​Volunteering has given Isabelle Kelly the shot in confidence that she needed, as well as a new found hobby

Sitting watching the London 2012 Olympics on television inspired me. I was enthralled by the whole event and thought "what would it be like to be a part something like that".

From that moment, I decided that when the applications for volunteers for the 2014 Commonwealth Games became available I would be first in line. I had no idea then how much deciding to do so would change me as a person.

I was an accreditation officer at Glasgow 2014 and I think the most enjoyable part was meeting and speaking to so many people from such varying backgrounds. I was fortunate enough to be based at the athletes’ village which meant I got to meet most athletes from all competing countries and also their officials. The highlight though had to be being on duty at the Kelvin Hall when the Queen and Prince Philip were visiting and also at the village when Prince William, Katherine and Prince Harry were there.

The Commonwealth Games opened my eyes to a bigger world than the one I usually occupy as a betting shop manager. Normally I work on my own but at Glasgow 2014 I appreciated working with other people. It is a much more relaxed environment as you have others to discuss things with and to help make decisions if necessary and you never feel under pressure.

Isabelle Kelly

The Pan Am Games in Canada did prove that volunteering can be an expensive past time but I would still do it all again though

Since the Games I have been bitten by the volunteering bug. I have helped out at the Great Scottish Run and events run by Beatson Cancer Care, Scottish Athletics Indoor League, Southeast Scottish Amateur Athletics, Scottish Badminton and I was in Canada in the summer volunteering at the Pan Am Games.

I was a customer services host there so it was a different role completely from the Commonwealth Games. I was outside meeting and greeting people and enjoying the atmosphere in the great weather, which was a bonus. Although it was totally different from Glasgow my enjoyment was equally as high. Canada did prove that volunteering can be an expensive pass time though, as with the Pan Am Games there was no financial help available and I was totally responsible for my own expenses. I would still do it all again though.

This week I am volunteering at the Davis Cup at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow and I am applying for the British Swimming Championships in April 2016 and the European Athletics Championships 2016 in Holland. I am also waiting on the application invitation for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2018

Through volunteering I have learned new skills and had many varied, interesting and enjoyable experiences and I hope to be able to volunteer for years to come.

I have never had a great deal of self-confidence but that has changed and now I think "I can do that" as opposed to "I’m not what they’re looking for". I am no longer afraid to apply for work and volunteer positions as I look at things from a different perspective.

I initially went into volunteering, I think, to see what I could get from it and I still hope it might lead to a change in career to working in the voluntary sector – that might not happen but what I have gained is a sense of achievement and new and long lasting friendships, which are invaluable.

I only hope I have given something too and it hasn’t all been gain on my part.