Volunteer Spotlight – December 2024 – Roberta Hill

Roberta’s road to volunteering started when her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2017. She joined her local support group and found what she describes as “amazing support for me as a parent and for my son.” Highlighting the group’s ability to remove the sense of being alone, Roberta said: “We attended one of their events where my son said, “look mum they have to do the same as me”. To hear him say this was amazing as he didn't feel he was alone.”

Unsurprisingly, many children experience challenges when they're diagnosed, and Roberta’s son was no exception. “We had a lot of difficulties surrounding needle phobia when he was diagnosed.” Roberta explained: “This is what persuaded me to join the support group and volunteer.”

Fun activities for children and their families

Roberta and the group’s committee, consisting of other parents and carers of children with type 1 diabetes, try to arrange an activity every month so that children and their families can experience the benefits of their community spirit and, more importantly (especially for the children!) to have fun. At the same time, they learn that having type 1 diabetes doesn’t hold them back or prevent them from doing anything.

Roberta gave some examples of what the group has been up to so far this year: “Over the last few months, we have held activities such as pond dipping, climbing walls, Jungleland (a jungle-themed soft play centre), walks in the countryside and a family fun day. All these activities aim to connect families and children to feel supported and gain long term friendships.”

Reasons to be proud

Roberta is particularly proud of the connections she’s been able to make from her volunteering. “I am extremely proud of being able to grow and connect more people across Shropshire and Borders.” Explaining how this has been achieved, Roberta said: “This has been done through advertising, word of mouth, and collaborative working with Diabetes UK and the local paediatric team, all with the same aim of offering support in a fun and educational way.” She continued, “I feel my volunteering has benefitted other families to be able to share the difficulties and proud moments of living with diabetes.”

As for the future, Roberta is clear about what she wants to achieve:

"My future volunteering plans are to continue to grow the support group and to continue to reach out to families and children living with type 1 diabetes."

Volunteering can fit around you

Roberta has advice if you are considering volunteering: “My advice to anyone thinking about volunteering is that it does not mean you have to give lots of your time. If you have ambition to support others living with diabetes, then any amount of time is going to make a difference by being able to reach out and support them. It is an extremely rewarding position to volunteer for such a supportive charity like Diabetes UK.”

While the children in Roberta’s group all have type 1 diabetes, her group, like all those that support families, welcome children with type 2 and their families.

If you have been inspired by Roberta’s story, check out our Volunteering Opportunities.

Looking for support? You can also use our Local Support Group postcode finder to search for your nearest group.