Migration Stories - Susan Morley

I’m really excited to be the Volunteer Coordinator for this year’s festival. I've seen the festival grow each year since it started and it's a wonderful reflection of Sheffield and the people who live here, wherever they've come from. I was born and bred in Edinburgh to a Scottish Mum and a Yorkshire Dad - what a great mix! My story of migration may only be 236 miles but I feel very lucky to be able to call Sheffield my second home. I developed a love of drama by being a part of the Scottish Youth Theatre as a teenager in the 1980’s and love it still! For the past 15 years or so, I’ve been lucky enough to work with refugees and asylum seekers here in South Yorkshire – currently with the British Red Cross. It’s been such an honour to meet some truly amazing people both as refugee and asylum-seeking service users and as volunteers - I’m passionate about supporting both!

I'm really looking forward to people from all of Sheffield's different communities, cultures and walks of life coming together to celebrate what an amazing place we live in! I also hope that maybe people who haven't volunteered before will see just what a remarkable difference being a volunteer can make.

I have two fabulous daughters age 26 and 21 who currently live in Leeds and in my spare time I love getting out into nature whenever I can with Roxy my 12-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. I’m also a little bit crafty and make tensioned, fabric softpots out of tights!

We're always on the look-out for volunteers to join our team. If you would like to volunteer at this year's festival, get in touch at susan@migrationsmattersfestival.co.uk

Susan Morley: Volunteer Coordinator