This Volunteers’ Week 2020 we hear from Ruth, Wellbeing Champion of Swansea Bay University Board, who talks about how she volunteers to help her colleagues’ wellbeing.
"Ruth is a great Wellbeing Champion and has organised a Pledge session, won funding from Tesco to support coffee breaks, and is applying to secure funding to help staff have a suitable outdoor area for their breaks. She adds a lot to the Radiotherapy Physics department and the staff at Swansea Bay are happier and healthier due to her contributions."
As a Wellbeing Champion in Swansea Bay University Health Board with personal experience of mental health issues, I helped organise wellbeing coffee breaks, in particular on Time to Talk day, and during these we actively worked on reducing mental health stigma for example by doing fun quizzes from Time to Change Wales Website and sharing stories etc.
During lockdown we continued with online tea breaks and that this was very helpful for staff who were socially distancing at home who told me that their normal coping mechanisms had been taken away. In particular these online tea breaks helped provide practical and emotional support for trainees who were not allowed to attend the department during their last stages of training.
I’ve had a lot of support in this from my managers, Ryan and Rachel and from Bethan Lavercombe, the Wellbeing Champion programme manager, who have actively encouraged me in these activities, which I am grateful for.
-Ruth
