Shining a light on our Pilates group volunteers! Emilia Carey"Hello! I’m Emilia. I have lived in Cambridge since 2010. I grew up in St Albans, (went to university in Sheffield to study French and Spanish and then lived in Spain for 10 years). I work mostly in Further Education, teaching Study Skills and English as a foreign language. "My granny was deaf and gradually lost her sight towards the end of her life. I was quite young at the time, but I think I developed an awareness of the challenges of having a sensory impairment. "I volunteer because I think it’s nice to help others, and I'm lucky to have a life that allows me to do that. I currently volunteer at the CamSight Pilates sessions, setting up the room (though admittedly Luke normally does this!) and guiding people in and out. Pilates is a good ‘fit’ for me, as I am a firm believer that sport and exercise is not just good for the body but is also extremely important for social and mental well-being and resilience (the Pilates class definitely ticks all these boxes!)"I’ve met some lovely people who I’ve become very fond of. They say that every day is a school day, and Wednesday morning Pilates sure is! I love chatting with the group and listening to their stories; not only have I learnt a lot about visual impairment but also about life in general, from birds to boilers, feral cats to football matches, builders to bats! They are a very interesting and inspiring group of people. Oh, and I also love listening to Molly (one of our service users guide-dog) munching on her bone/ Kong!"Unfortunately, work commitments limit the amount of time I can dedicate to CamSight. When I win the lottery…" Luke and Emilia (pictured right) both enjoy helping at the weekly Pilates group and have loved getting to know CamSight service users. An image of a man and lady smiling at the camera with a white wall in the background. The lady has brown tied-back hair and the man is wearing a grey collared jumper. Luke Renouf"My name is Luke and I live north of Cambridge with my partner and three cats. I took early retirement last year, and so my partner volunteered me to help out at the Pilates class she teaches for CamSight to keep me busy. "I also volunteer as a driver and sighted guide and have had some very enjoyable trips to Wicken and Ely with CamSight groups this year. It's good to be useful, and to give something back to the community, and I'm looking forward to continuing to help out." Manage Cookie Preferences