When did you become a Team Arm Champion, and what motivated you to take on the role?
Josh: I became a Champion in 2018, taking over from Tania Brankov who was the previous Team Arm Champion. I was on the committee before and was regularly running volunteering opportunities, so it seemed like a natural step to make.
Liam: I became a Team Arm Champion towards the end of 2020. During the pandemic, many of the regular volunteering activities for our office had been suspended, with a few exceptions such as the Uptree event I was helping to run, which went virtual. With the move to virtual volunteering and a reduced number of overall activities, I became more invested in wanting Manchester's Team Arm to return to its pre-pandemic glory! Which is ultimately what motivated me to volunteer my name for Champion.
Do you remember your first volunteering experience?
Josh: I've been volunteering on and off for most of my life, but one particularly memorable case was volunteering at a science fair with the Institute of Physics. The idea was to promote physics to older primary school students, so we had some demonstrations. I was in charge (heh) of the Van De Graff generator which works by generating a large static charge on a metal dome and releases it when earthed. This gives you both the opportunity to talk about electric circuits, but also to electrocute members of the public and have them laugh at it.
Liam: My first volunteering experience was helping out at a local soup kitchen, which for someone with my (lack of) culinary skills, involved mostly tidying up, serving tea/coffee and chatting with people who attended. I continued volunteering there on and off over the course of my placement year during university. I found it very rewarding to support what was somewhat of a community pillar, which I found to be more than just a food service, but also a safe space for those who needed it. I have always been really proud to work at Arm, knowing how much support we offer to similar charities across the world.
What has been your most positive experience with Team Arm to date?
Josh: Having people that have attended outreach sessions that I have run turn up in Arm as apprentices is very validating as it's a concrete example of our work having a positive real-world effect.
Do you have any words of advice for someone who has not volunteered before and isn’t sure where to start?
Josh: There are several Team Arm events that require no particular preparation on your part and turning up to something that is running in your office for an hour or so is a nice way to start. Most offices run something like Uptree events (helping run sessions for 16–18-year-olds) or Missing Maps. It's always worth talking to your local Champions: they'll be able to advise you on what events are going on that fit what you're interested in.
Liam: If you're based in a UK office, I highly recommend looking out for your next Uptree event - these are work experience events we run for a diverse background of college-age young adults, who are always very interested in learning about Arm. We have been running these events for years, so there's plenty of “veterans” who can help if you're unsure. The activities are good fun and it's really rewarding to see just how much you can boost the work-place confidence of the students over the course of a day. Apologies if you're outside of the UK - I'm sure your local champions will have some good suggestions though!