The Graduate(s)

Officially I am supposed to be on holiday but I come back for a single commitment. This is the “graduation” ceremony for the first cohort of students to achieve their qualifications as a result of participating in an HVA project called the Volunteering Passport. It was a simple idea I had when I was running the marathon actually which was to try and use what is good about the Town – its volunteering and community spirit – to tackle one of its problems (the number of adults with no formal qualifications). From this simple notion we have almost 100 people achieving or working towards a qualification. Anyway, I compare the event, the Mayor gives out the certificate. The vent goes really well and is rather moving as the learners themselves took to the stage to speak about their participation in the project. One person talks about over-coming a serious brain injury, another how volunteering helped to overcome the death of a family member. At the end of the event there is a big photo-call and I am standing next to one of the youthworkers who literally has tears in his eyes. I arrange through Mary at HVA for some "surprise" flowers for Sandra and Jan who have worked hard to support the candidates through this process which they are delighted with.

Sometimes in the work I do I sometimes wonder about whether it has an impact. This was a day in which – hand on heart – you could say that you had made a real difference. In the words of Colonel Hannibal SMith from the 1970's TV show The A Team "I love it when a plan comes together".

Lyric, what else - as if you couldn't guess but The Graduate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL6HK1YP9pQ