“It was like coming home…” Charlie’s volunteering story

When Dan Leathers died in a road traffic collision in December 2022 aged 20, Charlie got to know his family well. When she joined them on a visit to Helimed House, EAAA’s Norwich headquarters, it kick-started her interest in volunteering for the charity.

“As soon as I came to Helimed House, it was like coming home and I knew I wanted to be involved in some way,” Charlie explains.

“After Dan’s accident, and as a mum myself, I couldn’t believe what Dan’s family were going through. Dan’s family and friends started giving back and the support for EAAA progressed from there.”

Dan’s family have gone on to raise over £45,000 through a series of activities and events including marathons and half marathons. Charlie spoke with EAAA’s volunteering team about how she could lend her support by donating her time and skills to the charity but being able to have flexibility around her family commitments.

“The flexibility is brilliant – I can choose when I come in,” she explains. “I drive past Helimed House four times a day on the school run, so it made sense to ask if there was anything I could help with there.”

She supports a variety of activities at EAAA, including helping the volunteering team with admin support, and helping at EAAA’s flagship fundraising events, such as Trek 24. She also helps with the charity’s Research, Audit, Innovation and Development (RAID) team.

“The research work is especially interesting; detective work is sometimes needed and this is actually one of the most interesting tasks for me. I used to work in underwriting, so working on computers again and being back in that environment is brilliant,” Charlie says.

Most recently, Charlie has also joined the Aftercare team as a volunteer, supporting Aftercare clinicians with home visits to patients and families.

“Seeing first-hand how something so devastating can be made so much more bearable by the support and services offered by EAAA is just amazing,” Charlie says. “I recently met with a gentleman who had suffered a cardiac arrest at home and survived, as well as somebody who had been involved in a road traffic collision attended by EAAA. I won’t forget these hard times that people have gone through.”

Charlie has gained a lot of support and has built connections with other volunteers as well as members of staff, who she says are always on hand to answer any questions and make her feel part of the team.

“It really is one big family. The EAAA staff and other volunteers are great. It’s great to know that we’re supporting the crew’s life-saving work as you never know if you or a loved-one may need them. It’s an amazing place to be.”

Charlie continues, “It’s been so positive to get back into an office and remind myself of all the things I did and can still do, as well as being a wife and mum, as it’s easy to focus on those roles and forget how much doing things for myself means too.”