Eleven-year-old Annabel Swatton was inspired to become the youngest volunteer at Oxford’s Helen & Douglas House hospice following the death of a classmate.
Annabel, pictured, who lives near Bicester, offered to help the hospice after it cared for Alec Jarvis and she saw a TV programme about volunteering.
She said: “I saw all these celebrities volunteering for different things and I thought I could do that.
“My classmate Alec Jarvis used to come to Helen House until sadly he died last year. So I wrote to Helen & Douglas House and asked if I could help at their open day in memory of Alec and I did so.”
The Steeple Claydon youngster visited the hospice again last week during Volunteer Week to present display boards from her family to be used at this year’s hospice open day in September and coloured pencils for its art room.
The hospice’s volunteer development co-ordinator Yvonne Davison said: “It was a wonderful contribution Annabel made by helping at our open day last year.
“She’s too young to volunteer in the houses themselves but she fundraises for us and is such an inspiration for others.”
To find out about volunteering at Helen & Douglas House, call the hospice on 01865 794749.
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