About GoldStar 
| Name | Age |
Project |
|---|---|---|
 Spider |
40 |
Volunteer Centre Tameside |
2 years ago, Spider was pronounced dead. Now he's breathing new life into the community.
On his 40th birthday, Spider drank all day and died of an overdose that night. It was the culmination of an alcohol and depression problem that had lasted for some years. Fortunately, he was found by his wife and almost miraculously revived in hospital. Through a combination of rehab and mental health care, Spider began the long slow road to recovery. At times, he couldn't even leave the house without trembling and throwing up. Determined to make the most of his second chance in life, he asked the job centre about volunteering. They put him in touch with the Building Bridges project at Tameside Volunteer Centre. Apprehensive, but excited by the excellent choice of projects, Spider chose the Canal Boat Society because he knew the canal ways well from childhood and it was close to the sanctuary of home if anxiety set in. Three hours a week soon became a full time passion as Spider became more and more fascinated by the work of restoring barges using traditional craftsmanship and materials. As well as rejuvenating these elegant longboats and co-ordinating the volunteers, Spider sails them around the waterways to regional events, stopping en route at local homes to collect goods for the charity shop. Having recently qualified as a Drug and Alcohol Abuse Support Worker, he's also able to help others to get through problems he encountered himself. It's all been a revelation as he admits:
“It's as if I'd emptied half my brain and was given the chance to fill it again. By supporting me though every stage of my involvement, The Volunteer Centre and staff have restored my confidence, made me loads of new friends, given my life a new purpose and helped me spread the word about our wonderful waterways!”
Spider is now hoping to teach barge restoration and save a dying art. Just as he was saved as a dying man.
Manager's comment:
“Spider's story shows that volunteering can give your life new purpose. That's why our Building Bridges project exists.We enable disabled people and those needing mental health support to explore volunteering opportunities. Then we build bridges between them and thevolunteer recruiting organisations. For the volunteers, our whole set up is geared to understanding and facilitating their needs throughout the process - from initial meeting, identifying skills and building confidence to finding the best project and supporting them through it. Building Bridges provides individual opportunities for individual people.”
