Autism Acceptance Blog: Emmanuel’s journey with us

For the World Autism Acceptance Campaign, Emma Whitbread, Community Engagement Programme Lead at London Zoo, shares one volunteer's story:

In September 2022, I was approached by an advisor who was assisting Emmanuel in securing a volunteering position. The advisor expressed an interest in having Emmanuel participate in our Supported Volunteering Scheme. She shared that Emmanuel had recently completed his final year of study in Animal Care Level 3 at Capel Manor College. The advisor mentioned that Emmanuel has a mild learning difference, mild autism and experiences social anxiety, however, through their collaboration, he has made significant progress in overcoming various challenges. As a result, he is now becoming increasingly confident and more capable of independently seeking work experience and volunteering opportunities.

The advisor was only able to provide support to Emmanuel for a limited period. Consequently, we offered him the opportunity to continue volunteering, at SVS in an informal team leader role which Emmanuel continues to do today.

In July 2024, Emmanuel applied for the position of a Primates and Predators Keeper Volunteer. He attended a taster session for the role and was successfully accepted into the team. Emmanuel is now volunteering independently at London Zoo.

Amy, Engagement Lead Keeper for Predators and Primates fed back that “Emmanuel is a hard-working member of our volunteering team. He is happy to do whatever tasks are assigned to him and is a polite and kind addition to the team.”

“He has done a variety of jobs from cleaning our big cat houses, to helping prepare food and keep our food preparation areas clean. It has been lovely getting to know Emmanuel over these last few months, and I feel like he's come out of his shell and grown more confident”.

Emmanuel has added; "It has been an awesome experience volunteering at London Zoo. I have gone from sweeping up leaves around the zoo and wiping windows to actually getting to work with wild animals and I am honoured to have achieved this accomplishment. If there's anything I've learned from this, it is that dedication and hard work really does pay off."

Stella, our Supported Volunteer Scheme Officer, has been working with Emmanuel since October 2024 and said: “Emmanuel has helped us run the weekly supported volunteer scheme sessions and is always eager to help other attendees 1:1 or in small groups.

He is a friendly, approachable and knowledgeable member of the SVS team, who is clearly passionate about helping people and nature. He is an excellent photographer and always eager to show his most recent animal pose he has captured on his phone or camera! It is a true joy to know that we are empowering neurodiverse and disabled individuals like Emmanuel through the supported volunteer scheme.”

For me personally, it has been lovely seeing Emmanuel grow more and more confident and settle into to new volunteering roles. I look forward to seeing what comes next for Emmanuel.

- Emma Whitbread, Community Engagement Programme Lead, London Zoo

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions