Helen Shaw

Helen Shaw started volunteering with Headway South Cumbria 12 years ago and is Vice Chair of the Branch. Before that, she volunteered with two other Headway branches in the North West region.

Helen says, “I have a younger sister who suffered an anoxic episode at birth. Her ABI only became apparent in later years, due to other much more complex & life-threatening medical issues throughout her life.  I used to work as a Partner in the Catastrophic Team at a firm of specialist Solicitors in the North West.  Headway helped me to both broaden & deepen my education/knowledge of the day-to-day issues affecting individuals with a TBI &/or ABI, including the huge impact upon their families, carers & friends. 

In my role as Vice Chair, I receive telephone enquiries & some emails in between meetings, in a supporting role to our fabulous & very hardworking Chair, Glenys Marriott. I enjoy attending our monthly meetings & our social events. I help to co-ordinate the activities & enjoy taking part as much as our members do! During the meetings, I help to update members about forthcoming events, speakers & any relevant information that might be of interest. I also encourage our members to connect or catch-up with others, especially new members, during our social time over tea/coffee & cake/biscuits. 

Meetings are held in Kendal and in Barrow, with up to 40 members attending each month, and we have a range of activities for our members. We have boccia related games with assistance from the wonderful staff at the Kendal Leisure Centre. Other activities have included bowling, dragon boats, canoes, kayaks, outdoor activities with The Bendrigg Trust and The Calvert Trust, arts & crafts, mindfulness, Pilates sessions, The Alexander Technique, relaxation classes, occasionally eating out, day trips, local fundraising events & our annual Christmas Party! 

I enjoy contributing my time. It is evident that it means a great deal to our members. Especially feeling able to meet up with familiar faces in a safe environment, where, importantly, they feel both valued and heard. Our members really are such exceptional wonderful individuals and often bring joy and make me smile. Their families are equally special individuals, who offer a great deal of their own time to help make our Branch such a success. They support fundraising events, making an incredible range of impressive craft items to be sold; beautifully hand-knitted garments, utterly delicious baked goods, supplying plants, books and sourcing raffle prizes.

All of this makes for a happy volunteer!”

Alongside fantastic staff, Headway is fortunate to have many amazing volunteers across the network all helping to improve lives after brain injury. We want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to each and every one.

Find out more about Volunteers

To find out more about volunteering at Headway visit the webpage or click on the links below.