“I thought it would be a lot more stressful than it actually is,” she says.

Two months later, the 26-year-old spends one day a week volunteering in ellenor’s hospice café in Gravesend. She also volunteers at the charity’s Bear Hub at Bluewater, where families have been taking part in ellenor’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt art trail.

And this is where I met her.

The first thing I noticed was her smile.

She was welcoming families into the Hub, chatting to parents and watching children get excited as they continued their Bear Hunt adventure.

It was hard to imagine that she had only been volunteering for a couple of months.

And that’s something Hannah says surprised her too.

“When you say hospice, many people think you’ve got to be on the ward caring for patients.”

Her friends had thought the same when she told them where she was volunteering.

“They’re like, ‘Oh, you work in a hospice?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I work in the hospice café.’”

It’s easy to see why people might think that. For many people, the word hospice can feel  daunting.

For Hannah, volunteering has meant serving in the café, welcoming families at the Bear Hub and talking to people about the work of their local hospice.

The Bear Hunt has been an especially unexpected part of that.

The trail has brought families into Dartford and Bluewater over the summer, while raising money for ellenor. At the Hub, volunteers have been helping children continue their Bear Hunt adventure and answering questions from parents about the charity.

Some people already know ellenor. Others stop and ask what their visit is helping to support.

“When you tell them it’s going to a local hospice to help the charity, I think more people are then like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I think it’s been an eye-opener for some people.”

Among the bears is a Memory Bear, created in memory of people who have died while being cared for by ellenor.

Hannah has watched people recognise a name.

“They’ll find their relative’s name on it and go, ‘Oh, that’s sad,’ because they’ve lost someone. But I think they’re also pleased to see their name there.”

But when she talks about the Bear Hunt, Hannah is quick to return to the children.

“It’s nice to see them enjoying the art trail. It gives them something to do over the summer.”

She particularly likes that it gets families outside and, as she puts it, “off their phones for a bit”.

There is another reason Hannah’s time at ellenor matters to her.

Hannah has autism and says that meeting new people and becoming comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings has not always come easily to her.

“Some employers don’t always understand that meeting new people and being in unfamiliar surroundings can be difficult for me”.

She says she is grateful to ellenor for giving her the opportunity to volunteer.

“Volunteering has helped build my confidence while giving me a valued role within the community.”

“I’m quite a shy person and not very outgoing with people, but once I get to know them, I come out of my shell more. I feel like I’ve gained a lot more confidence.”

That confidence is visible at the Bear Hub.

She is chatting to parents, laughing with the children and welcoming people as they arrive.

Hannah had volunteered before, at a day centre and in a tearoom. Her mum was the one who suggested she try volunteering at ellenor.

Her mum also hosts ellenor’s quiz nights every other month, with Hannah and her dad helping with the scores.

It’s another way for Hannah and her family to be involved with ellenor.

For Hannah, volunteering is about giving something back, but it has also given her confidence, new experiences and a place within her community.

“With volunteering, you can give back to the community. You can give some of your time to other people who really need it.”

She also enjoys the social side of volunteering. She has got to know the people she works alongside and likes being part of a team. Hannah has discovered that volunteering at a hospice can mean all sorts of things. For her, it has meant serving coffee in the café, welcoming families at the Bear Hub and chatting to people who stop to ask what ellenor does.

A couple of months later, she is standing in a busy shopping centre, smiling at families, helping children discover a trail of bears and talking to people about their local hospice.

She came to volunteer. What she found was confidence, community and a place where she could make a difference.