Ang Cassells: Hub Leader, Ear4U Partington

Mum of six and grandmother of four, Ang Cassells is widowed and lives in Partington, Manchester. Her youngest child, 10-year-old Sean, is autistic. She first heard about TBBT several years ago through a flyer given out at the local community centre. She originally signed up as a member, and then started volunteering. She now runs the hub in Partington. Here she explains how it came about:

“I initially got a flyer from some good friends who worked at the Partington community centre Ear4U,” says Ang. “I had a good read of it and I thought “I’ll have a go at that”, quite simply because I’m a firm believer in not looking at dates on food. I look at the appearance and the texture and the smell and if everything looks ok what’s a day or two? It’s edible - you can see if it’s not. So I thought I’d give it a whirl.”

Ang used to work full-time but she left her job to care for her husband who passed away eight years ago from cancer. Now, because her son has autism, she has to make him her priority and is unable to commit to a full-time job. Looking for a way to fill her limited spare time and to help the wider community, she decided to volunteer at the hub. She says: 

“I wanted to give something back and I thought if we don’t get enough volunteers we’ll lose it. So that was the main thing for me, keeping it going for our community”.

Since December last year, Ang has run the hub in Partington, which gives her first-hand experience of the challenges families in the area face. She says: 

“Life in the area can be tough for some families. It’s not just finances, it’s Christmas, it’s the weather and with COVID as well now. Obviously that creates a lot of challenges”.

So what does she get out of volunteering at the hub?

“I absolutely love it!  And that might sound really sad – standing out in the rain on a Tuesday and getting soaked!  But I love it. It gives me a purpose. It gives me something to do to get out of the house for a couple of hours.  I call it my weekly work out! 

“I’ve met a lot of new people and it’s great because we have a laugh. We have a rapport and I’m known as the gobby one!  But at the same time I’ll help them with anything they need.  And it’s nice that many of the regular faces are the elderly too. It’s not just all young people with families. A lot of it is having contact and that’s why I’m happy to have a bit of banter with them because they like it!”

So would Ang urge other people to get involved with their community and volunteer?

“Yes I would! A couple of my volunteers actually came from me getting them on board.  One lady was one of the customers I just grabbed out of the queue! And another was someone I recruited in a café because she was saying she had time on her hands and I said “right come and see me on a Tuesday!”  And they enjoy it!  I even have a couple of elderly people who love it because it gets them out and doing things.”