A Celebration of Achievement On Tuesday 18 th December 2007, 8 very proud, smartly dressed volunteers received certificates in a graduation ceremony held at The University of Birmingham. The volunteers have all worked incredibly hard to achieve Parts 1 and 2 of the OCN accredited Training The Trainer (TTT) course at Fircroft College of Adult Education. All of the volunteers have been supported to gain their TTT qualification by Mencap’s Volunteering Team. The volunteers are all putting the practical skills and knowledge they have learnt on TTT to excellent use co-delivering ‘You Can Volunteer’ and Learning Disability Awareness training alongside a member of Mencap’s Volunteering Team.

“I came here to get a special certificate. All the volunteers should be really proud of what we have done. My mum, my brother and all of my family are very proud of me. I feel ecstatic and happy.” Mark Wallis “I thought today was really good, I felt really proud of getting a certificate and it was nice being at the University and going on the stage.” Bernadette Spellman The graduation was a fantastic event that recognised and celebrated the volunteers’ achievements. All of the volunteers had a wonderful time and they wanted to share some of their thoughts and feelings about the day:

“Today was fantastic, I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved – really fantastic.” Stephen Smith “I feel very proud and very honoured to go to a ceremony like this, and its all thanks to the people that supported me.” Lee Scott “I feel proud of myself. I enjoyed going to the university.” Peter Cleary “It was great to go on the stage and to hear all the clapping – I feel like Robbie Williams!” Jonathan Pritchard

“I enjoyed the ceremony. It meant a lot to me to get my certificate – it means I can do my job better but more important are the friends I made, the memories mean even more than the certificate. Every time I look at the certificate it will remind me of the happy memories and the great people I met.” Paul Williams Finally one volunteer sums up what he thought of the graduation and his TTT experience: “It was brilliant – brill-i-ant-o – brilliantando!” Robert Duxbury And you can’t say better than that!

Many congratulations to all the volunteers that have achieved their TTT qualification this year. A huge thank you for the contribution they have made to the work of Mencap’s Volunteering Team and the inspirational example that they provide to others.