We have had a fantastic Volunteers Week 2015, with loads of great meet ups in London, Birmingham, Leicester, Aberdeen and Bristol. We also held our first inter-generational coding session at the Google Garage in Leeds, with members of Little London Primary’s Code Club and Age UK’s Silver Surfers. It was a great event highlighting the excitement of digital making for all ages.

We want to take this opportunity to say another huge thank you to all of our super talented, super awesome volunteers for the work that you do inspiring the next generation to get excited about computer science.

Before our #VolunteersWeek blog series comes to a close, we have one more volunteer to meet…

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Errietta Kostala runs a Code Club in Barrow-In-Furness, she told us about her experiences:

What inspired you to volunteer for Code Club?

I’m a programmer, and I am very enthusiastic in both learning more myself, and teaching others. Passing my skills on to the next generation seems like an amazing way to do just that! Programming can be fun and rewarding both as a hobby and as a job, so I believe it’s a great skill to teach. In addition to this, code club sessions focus on students working together and helping each other, which also makes them fun and useful at teaching important life skills.

What has been your best ‘Code Club moment’?

My favourite thing about Code Club is seeing my students’ enthusiasm. I love seeing them experiment with Scratch and trying their own thing, building on top of what is shown in sessions.

What would you say are the benefits of volunteering for Code Club/ volunteering in general?

Volunteering looks great on a CV, plus it’s fun and it’s a way to learn new skills and meet new people!

Why is Code Club important to you?

It provides me with a way to share my skills, and it’s a great chance to do something different and break the daily routine. Plus it may make more people interested in programming, which is something the field needs!

How does volunteering fit into your schedule/daily life?

My employer, Shadowcat Systems, provides me with the ability to run Code Club during work hours, which makes it much easier, giving me the ability to commute from Lancaster and run the club without having to worry about lost work hours.

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We always want to celebrate our volunteers & their clubs. Got a story to share with us? Get in touch – we love hearing from you!