3 June 2025
Meet Ashleigh
Ashleigh been a Home Support Volunteer at Noah’s Ark for nearly two years. Ashleigh loves volunteering, her face visibly lights up when she talks about the families that she’s matched with. She says: ‘The matching process at Noah’s Ark is incredible, all my matches have been a great fit personality-wise, but within that, you get to do different things, some children prefer reading to crafts for example.’
Training is thorough, covering safeguarding, how to communicate with families, general practical training, and regular supervision sessions. Ashleigh says: ‘You need to be able to handle any situation. If the child just wants to watch TV, great, but you need to have back up plans and be prepared for anything.’
Ashleigh considers volunteering an integral part of who she is, so much so she says there is a ‘hole in her soul’ when she’s not actively volunteering. Before coming to Noah’s Ark, Ashleigh volunteered at another children’s hospice for 13 years, she says of that time: ‘I was single, lived at home and had a lot more time on my hands, so it was easier to volunteer. But once you start volunteering, it gets a grip on you when you realise how it makes you feel and how you don't want to be without that feeling.’ Ashleigh’s life has now changed, she’s married, has two dogs and a full-on job running her own business, but still she has prioritised volunteering, saying: ‘It's a lot, but volunteering doesn't feel like work to me. This is what I want to spend my time doing, it’s a choice.’ She concedes that maybe in the future she might consider dropping back to one family but can’t see herself ever stopping volunteering entirely.
She goes on to say: ‘I know everyone says volunteering is a nice thing to do but I really do get back tenfold of what I give.’ Ashleigh says that she does get a real sense of fulfillment from volunteering but recognises that boundaries are very important. Home Support Volunteers can only be matched with a family for a maximum of 18 months to encourage a boundaried and professional relationship.
Ashleigh’s mum once asked her if volunteering with children with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions made her sad. Ashleigh says: ‘It’s not my thing to be sad about. I'm there to fulfil a need, that's my role, it's not my trauma to have.’ Ashleigh says that the boundaries are one of the things that she enjoys about the role, saying: ‘I enjoy being part of something that isn't my job, isn't my friends, isn't my family but something that also really matters to me. To be able to be a tiny part of these families’ lives every week is such a privilege.’
A Match with Ruby
For 18 months, Ashleigh has been matched with a little girl called Ruby, aged seven, and their time together has now come to an end. Ashleigh says: ‘Ruby is the sweetest, most lovely girl. She's so happy all the time. She really enjoys sensory things, so music has been a big thing for us, as is reading.’ Ruby loves Julia Donaldson’s books, bubbles, and rhymes so Ashleigh had the idea of writing and illustrating a book especially for Ruby, ‘Ruby-Doo and the Bubble Blizzard.’ The book features a magical version of Ruby that blows bubbles and within those bubbles are different worlds, creatures, and new friends! The book took a year to write and has been professionally printed on extra thick paper so it’s durable for Ruby.
Ruby also has a beloved superhero costume that Ashleigh made for her, and she wore to our Family Day. Ruby, who is non-verbal, made all the decisions about the design of the costume using a technology called Eyegaze, where Ruby could make choices using her eye movements. Ruby spent weeks choosing the theme, colours and positions of the glitter and rainbows.
A Positive Impact on the Family
‘I know that the two hours I'm there every week mum and dad have dinner downstairs together and alone which couldn’t happen if someone else wasn’t there. It also means that Dad can pop to the supermarket without having to take Ruby, which is a much larger consideration. I can see how important that is.’
Ashleigh says: ‘Ruby would probably usually just see her teachers at school and Mum and Dad because it’s not always that easy to go out. So, me being there, is another person in her life who's engaging with her in a different way.’
A Special Bond
Ashleigh talks about her core memory of their time together, the four of them decorating the Christmas tree. Ashleigh says: ‘They may not have found time to do that if I wasn't there, but they knew that I was there for the two hours, so we had little Christmas snacks and we did the tree. And for them, that was a big deal, and for me, that was a huge deal, that I'm being welcomed into the family.’
Out of the 18 months Ashleigh has only missed her visit to Ruby three times and even when Ruby was in hospital Ashleigh still visited, providing her usual support of letting Ruby’s mum and dad grab something to eat and shower, basic things that we all take for granted.
The family are so appreciative of the support that Ashleigh has given them, saying that Ashleigh was one of a very small group of people that they would trust their daughter with. As for Ashleigh, she is appreciative of the trust that the family have placed in her. Ashleigh says: ‘We were all very teary for the six weeks leading up to the match ending, because we knew it was coming but no-one wanted to talk about it. Then eventually at the last visit. I gave Ruby a copy of Ruby-Doo and the Bubble Blizzard, it was hard.’ Ruby now has a new Home Support Volunteer and hopefully they will be able to capture some of the magic of the first match, it might just be different magic.
Ashleigh encourages anyone thinking about becoming a Home Support Volunteer to go for it. She says: ‘You can give as little or as much as you can. I have so much gratitude to be welcomed into these families’ lives and absolutely view it as a privilege that they open their door and let me spend time with their most precious thing – their child.’
Volunteering is Central to Noah’s Ark
Volunteering has always been central our work, it’s a hugely rewarding experience and one that enables volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills. Whether it’s just a few hours a week or every fortnight – becoming a Home Support Volunteer really makes a difference to the children and families we support. Our Home Support Volunteer programme was established in 2008 to help families cope with the demands of providing constant care. Home Support Volunteers provide a range of practical and social support to the families of children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. This ranges from helping siblings with their homework and playing games to simply being a spare pair of hands to help with household jobs like cleaning and gardening.
We’re looking for new Home Support Volunteers with diverse skills and interests from varied backgrounds in all our catchment area. If you’re looking for a fully flexible way to make a difference in your community, get in touch!
For more details
Visit: https://www.noahsarkhospice.org.uk/support-us/volunteering/ or email the team at: volunteering@noahsarkhospice.org.uk
