Hi! I’m Caitlin and I volunteer with WAMES
I joined the WAMES team in late 2022. I’m currently progressing into my 3rd year as a Psychology student at university. For one of my previous modules, I had to find a volunteering placement. I found WAMES’ advertisement on my university’s website, and since joining the organisation, I have never looked back.
Initially, I decided to apply to WAMES through necessity, but also due to my own lack of education surrounding the topic of ME/CFS and chronic illness – whilst I don’t directly suffer, I have several family members who suffer with different chronic illnesses (like fibromyalgia) and thought this placement would be ideal in attempting to understand them a little bit better.
Since volunteering with WAMES, I have developed many different skills whilst working online – using online resources like social media to share useful information, and writing blog posts for the WAMES webpage has helped grow my confidence with online tools which I had not previously used. I thoroughly enjoy these aspects, as I get to research and explore more about what advances are being made in the medical world surrounding ME/CFS and develop my own understanding.
At WAMES, I have found a close-knit community that supports many different people and has incredible members that help each other and everyone. I hope to be able to continue to volunteer with this community in every way I can, helping to spread information about ME/CFS and other chronic illness – there’s ALWAYS more to learn about chronic illnesses!
Contact Sharon for more info about volunteering with WAMES: sharon@wames.org.uk
