At the beginning of April, Sophie and Gregory were recognised as our Volunteers of the Month for their work on Brentwood based therapeutic project, Sing My Own Song.

Our Communications and Marketing Assistant Zoe spoke to them about their experience of volunteering for Kids Inspire and the impact music has had on their lives:

When I spoke to Sophie and Gregory, they both expressed to me that their passion for music developed at a very young age, growing up in musical families and picking up instruments as they went. They both chose to study their passion throughout their time at secondary school with Sophie taking singing lessons from age 14 and Gregory currently studying Music Production at A-Level.

When the opportunity arose for them to volunteer for the Sing My Own Song project, they both saw it as a chance to push themselves and to share the healing power of music that they themselves experienced at a young age, with the young attendees.

Sophie and Gregory work with qualified and experienced Play and Music Therapist, Fiona, to support a small group of 11–19-year-olds to write songs, make music and build confidence.

At Kids Inspire we value the benefits of Creative Therapies for the evidenced healing that arts can bring about through dynamic, symbolic, expressive activities. The Sing My Own Song project utilises the powerful influence music can have on our wellbeing. Sophie identifies with this as, for her, song writing has had a significant positive impact on her mental health, and she sees it as “a form of therapy.”

During the sessions, which have mainly taken place online due to Covid-19 restrictions, the pair have helped participants to better understand the practicalities of music production; how to use a mini-mixer and how to understand pitch and key. Alongside the practicalities they have also supported the young cohort to better understand music as a form of expression. I attended one of the online sessions and got to see first-hand how Gregory encouraged them to explore their more challenging feelings through the power of music.

When I asked them how they were finding the project, their answers highlighted that volunteering can be an incredibly reciprocal experience as, while they have been teaching, they have also been learning. Sophie told me that she’s “learnt to be more adaptable due to the different learning styles of the participants”, Gregory said the experience helped to “build my confidence and showed me that we can all help others, often in ways we would not have imagined.”

Elizabeth the Project Manager of Sing My Own Song had this to say about their volunteer support:

“Having two skilful and experienced teenage songwriters working on the project throughout has made all the difference. It has been great to have young people involved in running projects as well as taking part in them.”

Finally, I asked them both what they would say to someone who was thinking about volunteering for Kids Inspire:

“Do it! Kids Inspire is an amazing charity to be involved with and the work is so rewarding.”

“Definitely give it a go. You will be really glad that you did.”        

If you are interested in volunteering for Kids Inspire, email volunteering@kidsinspire.org.uk

Read more about volunteering opportunities here and the Sing My Own Song project here