"I love Croydon, despite all its challenges, and I am proud to call this borough my home. In 2013, having moved from Mitcham to Norbury, I was looking for ways to become connected to my new area and borough while also trying to figure out my next career move. At the time, I was in-between jobs, having ended a short career in graphic and media design and wanting to do something that impacted more than just the bottom line of the companies I was creating graphics for. This is what brought me to the doors of CVA after researching volunteer opportunities supporting people coming out of the prison system. I was accepted into the New Routes mentoring programme and completed the training to mentor people coming out of prison. This was the start of a rich and rewarding career in criminal justice support work, and I currently work as the Head of Programmes for a great charity called Standout.org.uk, leading teams providing support work in three London prisons.

 

This year, I also launched a social enterprise called CartridgeBuyBack.com, where we collect and resell unused, unopened printer cartridges people and organisations no longer need, using the enterprise and profits to support other charities helping people build meaningful lives after serving their prison sentence. My hope for cartridgebuyback, is to grow the enterprise so we can employ 3–4 prison leavers who face the most barriers to obtaining work on release. I also want to use the business to educate other businesses on how to support prison leavers in their workforce. I am always on the lookout for unused, unopened printer cartridges, so if you have any at home or where you work, do consider donating them to us by contacting us via our website.

 

I am eternally grateful that volunteering exists. In the cost of living crisis, free volunteering gets bad press because, understandably, some people cannot give their time for free, but I still believe the learning opportunities and meaningful use of time are two things that are well worth exchanging one's time for.”