We’ve always known that there are some pretty special people in the Pink Spaghetti network, but every now and again something happens that reminds us just how much goes on behind the scenes. 

 

Recently, we asked our franchisees and their teams to tell us about the things they do outside Pink Spaghetti to support charities, community groups, schools, sports clubs and other good causes. We knew there would be some lovely examples, but we weren’t quite prepared for the sheer variety of responses that came back. 

 

From helping older people get online and supporting children through difficult times, to school governance, grassroots sport, fundraising, youth groups and sharing career advice with the next generation, there is an enormous amount of time being quietly given by people across our network. 

 

And we thought some of those stories deserved to be shared. 

 

For the past six years, Kelly Ann has volunteered with The Friendship Project for Children as an Older Friend, supporting the same Younger Friend throughout that time. 

 

What began as a commitment to spend a few hours together has developed into a genuine friendship, with plenty of adventures along the way. There have been farm parks, baking, den building, cinema trips, new activities and milestones celebrated together. 

 

For Kelly Ann, one of the greatest rewards has been watching a shy child grow in confidence, curiosity and independence. The Friendship Project creates one-to-one friendships for children who need additional support, giving them someone who is there to listen, encourage them and, importantly, have fun with them. 

 

As Kelly Ann puts it, success isn't only about what we achieve in business, it can also be measured by the positive difference we make in the communities around us. 

 

Laura Edwards, who works with Michelle Collins at Pink Spaghetti Chester and North Wales, somehow manages to fit three voluntary roles around work and family life. 

 

She is a trustee of the Albinism Fellowship, a UK charity supporting people with albinism and their families. It is a cause particularly close to Laura's heart as her daughter has albinism and is visually impaired. The charity provides advice and opportunities for families to get together, as well as raising wider awareness. For some people attending its events, it can be one of the few occasions when they meet others who look like them and have shared similar experiences. 

 

Laura is also Vice-Chair of Governors at The Bishops' Bluecoat Church of England High School, where she helps support the students, staff and wider school community. As if that wasn't enough, she volunteers as a chaperone with Infinity Dance and has helped the school put on several shows, giving children the opportunity to perform on stage, build their confidence and showcase what they can do. 

 

It might make the rest of us wonder what we're doing with our evenings! 

 

Not all volunteering involves big events or fundraising challenges. Sometimes giving somebody an hour of your time and sharing something you know can make a real difference. 

 

For the past two to three years, Trish Guy has volunteered at her local library every other Thursday as a Digital Buddy. She helps people use their mobile phones, laptops and library computers, get online, use email and navigate the everyday technology that many of us probably take for granted. 

 

Many of the people she supports are older, although the service is there for anyone who needs it. The aim is simple, to help people become more independent and confident using technology. 

 

We particularly love this one because it is such a good example of how skills that feel ordinary to one person can be incredibly valuable to someone else. 

 

Izzie James recently returned to her former school, Bedford Girls' School, to speak to GCSE and sixth form students about her career in marketing, her move into self-employment and how she balances running a business with motherhood. 

 

Rather than presenting the students with a perfectly polished career story, Izzie wanted them to understand that careers don't always follow a straight line. In fact, they can be decidedly ‘squiggly’, and not knowing exactly what you want to do when you're 16 or 17 is completely normal. 

 

She talked about the different routes open to them, from university and apprenticeships to employment and, eventually perhaps, self-employment. The students had plenty of questions, and Izzie hopes hearing about a different kind of career journey helped them see that there isn't just one definition of success or one route to getting there. 

 

We suspect quite a few adults could do with hearing that message too. 

 

Anyone who has children involved in grassroots sport will know just how much happens behind the scenes, and how much of it depends on volunteers. 

 

Yuki Dennis has spent the past four years volunteering as administrator for Esher Cricket Club's junior section, managing communications, fixtures and administration to support coaches and families. 

 

It is the sort of work that might not be noticed from the boundary on a Saturday morning, but without volunteers doing it, clubs simply couldn't offer young people the same opportunities to play. For Yuki, it is about helping children experience all the things that come with being part of a team, including confidence, friendships and learning to work together. 

 

And there have been some fantastic moments along the way, including watching her son's U11 team win the Surrey Cup. 

 

Kelly Walsh may win the unofficial Pink Spaghetti prize for fitting an extraordinary amount of volunteering into one week. 

