I’ve been volunteering here since May 2024, so just over a year now. It had been on my radar for a while because Milton Keynes station is my usual spot for commuting, and I’d often see the café and think, “I should get involved.” Once I got a bit more flexibility in my life, I decided I’d make time for it. The only catch was that the shift I could do was the breakfast one — the earliest start, for people most at risk. And I’ll be honest: I’m not naturally a morning person. But I wanted to do this badly enough that I set my alarm and got up early for it.
Do I enjoy it? Yes and no. I don’t quite like the word “enjoy” when it comes to volunteering with people at risk — it makes it sound like I’m in it for personal satisfaction, and I don’t think that’s fair. It’s not about me. I try to keep that separate. But yes, I love being there. I wouldn’t keep coming back if I didn’t.
One of the best things is the community. Behind the counter, you meet people from all walks of life. Other volunteers, the people who come in, the staff — it’s a proper mix. You form real bonds. I’m even meeting one of the other volunteers for coffee tomorrow. Over time, those shifts build into friendships, because you’re working together, week after week. It’s a very jovial atmosphere most of the time — you need that, especially with some of the challenges people are facing.
What I like most about it ties into my beliefs. I see volunteering as a way of giving back to the community I live in. Not out of obligation, but because I believe a community should support its most vulnerable members. There’s this idea from adventuring: you always move at the pace of the slowest person, so no one is left behind. That’s how I see it here. The people who come in are often those who’ve been failed by the system. They’re the ones society too often just walks past. I used to walk past too, before I started volunteering. But once you step behind the counter, you can’t ignore it anymore.
I didn’t grow up here, and I’ve seen a lot of suffering in other parts of the world. People can get numb to it — suffering becomes background noise. But here, I felt like I could do something, even if it’s small. Just a couple of hours, a hot meal, a friendly word. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s something. And that matters.
If I had to give advice to someone thinking about volunteering, I’d just say: do it. Don’t overthink it. We always need more people, and you’ll gain more than you expect. Not in terms of personal satisfaction — though yes, you’ll feel good about it — but because of the people you’ll meet. The shifts fly by because of the conversations, the laughter, the mix of people who come together here.
I’ve lived in Milton Keynes since 2019, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t feel truly connected to the place until I started volunteering. Now, through this work, I feel part of the community in a way I hadn’t before. And that, for me, is as valuable as anything.
