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Meet Lisa – one of our Dragons Volunteers

As part of an upcoming series of articles, we’ll be shining a regular spotlight on some of our amazing volunteers across the UK that help our Clubs to thrive. In the first of this series, we spoke with Lisa Manley (right) about her involvement with our Dragons Community Club in Newport. 

Lisa began her journey with Sporting Memories as a member, taking her husband along to be part of the session held at Rodney Parade, home of Dragons Rugby.

“It was a pretty small group (in terms of numbers) to start with, but we’ve been going for about four years now and I started volunteering for the Club last year. I had already started helping out at the sessions anyway, making teas and coffees for people and things like that.

“Even after all this time we’ve been going, me and my husband absolutely love being part of the group. I thought Sporting Memories was a nice thing to be a part of and as time has gone on I’ve got stuck in and helped where I can, but eventually my lovely husband decided to put me forward as a proper volunteer!

“It’s something I really enjoy doing and it builds bonds between me and the rest of the group, which is really nice.”

Despite being put up for the role of volunteer by her husband, it has something Lisa has thrived in and she explained more about her involvement with the weekly sessions.

“Now I’m more of a formal volunteer, I’ve stepped up to do even more; so I create quizzes, help with keeping everyone engaged by talking to them all and from my point of view it’s been brilliant!

“I enjoy volunteering as you get to interact with people a bit more than just being part of the group as such. You get to hear the stories of the members; but they’ll also come to you if they’ve got an issue and chat it through with you.

“I would also say my confidence has grown greatly. When I first visited the Club, I must admit I wouldn’t talk that much, because normally if I don’t know somebody I will tend to be quiet.

“But now it’s a different story! I can be there saying hello to everyone when they arrive, even new people. I also have the confidence to be leading the session at times, particularly when I’m running the quiz. I would say that it has changed me for the better.”

Lisa has seen the group grow rapidly since she and her husband started attending Sporting Memories several years ago, and Lisa puts that down to the great environment that has been built at the sessions over time. So much so, that Lisa has turned her time at the Club into a family affair!

“It was a small group when we started whereas now you’re looking at often 30-35 people coming along. It’s a big old group, but it’s one where everyone seems to get along really well and they all chat to each other about a wide range of things, which is lovely.

“A lot of us also meet up outside of the group as we often go together to watch the Dragons play, some of us also head across to Cardiff to watch the Welsh team play too.”

“My husband likes the socialising aspect of Sporting Memories, and from both of our points of view it helps break the week up as well and have something to look forward to every Wednesday. Even my granddaughter has come along to the session with us and she loves going there!”

It is clear to see the benefit the sessions at Rodney Parade have had on Lisa as well the enjoyment her husband gets from being part of the Club. We wrapped up our conversation with Lisa by asking her why older people across Newport should consider visiting the Club at Rodney Parade.

“I would say just go and do it! Everyone at the Club gets treated as a person, not judged upon whether they’re living with dementia, or facing issues such as mental health or illness, so I would say come along and give it a try because everyone is welcome and treated the same.”

The Rodney Parade Sporting Memories Club takes place every Wednesday between 11:15am until 1:15pm. For more information on how to join the Club, contact Karen.Hopkins@dragonsrfc.wales