While working as a student midwife, Jessica came across Bliss, a charity that supports parents and babies in neonatal care. After becoming a Dot Dot Dot property guardian, she started volunteering with the organisation. Jessica now knits hats and delivers them to local hospitals for premature newborns to wear.
Staying connected to past passions
While training to become a midwife, Jessica often helped to deliver premature babies. This was when she first became aware of Bliss, which stocked baby clothes at the hospital where she worked. But it was only when she started looking at volunteering opportunities as a property guardian that she started volunteering for the organisation.
“When I became a Dot Dot Dot guardian, I saw Bliss listed on their volunteering resources for new guardians. I was inspired. I had forgotten about the amazing work Bliss does, and I knew straight away that I wanted to volunteer for them.
I loved being a midwife, but I realised over time that the job just didn’t suit me. Volunteering for Bliss has been such an amazing way to honour midwifery and stay connected to my past work.”
Adding a little love to a tough situation
Premature babies often come as a surprise. Parents won’t have had the time to pack bags or baby clothes. The clothes which Jessica makes by hand will often be the first outfit these babies wear.
“Delivering a baby prematurely can often be extremely stressful and upsetting. The hats I knit don’t take away that stress, but I hope they do add a little bit of love to a tough situation. They bring home comforts to a starkly medical setting.
I pick up knitting patterns from a local shop, and I get knitting. Once I have made a few hats, I pack them up and deliver the bundle to the hospital. I’ve only just started this journey. But I am hoping to start knitting socks, and then jumpers in the near future.”
Making the time to give back
Jessica is busy retraining as a software engineer, but she’s found a unique set up which allows her to volunteer and focus on her career.
“I get to knit the hats at home so it’s really easy to fit in my volunteer work around my work schedule. One of the best things about Dot Dot Dot is that they hold you accountable. I used to volunteer, but I stopped when life got too busy. As a property guardian, I’m now making the time to give back to my community. I love that I am able to still support the women I used to work with as a midwife.”
Why being property guardian is right for Jessica
Jessica lives with her partner in one of our west London flats and both of them are currently changing career paths. So they were looking for an inexpensive living solution when they heard about property guardianship through a friend.
“Being property guardians with Dot Dot Dot has helped our situation enormously. There’s no other way we could afford our own place while we’re both retraining. Property guardianship has given us the freedom to focus on the careers we want.
The flexibility that comes with being a guardian means that we can move out whenever we’re ready – we only need to give Dot Dot Dot 28 days’ notice. It’s also a huge bonus that we can decorate the flat how we want.
One of my favourite things about being a guardian is the sense of community. We all know each other. Everyone is really sweet, and we all share a passion for volunteering. It’s nice coming home and saying hi to your neighbours.”
