Theatre’s loss is society’s gain – Introducing OSF’s versatile volunteer

Flip (Philippa) Miller had not long vowed to herself ‘No more volunteering’ due to an already full diary when she saw a one-off plea on Facebook from Our Special Friends (OSF) for someone to deliver a dog to Mildenhall, where she lives. She responded, and that eventually led to her becoming a volunteer with the charity in September 2024. It is one of several roles for Flip, in a career that began with drama school training.

“I wanted to act but realised I was unlikely to get a steady income and that I had to get a job in the real world,” said Flip.

She is now a full-time repairs administrator with an independent estate agent in Mildenhall and is able to carry out valuable voluntary work – most recently for OSF.

Flip’s home life revolves around her two dogs, a Jack Russell rescue called Daisy, and a Miniature Schnauzer called Doris, a retired breeding bitch.  Flip is an experienced dog owner, particularly of rescues, and for OSF makes time for dog walking a client’s two Chihuahuas, taking Daisy to visit another client, and short-term fostering.

“It’s all very satisfying,” said Flip, “I just like being able to help, I’m a giver not a taker. It’s good to see the dogs I walk getting fitter, and I love the look on my other client’s face when she is giving Daisy treats.”

Flip says she was inspired to join OSF after meeting Bin Johnston, founder and CEO of the charity, and a practitioner. “Belinda is so approachable, and still willing to work at grass roots doing whatever is needed.” She also credits her employers with making it all possible by being supportive and even allowing her to respond to urgent needs.

In just her first year with OSF, Flip demonstrated her support to the charity by committing two hours a week to her regular clients, and in her readiness to foster, such as when a lady broke her shoulder and could not manage her dog for a while. One of Flip’s other voluntary roles is as a presenter and travel writer for Zack FM, her town’s radio station.

Daisy and Irene enjoying their visits together

Physically demanding is her volunteering for Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue, which involves hiding in woods and elsewhere in the dead of night

for their volunteers to find her.  Even more challenging is her voluntary work with both Cambridge Police and Suffolk Police, which makes valuable use

of that drama school training. Instead of treading the boards Flip plays the part of victims and suspects – anyone from a victim of domestic abuse to a drug dealer – in the training of recruits.

“In role playing I might have to act very aggressively or use bad language.” said Flip. “My Police colleagues tell me I am their best role model, and one recruit said that he knew exactly what to do when apprehending a very hostile person in Cambridge because I had played out the exact scenario.”

Due to working full-time Flip is unable to attend OSF training in person and meet other volunteers as much as she’d like to. But she did ‘attend’ an online training session on ADHD. “It was quite enlightening,” she said, “and has helped me in my day-to-day work at the estate agency.”