A grandmother from Stithians is putting her 20 years of parenting experience back into her community by volunteering for family support charity Home-Start Kernow.

Michelle Gould has four grown up children and two grandchildren, as well as ten step-grandchildren. After her children had grown up she was looking through the local paper for an opportunity to volunteer.

Having experienced bringing up her children, David, Mark, Amy and Beth, all aged between 26 and 32, largely as a single parent, an advert for Home-Start Kernow volunteers caught her eye.

“Parenting is really difficult anyway, but it can be a thousand times harder when you’re on your own," she said. “I was a single parent from when my youngest was four. For a large chunk of my life, I was bringing up children on my own."

Michelle currently works closely with Falmouth mum Emma and her 17-month-old son Callum John, known as CJ. A typical volunteering shift will start with a cup of tea and a chat, and find out what the mum needs help with. She will also help the family work towards medium term goals, such as getting more organised with routines. Day to day support might be around child development, practical tasks around the house or just straight-forward companionship.

Emma said: “We really clicked and I’ve felt like I’ve know her forever. Michelle offers completely impartial and non-judgmental advice. She’s helped me become a lot more confident in myself and my parenting abilities.”

Michelle added: “It’s a good way of making friends. I have been matched really well and it’s been a great relationship for both of us. You learn so much from each other. The dynamics of the family can change as you work together.”

Michelle’s positive experience of volunteering for Home-Start Kernow led to an invitation to become a trustee of the charity last year. This involves monthly meetings, first for trustees followed by a full management committee with staff, and the chance to share her experiences or expand her knowledge.

“I was really interested to find out how the organisation worked," she said. "You don’t have to be involved in everything, but you can use your experience and skills as well as learning new things.

“Parenting can be stressful, it can be scary, it can even be isolating. But at the same time it’s rewarding and amazing – we’re just here to help anyone who might need a hand during those crucial early stages of having a family.”

Home-Start Kernow is calling for finance, fundraising or communications professionals to join its board of trustees. The commitment starts at around one meeting per month, at the charity’s base in Redruth.

To express an interest or to apply to become a trustee go to homestartkernow.org.uk/volunteering/.