Nikyla recently started with us here at NCVS. She takes on an exciting new project in Gedling. Here, she introduces herself and shares just how much it costs to fix a flight of stairs.
Hi, I’m Nikyla
I am the new Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator for Gedling Borough. I’ll be out and about in Gedling, talking to as many people as possible across the voluntary and community sector. If you see me, please say hello. I’m 6'2", so I’m hard to miss!
I used to live in Carlton, so I feel passionate about working together to make Gedling as fantastic as possible. I also volunteer with Nottingham Citizens (a chapter of Citizens UK—the people behind the Living Wage Foundation). We are currently organising, with Gedling residents, to win the changes Gedling wants to see.
I’ll be hoping to get plenty of miles in by cycling around to visit organisations and hear about the great work everyone is doing! I am part of a charity fundraising team, ‘Tour de Bants’, who have raised over £10,000 for Sands. I have 750 more miles to cycle before the end of August to complete this year’s challenge. Wish me luck. When I get a spare minute to plan a route, I also lead social bike rides (FLAB social rides Nottingham on Facebook). We don’t take ourselves too seriously and enjoy meeting up for a spin and a piece of cake.
I developed my interest in community and voluntary work when I decided to move from a career in education (hello to anyone who knows me better as Miss Manners). I looked at volunteering opportunities to strengthen my CV and develop my skills. The Grantham Canal Society were kind enough to snap me up, and I have learned a great deal from working with them. I’m now a committee member with a focus on social media and publicity.
My most ridiculous voluntary/community story is from lockdown. My education colleagues and I decided to run a food bank from school, with the support of Hope Nottingham and The Trussell Trust. I decided that one of the ways I could contribute to this was a fundraiser, which I wittily named ‘Stairverest’: 3,871 flights of my stairs at home; equivalent to the height of Everest. It was a fantastic community event, with parents, students, friends, and colleagues all getting involved in their own homes. I raised around £500. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a small person, and my staircase suffered a fair degree of wear and tear. The price to repair the staircase? You guessed it: £500.
