27 year old Matthew Finch was living in the Whitstable area researching for a PHD when his eye was caught by an article in a local newspaper on voluntary work with Volunteer Reading Help. The country's largest volunteer literacy charity, there are currently nearly 2000 VRH volunteers in primary schools reading talking and playing games to boost a child's confidence and help improve their reading and communication skills..

After intensive training, Matthew was "twinned" with two children in foster care aged 6 and 11. Looked after children are frequently low achievers at school. For them, every Wednesday last year was "Matthew time."

"It isn't a question of teaching children to read," he said. "There may be many reasons why a child isn't literate, doesn't feel comfortable around books. The sessions have to be an enjoyable experience. You have to try and create an atmosphere where they are comfortable with you, see you as a friend, get the confidence to attempt writing and suddenly the desire to understand everyday words like road signs for example."

Not only did Matthew find the work very rewarding, he also discovered that after 7 highly academic years, he had an instant rapport with the children. Another teacher observed Matthew at work with "his" children and asked if he would be interested in coming in to help at Herne Bay Infants School. Again his empathy with children stood out and in September, Matthew became a member of staff on the graduate training scheme, qualifying next July.

"Volunteering opened up a path that hadn't occurred to me," he said. "I really enjoy being a classroom teacher. Making a connection with 30 children, every day's a real thrill.

"Volunteers can do something that is not part of their 9 – 5 lives. It's led by the heart, not the pay packet. You learn your strengths and weaknesses which in turn leads to a discovery of what you could be doing for a living. It gave me a taster of a career and introduced me to experiences I wouldn't otherwise have had."