Appreciating an active volunteer Irene

In National Volunteers Week 2026 Focus Surrey would like to recognise the contribution of the more than 600 volunteers who have supported the Saturday club since it was established in September 2016.

For the past two terms volunteer Irene Chew has volunteered at the Saturday club as a play assistant working 1 to 1 with children with autism.

Irene who is retired, worked at Shell oil and gas company for 34 years. She worked in Information Technology, leading teams across the UK and India in data analytics and information reporting.

Now as a volunteer she is motivating children to communicate and develop their play and social skills. She is encouraging them to paint, paste, dance, do yoga, build friendships, take turns and develop their play skills. Irene enjoys interacting with people of all cultures and had regularly spent time babysitting her niece’s children when they were based in London. Looking for a way to stay connected with people while giving back to the community, she joined Focus Surrey as a volunteer in September 2025.

Irene has been a consistent and reliable volunteer. At 68 years old, she is full of energy at every session. At Focus Surrey she is happily pushing the children on wheeled chairs where they go racing across the room, playing games, and dancing and doing yoga with them.

Irene says at Focus Surrey she enjoys watching the children work together and watching their progress each week they attend.

She particularly enjoyed seeing the children in her group start to dance and play together. “!t is good to see the changes every week,” Irene says.

Irene’s supervisors at the club say: “Irene has been an enthusiastic volunteer who approaches every session with care. Her ability to support children calmly and confidently has made a big difference.”

“Irene remains engaging, flexible, and approachable throughout each session."

"Irene was extremely creative in pairing her learner's interests to make non-desirable items fascinating, consistently bringing high energy to every session. She has shown an outstanding ability to engage children in play and learning activities, contributing greatly to their progress, enjoyment, and confidence in every learning moment."

Thank you, Irene!