Volunteering at Polka – Jo

In celebration of Volunteer’s Week 2026, we ask one of our volunteers Jo what volunteering at Polka means to her.

I’ve spoken to an elephant, had snowball fights, dressed as a mouse and sat at the side of a boxing ring. I’ve chatted to puppeteers, actors, carers, inspirational teachers and struggling parents. I’ve had uncontrollable giggles and fought back tears. Each day is never the same when volunteering at Polka, but friendly greetings and smiling faces are guaranteed.

I joined the Polka volunteer team in September 2025 having waved goodbye at the school gate to my youngest with the aim of meeting new people and being part of a community. I don’t think I realised when I applied how far this would extend. I have met a whole host of people who I would never have had the chance to come across. I’ve had advice from my fellow volunteers on how to parent teens (how short should I let her wear her school skirt?), I’ve debated the best brands of sausages with them and I’ve learned about so many different cultures and experiences. Yes, discussions at the volunteer lockers are as diverse as the Polka productions themselves!

I know that, when I look back at my time at Polka, there will be one memory that stands out in my mind. Not the time that a child in the second row announced that I had the same trainers as her mum to a silent theatre, but during the finale of The Firework Maker’s Daughter when the “fireworks” were released above the audience and I saw three hundred little faces all turned to the ceiling in what can only be described as pure joy. This was the moment when I had to fight back the tears and, looking across at my fellow volunteer, I knew she was feeling the same. More recently, I had the privilege to be standing next to a child as she entered a theatre for the first time and caught a glimpse of the awe in her face when she saw the stage and the lights. As a volunteer, you are in the privileged position of being able to contribute to that experience even if it may be in a very small way.

If I was going to give myself some advice back on my first day in September 2025 I would tell myself not to worry so much about making mistakes as there is always someone on hand to help. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next eighteen months will bring – perhaps looking out for Peter Pan’s Lost Boys or helping reunite a lost child in the play den.