The AMBER Foundation Experience from The Secret Millionaire:
www.amber-web.org

Amber is a rehabilitation centre for youngsters, aged between 18 and 30, who have experienced misfortune in their lives. When I first set eyes on this structure it almost seemed too good to be true as I could not understand how a success rate of 84 per cent for youngsters realising their dreams could be achieved. My interaction as a volunteer gave me an overwhelming sense of comradeship and it was like one huge family atmosphere, where we all helped one another. What impressed me the most was the sense of self-worth the youngsters achieved through carrying out all of the daily tasks themselves in the day-to-day running of the Foundation: ranging from cooking and cleaning to maintenance and reciprocal coaching. On the maintenance teams a resident team leader Geoff stood out as rock of strength whom the youngsters turned to for sounding off about their life tribulations. Geoff reminded me a bit of Hagrid from Harry Potter, with his mild, understanding manner and hands like shovels that he reached out to everyone with, day and night, particularly as he lives on site.

Among the special relationships I formed with the youngsters were Sean, Jamie and Rob. I could easily relate to Sean's "cheeky chappy' approach to life as it reminded me so much of myself. As I got to know him, a huge life story was unveiled where he had experienced horrific personal challenges. He told me his story in confidence and in great detail - filling me full of remorse on the one hand but gratification on the other, given he was willing to share such personal details with myself as a volunteer worker. Sean wants to have a career in music and IT and he told me about the sorry state of the computers within the Foundation - really old fashioned and that only a few were working, being kept going by using parts from other machines . They were having difficulty getting online for research and job-seeking and when they did manage to log on, downloads were
excruciatingly slow.


Jamie, a "mountain' of a guy, who nearly crushed my hand when he shook it, wants to be a personal trainer. His life mission has been hampered as he was using old gym equipment. While I was at Amber, fortunately a local business donated some second-hand work stations for the gym that the youngsters, under Jamie's guidance and Geoff's expertise, were refurbishing. Jamie and all the other youngsters were desperate for a treadmill and stressed that he and the others needed this piece of gym equipment to warm up on before using the weights to avoid pulled muscles. As a keen runner myself, this need for a treadmill touched my heart and the passion that Jamie showed towards his love of fitness training meant that he and Jed, another Amber member, were running (forgive the pun!) training programmes for everyone at The Amber Foundation.


Rob absolutely loves IT and, like Sean, was extremely frustrated with not having modern equipment to work with. Sean and Rob had become very close friends , both "cheeky chappies' with hearts of gold which typifies the personalities of youngsters at Amber. Rob told me details about his troubled upbringing , some of which he said he had never shared with anyone else in his whole life. The trust he placed in me was mind blowing and I felt very grateful towards my parents for being fortunate enough to have benefitted from their guidance whilst I was growing up. I remember the anguish I caused my mum and dad at times and could have quite easily "gone off the rails' had it not been for them. I suppose that is why I felt I related so closely to the Amber youngsters.


The gift to Amber was the easiest to decide as there was no doubt in my mind that this place was transforming so many lives on so little resources. Geoff told me that he wanted for nothing in life except to help others - apart from "...a ride on a mower would be nice" a comment Geoff made that I picked up on.


My gift funded a state-of-the-art treadmill, together with IT equipment and a ride on mower for Geoff in recognition for his special contributions to the Amber Foundation. The Manager of the Foundation, another Geoff and "Hagrid' Geoff commented that the donations would help so many youngsters in the future, which gave me a wonderful feeling of pride and fulfilment.

On my return visit to Amber, I offered to help with the strategy-setting sessions as a consultant to the youngsters and as a role model to the "would be' entrepreneurs. This fits so well with the teachings I carry out in my day-to-day life as a senior trainer for a professional organisation and through my business, www.propertytrain.biz. As I was leaving the Amber Foundation, I was asked by Sue, the marketing manager, if I would run The Flora London Marathon in 2010 on their behalf. Of course I accepted although I may need to make use of that treadmill now to get fit