Giving Back After Retirement: David’s Journey with Wave Hub & Link UP London

Impact Story by Skilled Volunteer | Sophia Mobbs

For many of us, accounts and tax are a much-dreaded necessity. Not so for David W!

David has enjoyed a storied career as an accountant in London over several decades – particularly remarkable given he left school at 15. After gaining his accounting qualifications (with laurels for his exam-topping results), he built and ran a successful accountancy and tax practice with his brother for 46 years.

After slowing down at age 66 and comfortably retiring from practice at age 73, David faced the question: what’s next? After such a vocational career, how could retirement deliver the same degree of pleasure and fulfilment? Enter: skilled volunteering. David had long known that he could use his skills to help others post his career:

“In life generally I worked phenomenally hard until the age of 66, I got a lot of satisfaction…I always said when I retire I want to give something back.”

That ambition came to the fore in David’s Link UP project with Wave Hub. Wave Hub are a charity in North London that operate as a community centre café, welcoming people with and without learning disabilities. Volunteers run fun activities like art classes, yoga, with bake treats baked fresh on-site. With all of this amazing work chugging along in the foreground, there was less time to handle the financial details behind the scenes. Wave Hub reached out to Link UP asking for skilled volunteer assistance in sorting out their numbers.

David signed on to help, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work…and on his very first day he discovered a surprise £3.5k squirreled away in the accounts! His volunteering kept unearthing improvements; he resolved outstanding Gift Aid issues, lodged claims for three years and paved the way for future claims, sorted out many accounts and payroll problems, helped out on grant applications and reporting, and got Wave Hub across a tight deadline to complete the annual accounts and get through the annual Independent Examiner’s Report process.

This experience led to wonderful outcomes for David. First and foremost, a deep sense of purpose from applying his hard-earnt skills towards social good:

“I have had an active brain, I cannot let it just die…It gives me satisfaction, a sense of achievement, doing something decent for people who need the help.”

David also gained an unexpected feather in his post-career cap. For most of his career, he had avoided charity accounts because he didn’t have time to upskill as needed in their particular nuances. In retirement, he has finally had the opportunity to do just this, and scratch that long-standing intellectual itch:

“Taking on Wave Hub…The accounts are a very different animal to a normal set of commercial accounts. I thought, ‘Yeah, but I have to find out how to claim Gift Aid’… Well, I found out and learned! I have had a big learning process, but having suddenly got the time in life, the challenge of learning a completely new skill in dealing with charities was exciting.”

This learning keeps David stimulated in his retirement and reassures him that he will still have years to come of being mentally active.

The social aspect of the experience was also a bonus for David. During his career he made a point of connecting with people in-person, putting in the effort to take meetings face-to-face. He brought this attitude to Wave Hub too – rather than always helping out virtually, he often travels across London to visit Wave Hub (sometimes expecting to stay just for an hour, but ending up there the whole day!):

“I cannot do this sort of thing without the interaction…Going to Wave Hub and seeing everyone gives you the sense that you want to do this for as long as possible.”

Reflecting on Link UP’s role in connecting him with Wave Hub, David shares:

“Link UP are very accommodating, not letting volunteers feel misused or dumped on… They make it as smooth as possible for volunteers to give something to help charities.”

These days, you will still find David helping out at Wave Hub – long after his initial Link UP project has wrapped up. Looking to the future, David said:

“Wave Hub, for 5-10 years, will be something I can do to the best of my ability – helping them stay on time with the accounting and any report or info they want. It just works.”

And for anyone considering Link UP, David says:

“It is a worthwhile job to help worthwhile charities; you are just a tiny part of a chain that is good for everyone.”

If you have skills to share and want to make a difference, sign up as a volunteer with Link UP London today. Thanks David, and see you at Wave Hub!