Hannah is a volunteer for Twin Café, a social enterprise that sources fair trade coffee from Nicaragua. As a PR student, Hannah's volunteer work provides hands-on experience and helps spread awareness of Twin Café's mission. She was drawn to Twin Café due to their professionalism and focus on social causes over profits. Hannah enjoys learning about other cultures and being part of an organization with committed volunteers and directors. Through her volunteer role, Hannah was selected to participate in Twin Café's student exchange program to Estelí, Nicaragua, which she is excited for the opportunity to experience firsthand.

1. Vital Volunteering-Why I Love my Role at Twin Café
Volunteers are a vital attribute to absolutely everything that we do. As Twin Café
operates as a social enterprise, this means that all of our profits are reinvested back
into the company, and into supporting our partner organisations and charities.
However, when salaries are taken out of the equation, and managing directors and
volunteers alike are unpaid this can have many positive effects on the working
environment, and the input and passion that resonates from each and everyperson
who is involved with it. We asked Hannah, a member of our carefully selected teamof
volunteers who deal with the PR and Marketing side of things, to give the wider public
an insight into why volunteering for us has been vital in helping her pursue her dream
career in PR, and what she has gained from the experience so far.
Hello there! My name is Hannah, I'm 21 years old and am currently a 3rd year PR and Media
student at Sheffield Hallam University. I am happy to say that I have been fortunate enough
to of worked with Twin Café for the past six months, as a volunteer member of their PR and
Marketing Team. As well as complimenting my degree in PR, I wanted to gain some
experience working in-house for a client such as Twin Café, and using the skills that I have
learnt during the past 3 years at university to help spread the word of such a worthwhile
organisation.
I had various options when thinking about a client to go and volunteer for- PR agencies were
an option, as well as varying local companies from consumer brands to charities and social
enterprises alike. Twin Café sparked my interest after a lecturer pointed me in their direction,
and I was quickly drawn in by the professionalism of their volunteer application document,
and the company ethos of 'people before profit'. I absolutely love coffee, and am interested
in learning about other cultures, so I thought this could be a company that I'd find a real,
deep-rooted level of interest in, as opposed to just some work experience to do purely to
embellish my CV.
Social enterprises in many ways astound me- So much in our modern day world seems to
be dictated by an agenda- but to work with managing directors who invest hours of their free
time into a cause they are passionate enough about to of willingly given up a wage for
themselves, in my view, truly is something special. PR is all about managing
communications, but in many ways I think that level of commitment does my job for me in

2. proving just how devoted everyone who is involved with Twin Café is to the cause- it is
refreshing and motivating to be a part of.
Though in some ways my involvement does stem from selfish means, as it will undoubtedly
benefit my CV, I can say with confidence that I would of gotten involved even if I wasn't
benefiting from it directly in some way. I truly believe that volunteering for a cause, and
getting involved with something out of pure interest and irrespective of financial incentives is
a sure way of making friends, learning new things and all in all becoming a more well-
rounded individual as we keep growing and developing as people through life.
The directors of the company, Sam, Tom and Sarah started Twin Café after being involved
with the Students for Estelí society at the University of Sheffield, who run a six week
exchange to Estelí every summer. Upon returning, the trio decided to use the connections
they had gained from the trip to evaluate the feasibility of their idea- to ethically source
coffee from the farmers in Estelí at a fair price (Estelí is the leading coffee growing region in
the whole of Nicaragua), and ship it over to the UK to be roasted in Sheffield. Now, eight
months on we have stocklists in over 7 different independent stores in Sheffield, run regular
events aimed at celebrating the cultural ties between the two cities, and are soon to be
launching a "pop-up café"- so it's safe to say the future is looking exciting for everyone
involved.
As for me? I've been lucky enough to of been selected as one of the ten students to go on
this year's summer exchange to Estelí in June with the Students for Estelí society, after
applying before Christmas and (luckily) acing my interview. I've been told that it will change
my life, and I can't wait to see first-hand the city, the culture, and what it is about this place
that made three Sheffield University graduates devote their spare time to strengthening the
ties between the two twinned cities. I for one can't wait- Adiós amigos!
To learn more about how to become a volunteer for us, take a look at our volunteer
handbook at http://bit.ly/1NLuDlK