Yassin, a student at Three Rivers Academy, joined the Walton Charity team for a week of work experience.

Students from the Academy were offered placements at a variety of workplaces and we were delighted that Yassin chose to join us to learn about the varied roles within our multi-faceted charity.

We asked Yassin to reflect on the week and tell us about his experience.

Why did you choose to do your work experience with Walton Charity?

I chose the charity because I like helping people.

When I’ve finished school, ideally, I would like to work in construction and own my own company like my grandfather did back in Poland. That’s my dream.

You’ve covered a variety of roles within the charity. Tell us what you did.

My first day was spent meeting Rob Mills, Chief Executive, and learning more about the work of the charity in the local community. I also attended meetings and spent time looking at the Charity’s social media posts.

On Tuesday, I was down at the community allotment in Terrace Road, Walton.

Wednesday was spent sorting food at the Walton & Hersham Foodbank’s warehouse in the morning and in the afternoon, I worked with the Communications team. They are planning a children’s book hunt during the summer holidays, hiding 100 books around Elmbridge for children and young people to find. The themes of the books are around the five key issues that Walton Charity focuses on. I spent some time prepping the books for the hunt and helping the team with some branding and research tasks.

I went to The Bridge on Thursday. This is the charity’s newest project, which is based in Bridge Street, Walton. It’s a community space which offers support for families who are struggling with the rising cost of living. I helped the volunteers by stocking the shelves and I met three families who had been referred to The Bridge.

It really opened my eyes. I just didn’t realise there are pockets all around me where people are really struggling, it should be brought to the attention of the public more.

On Friday, I was based at Mayfield where the maintenance team has a workshop. The team showed me around their workshop and showed me how the tools work. I made some shelves and shelving supports for the shed at the community allotment. They were a great team to work with.

I also helped to organise a tea party for the residents of Mayfield and I got to chat with them. There were about 10-15 of them and all were lovely. They have a piano in their lounge, so I played some music, which they seemed to really enjoy.

Which roles did you particularly enjoy?

I enjoyed my day helping at the community allotment and working with the maintenance team at Mayfield. Both were good as they involved working with my hands.

Any final thoughts on your work experience week?

I thoroughly enjoyed it and if I could do it again, I would. I would recommend Walton Charity to other Three Rivers students.

It was lovely to have Yassin join us at the community allotment. He joined in, chatting and supporting our participants, as well as taking on some projects himself. He helped to create a new pathway and fix climbing supports for two new creepers. A great addition to the team for the day!

Karen Heynike, Walton Charity Green Spaces Manager

If your company is interested in helping local students to learn about career options, please contact Three Rivers Academy.