 

She is a governor at St George's College in Weybridge, serving on its academic, pastoral and ethos committee, and she is also an active member of her church, where she helps with the youth group, bake sales and fundraising for the charities they support. 

 

Every Friday, however, Kelly can be found volunteering at The Meath Epilepsy Charity, where her son Nathan lives. She helps in its on-site café, The Hive, taking orders, serving food and spending time playing games with residents. Kelly has arranged her working week so that she can keep every Friday free for volunteering, and describes it as the highlight of her week. 

 

She also supports Weybridge Men's Shed, which happens to be one of her clients, on a voluntary basis. Kelly helps organise its stand at the annual Weybridge Festival, selling items made by members during their weekly sessions. Their most recent efforts raised around £1,000 to help towards the Men's Shed's ongoing running costs and its work in the community. 

 

And Kelly's volunteering even crosses the Atlantic. Her dad helped establish a low-cost youth football league at a Catholic church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, around seven years ago. From the UK, Kelly manages online registrations, team organisation and its Facebook page. Around 150 children take part across two seasons each year, with 14 teams for children aged seven to 11. The entire league is volunteer-run and Saturdays during the season can bring together around 250 players, families, coaches, referees and volunteers. 

 

Emma Foulger has found several ways to get involved in the things that matter to her family and local community. 

 

In June, Emma and her family took part in the Rainbow Run in support of East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals' Charity. The event raised more than £20,000 for the Children's Big Build, an initiative to transform children's services at Lister Hospital. 

 

Emma also regularly lends a hand with her daughter's Brownie unit, chaperoning trips and excursions and helping leaders make sure activities can go ahead safely. 

 

More recently, she gave two full days to her children's theatre school's production of Newsies Jr, chaperoning some of its youngest performers, aged just four to six. Anyone who has ever tried to keep a group of excited four-year-olds safe, settled and in the right place backstage will appreciate that this was no small undertaking! 

 

For Naomi Bentham, who also works with Michelle Collins at Pink Spaghetti Chester and North Wales, volunteering and fundraising are connected to something very personal. 

 

Naomi is involved with Solving Kids' Cancer UK, a charity supporting children and families affected by neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. Naomi's daughter, Anya, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was just 19 months old. 

 

Naomi is a member of the charity's Parent Involvement Forum and was invited to join the panel for a ‘Life After Treatment’ webinar as part of its Global Neuroblastoma Parents' Symposium. By sharing her own family's experience, she is helping other parents who may be facing some of the same fears, questions and challenges. 

 

She also set herself a fundraising challenge to walk and run the equivalent of a double ultra marathon, 80 miles. Apparently 80 miles wasn't quite enough, because Naomi went on to complete 120 miles, the equivalent of a triple ultra marathon, raising £630 for Solving Kids' Cancer UK in the process. 

 

More recently, she has taken on yet another voluntary role as treasurer for her son's U10 football team, AFC Waverton Wolves. 

 

When we talk about flexible working at Pink Spaghetti, we often talk about being able to build work around family life, having greater control over your diary and creating a business that fits the life you want to lead. 

 

But reading all these stories reminded us that flexibility can mean something else too. 

 

It can mean arranging your working week so you can spend Friday volunteering at a café. It can mean having the freedom to return to your old school and talk to students about their futures, helping at Brownies, keeping a junior cricket club organised, giving someone the confidence to send their first email, supporting families going through an incredibly difficult time or simply being a consistent, trusted person in a child's life. 

 

None of these things are done because Pink Spaghetti asks people to do them. There isn't a corporate volunteering target or a box to tick. They are things that our franchisees and their teams choose to do because the causes, organisations and people involved matter to them. 

 

Perhaps that's why we loved reading the responses so much. 

 

We talk a lot about the strength of the Pink Spaghetti network, and usually we're referring to the way our franchisees support one another, share ideas and build their businesses together. But the impact of that network clearly reaches much further than Pink Spaghetti itself, into schools, libraries, charities, sports clubs, churches, community groups and families across the UK, and occasionally even as far as a football pitch in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

 

We're very proud to have people like these as part of Pink Spaghetti. 

 

If you're thinking about a change of career and would like to find out more about building a flexible business as part of a supportive franchise network, you can discover more about becoming a Pink Spaghetti franchisee and request a copy of our prospectus here.