Spotlight on Xilona

February 17, 2016

Xilona moved into a large shared property in Morden in November as one of our first volunteer live-in organisers. Since then she has been very active organising local volunteer days for her fellow guardians. As a conservationist and environmentalist herself, Xilona has done great work introducing her housemates to volunteering in the outdoors.

She had this to say about their most recent volunteer expedition to Deen City Farm:

‘Simon from the farm emailed me with thanks for organising the days, bringing in help to the farm and that the guys worked really hard! I had feedback from the house and they have really enjoyed the gardening, so much so that all of us chatted about it yesterday and agreed that we would love to do it again. So, I have coordinated another day at the farm for this Saturday!’

In addition to helping out at the local farm, Xilona had previously coordinated several of her housemates to help with the clean-up of a local river, the river Wandle. This has led to a string of opportunities with the Wandle Trust in the area, who are grateful for the guardians continued support.

Guardians Volunteering at the River Wandle

Xilona has also helped guardians in Morden pursue their own interests in volunteering. One guardian has been put in touch with a hospice round the corner to start helping out there. Several have been active promoting the work of Olio, a social enterprise that aims to tackle domestic food waste. We think it’s great that our Morden guardians are contributing so much to the community and having so much fun in the process.

Well done Xilona and all our guardians in Morden!

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“I was drawn to property guardianship because I wanted to live affordably in London which is pretty hard to do – and the volunteering aspect of guardianship with Dot Dot Dot really appealed to me as a way of giving back to the community.”
Carl, High Barnet
I feel strongly connected with my guardian neighbours. I am getting to know other parts of the community too, through my volunteering.
Jon, Wycombe
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Sarah, Whitechapel
“Living in a Dot Dot Dot property has enabled me to do much more volunteering and reduce my hours at my day job.”
David, Croydon
“I saw the advert for Dot Dot Dot and was intrigued to find out more. Initially it was the low cost that attracted me but I also thought the social enterprise side of the business was really cool. I liked the fact that being a guardian with Dot Dot Dot encouraged me to give back and make me do something good with my free time.”
Heba, High Barnet
“If I wasn’t a property guardian I would either be paying a ridiculous amount of money on renting in London or unable to move out of my grandmother’s house at all. I certainly wouldn’t be able to afford to spend time volunteering.”
Bella, Bow
“There’s an instant community feel here which is great. Looking forward to organising movie nights and board games nights with the other guardians.”
Caitlin, Whitechapel
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Tim, High Wycombe
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Jasmine, Peckham
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Josh, Poplar