Volunteers' Week 2026: Reflections from a Locate International Volunteer

A few years ago, if you had suggested I donate some of my time as a volunteer I would probably have laughed, as quite ignorantly I assumed that such roles were in soup kitchens and food banks. My laughter would not be directed at those roles but at my inability to work anywhere involving food, food preparation, serving food and anything else remotely related to giving anyone an item of food as I am absolutely useless in a kitchen.

Fast forward to 2024 and I’m running my own business with my husband. Although successful I hadn't realised I missed being part of a bigger team and that I had skills and expertise that another organisation would benefit from.

One evening, I sit down in front of the TV to, (in my husband’s words) another macabre documentary usually involving someone dead or dying. This particular documentary was titled The Body Detectives and centred on the work carried out by Locate International. From the very first minute I was transfixed. When the series ended, I was already halfway through an email to the Media Team asking to become a volunteer.

I don’t quite know what I was thinking when I pressed submit on that email. I am diagnosed with ADHD, so I often act first and think later. This was exactly one of those occasions.

It didn’t take long to receive a reply and within a few short weeks I was undergoing training for my volunteer role! Eeeek.

I’m not going to deny the fact that I did have a few moments where I thought I had made a mistake, that maybe I’ve jumped the gun and should instead volunteer a few hours a week in my local charity shop. I am not a quitter though, so I stuck with the training.

By the Autumn of 2024 I was a fully trained Locate International volunteer. I was incredibly nervous but just assumed that they would call on me to write some content now and again.

Little did I know that I was thrown head first into the busy Media Team who all shared the same passion. To donate their time and skillset to help identify the unidentified and locate the missing.

I couldn’t believe my luck; I had found my tribe!

Weekly Zoom meetings, group chats on Teams and lots of emails from my new team members made me realise that I was really doing it. That I was actually volunteering my time to a charity and there wasn’t any food involved!

Within just a few months I had been ‘promoted’ to Head of Online.

Wow! I didn’t see that coming.

I say ‘promoted’ in inverted commas, as there is no pay rise (no one at Locate gets paid), no corner office; just the honour of an official title. This title is incredibly important to me. It means I’m a valid member of the charity, of the Media team I am part of, that I have a purpose within Locate and that my skills are needed and very much necessary. Any imposter syndrome I did have was left for dust back in 2024.

I had lost an identity without even realising it and I found it again at Locate. Being there for the people we help, spreading their stories and searching for clues is now a very important part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Funnily enough, I have found that my ADHD is a benefit to the work we carry out at Locate. The Media team predominantly works to deadlines, whether that’s a significant anniversary for one of our cases or press and even TV deadlines for appeals that we run. I can be my authentic self; I don’t have to mask my foibles and love nothing more than a last minute frantic ‘all hands on deck’ scenario when we are faced with a last-minute media project. This is where I thrive and can make such an important difference to the families we support and the cases we take on.

Reflecting on my time with Locate thus far, I cannot help but smile a big, wide powerful smile. I am proud, proud of myself, proud of my team and proud of everyone who gives up their time, for free, to Locate. Just this week I was keen to hear an update on a case that I have realised has a special space in my heart. (It is important to note that every Locate volunteer has one of ‘those cases’).

Although a small update, it wasn’t insignificant and the pride I feel is immense. Something I had done could well have prompted a conversation, sparked an investigative idea or encouraged someone with information to get in touch with us. Even if it wasn’t my doing, I am 100% invested in every tiny detail and smile with pride that as a team we may just be one step closer to solving a case. A win is a win and we’re all in it together.

As we are now nearing the end of volunteer week, I want to mark it by saying to anyone who wants to listen ‘donate any spare time you have to a charity – even if it’s just an hour, you will never regret it.’