How Volunteering in Schools Made Me Prouder to Be LGBTQ+
By Katherine Botterill
At the end of 2020, my housemate sent me a link to Just Like Us’ website saying they needed LGBTQ+ 18 to 25 year olds to volunteer on their Ambassador Programme.
I was hesitant at first, having just started my second year of university, a pandemic was going on outside, and I had always been terribly anxious about public speaking. Perhaps it was the sheer boredom of another lockdown that made me take the chance, but in reality, I knew that I fitted what the charity needed.
We’re all the experts on our own queerness and I knew I could speak about my experiences growing up LGBTQ+ to help young people in school. I wanted to bring my knowledge and experience to the table.
Sharing your story in schools has the power to make a huge difference to young pupils who may be struggling with shame and a lack of acceptance to see that you can be LGBTQ+ and happy.
At the time, becoming an ambassador felt like a huge unknown challenge for me and that was almost enough to put me off. But, having now done multiple school talks, it was clearly the push that I needed at that point. Being an ambassador has helped me grow in a variety of ways, particularly in my confidence in speaking to a group of people.
One of the most wonderful aspects of volunteering with Just Like Us is that every school talk introduces me to new LGBTQ+ people who also volunteer. Very quickly you bond over the shared cause of creating a school talk as you work away at preparing the slides and rehearsing.
Getting to hear other people’s LGBTQ+ stories as part of the talk has allowed me to bond with others over shared experiences and learn more about different ones. Before even giving the talk, I feel that volunteering and interacting with other LGBTQ+ people over a shared cause is hugely fulfilling and rewarding in itself.
Then, of course, the school talk itself aims to champion and raise awareness about LGBTQ+ experiences for both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ pupils. For me, it is enough to know that maybe one person will take something away from the talk. There might be a LGBTQ+ or questioning student who will now feel less alone or even empowered by hearing from LGBTQ+ young adults. And perhaps a non-LGBTQ+ person will gain a deeper understanding of why anti-LGBTQ+ bullying is so wrong and begins a journey of allyship or just stops using the word ‘gay’ negatively.
Above all, that is why I volunteer with Just Like Us.
The main thing I have taken away from volunteering for Just Like Us’ Ambassador Programme is the power of my own experiences. It is my story and my experiences as an LGBTQ+ person which have the power to enlighten, provide representation to, and empower young people. No number of statistics and science can explain the true LGBTQ+ experience better than the words of a real-life LGBTQ+ person.
Growing up in the conservative countryside meant that I did not see a lot of real-life representation as a teenager. I spent a lot of time reading about and watching famous LGBTQ+ people in the media but being LGBTQ+ felt like something so distant still.
When I moved to Birmingham for university, I began to realise that LGBTQ+ people were everywhere – and they were not airbrushed or scripted. Volunteering with Just Like Us has only reinforced this, and I have been shown my very own power as one of those people. I do not need to be famous or on TV to make a difference.
I wish that I had had the representation that Just Like Us provides in schools when I was growing up, rather than spending all my free time watching Troye Sivan and Halsey music videos longing to feel connected to the LGBTQ+ community. (I still do this, admittedly.)
Just Like Us is a beautiful and inspiring community of people who are so supportive and powerful. I have found volunteering with the charity very fulfilling and empowering, and the impact I have made feels very obvious and instantly rewarding.
If you’re LGBTQ+ and age 18-25, please sign up to volunteer with Just Like Us. They’re recruiting now and training starts this autumn – you won’t regret it!
