Name: Buffy Price
Contact: [email protected]
Place I Call Home
London
Languages Spoken
English, and GSCE level French: “Ou est la Gare?”
Volunteer Experience
I was strolling along London's Southbank in early 2006 and saw an outdoor photography exhibition called “After the Wave” which inspired to me to go to the nearest internet café to search for a volunteer project which didn’t require particular expertise or thousands of pounds.
I arrived in Khao Lak three months later and spent 4 months with the Tsunami Volunteer Centre building wardrobes and kitchen units on the Thaikea project in Bang Kayah village. Basically, I did A LOT of wood sanding, but within a few weeks I was helping to teach new comers to the project and demonstrating to the local Thai residents using elaborate mime.
Why I Volunteer
I’ve travelled a lot and travelling is boring! Everyone sees the same thing and tick the same boxes and are going on to the same place (and just happened to have grown up only a street away from you back home) yaddy yaddy yah. I love waking up in the morning knowing I have a purpose to my day and looking forward to learning skills which are far cry from those required by my desk job in London. Most significantly, of course, the best thing about volunteering has to be becoming part of a community with the other volunteers and the locals, and learning how to do things their way.
Professional or Other Related Experience
I spent three years working for the Liberal Democrats - I worked on the setting up of the Liberal Democrat High Net-worth Donors club, in a small team co-ordinating the 2005 general election campaign and as a researcher in the Leader’s office.
Since returning from Thailand I've been managing a small animal welfare charity which operates under the umbrella of the British Veterinary Association. As the sole member of staff I’m responsible for everything, basically: admin, marketing and PR, events management, fundraising, and writing educational leaflets on pet care for the public (check out “An introduction to goat keeping”!). I’m currently writing a four-year ‘way forward’ plan for the charity (at least I would be if I wasn’t writing this).
Random Fact(s)
I fell down a crevasse once. I was climbing the Argentiere Glacier in France with my dad – we were roped together and papa dearest saved me!
