy. Just having managers there and getting a boost with positive feedback has been enough to improve my confidence – everyone is always thankful for the help from the volunteers. Staff are always supportive. Last week it was hot, and they kept making sure I drank water to stay hydrated. We all look after each other here.
My shift is once a week, between 9am and 12pm. The first thing I do is to pick out food to supply Hythe Pantry, then I sort the food donations that come in during the week and re-stock the shelves. You see a surprising variety of donations, and you have to watch out for unsuitable and out of date items. At Harvest and Christmas, we had a competition for the most out of date food we could find, one item had a use-by date of 1998, which of course had to be thrown out!
The ideal next step for me would be a job. I have an interview tomorrow as a Morrissons picker. If I can, I would like to get a job that allows me to keep volunteering. Something about working here makes me feel better. At the end of the day, it benefits the community. The past few weeks we’ve had a lad from Lighthouse on the Marsh doing work experience, and he has improved in self-confidence already.
For confidence boosting, I would recommend volunteering to everyone.
Email volunteering@rainbow-centre.org to find out more about volunteering at any of the Rainbow Centre’s services.