Featured Volunteer - Jonathan Anderson

Ambs, our Volunteer Coordinator spoke to Jonathan Anderson, this month’s Featured Volunteer.

Jonathan is a regular volunteer at The Vault, The Bank’s weekly after school journalism club and was one of the volunteers facilitating the Summer Holiday Songwriting Club. “I would do every single workshop if I could”, he told me, “I just love it!”. But he’s a busy man…

With his soft lilting accent indicating Scottish origins, I was curious to know how he had ended up in Bridport. Turns out that we hail from the same town in Fife.

So how did he end up at The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares?

Well, I’ve been a teacher for 25 years. I studied Physics and Philosophy actually, which might seem an odd combination but they’re both different ways of telling stories about the world. I’d like to think I’m not as materialist as some scientists and have always tried to teach science in a creative way. I remember being inspired by that famous Ted Talk by Ken Robinson on creativity – you know the one where he talks about the girl who can’t stop fidgeting at school and the specialist says she isn’t ill but needs dance classes! We don’t cater enough for kids’ individual talents; there’s too much focus on the academic and not helping them find their element. So, not content with a fulltime teaching schedule, Jonathon also runs afterschool clubs from baking to free euphonium lessons. He moved to Bridport a few years ago and was looking for things to do in the community. Lesley, one of our volunteers (and Jonathon’s mother-in-law) told him about The Bank and its child-led workshops and he knew it was for him.

You said you were “absolutely gutted” when you had to miss a couple of sessions of The Vault recently – why is it so special for you?

I love the fact that you give the kids a teensy bit of structure and they just take off! It’s not school. They have ownership, The Vault provides stability, and they just gather momentum. What’s so brilliant is that it all comes together, and the concrete outcome is an actual printed newspaper (called What’s Going On?) that they can physically hold. It’s incredibly empowering for them to see their work published; The Bank even ran a special trip to Weymouth to see the first edition go to print!

What would you say to anyone interested in volunteering at The Bank?

As a teacher, I know how rewarding working with children can be, but for someone who has no classroom experience it might be an intimidating prospect. You don’t need an educational background; you just need to be prepared to let the kids go and trust in them and their capacity for creativity.I never talk down to them; I’m open to them and their ideas – just as I would be with adults.

I love the ethos of The Bank providing opportunities for those who may not have them otherwise. As a charity offering free workshops The Bank is tackling both poverty and rural poverty by creating extraordinary opportunities for the children of Dorset.

And if you had a superpower, what would it be?

Don’t believe in superpowers! You’ve just got to do the best that you can do…

And how would you sum up volunteering with The Bank in 3 words?

Rewarding, enlivening, IMPORTANT!

Thank you, Jonathan.