She was a desperately shy and unconfident person and for Vicky Finch the thought of public speaking was the equivalent of someone with vertigo scaling the Empire State Building. It’s fair to say that when she decided to help set up a north Essex children’s charity Vicky was thrust way out of her comfort zone. But, two years on, the mum-of-two from Colchester has done so well she’s even won an award for her volunteering work from the Society for Children and Young Adults with Neurological Symptoms – the charity she helped to get off the ground. The good cause brings children from Colchester and Tendring who have brain-damage-related conditions together to enjoy music sport, theatre and art activities. Here, the 30-year-old tells EMMA PALMER how giving up so much of her precious time to help others is the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.

VICKY, you co-founded Scans and now you do all the administration for the charity. With two kids under the age of seven you must have your work cut out. What made you get involved?

“I knew Jayne Marshall, who was the lady who had the idea of starting the charity, and she asked if I’d like to help. Although I was a very unconfident person, I really wanted to get involved. I’ve got two healthy children and I feel really grateful every day they are happy and healthy. “It genuinely makes me feel good to help others and being involved with the charity has helped me no end to build up my confidence.”

Last year, you put a lot of time into organising a fundraising event for Scans and you even personally put together 200 packed lunches for those taking part on the day! Your fundraising efforts even won you a Park Christmas Savings Inspirational Award, which celebrates community achievements. How did that feel?

“The event I organised was called Wander in the Woods and was a fun sponsored fancy dress walk through High Woods Country Park in Colchester. It was a lot of work but it was worth it as it raised more than £1,000.

“We are going to hold the event again this year and have set the date for June 8. I want to make it bigger and better and hopefully turn it into an annual event.

“Leading up to it, I was terrified I’d have to talk in public and address the participants at the start. I was so scared as public speaking is probably the one thing I’ve always been most petrified of, but on the day I did it and I came out feeling so good about myself.”

For someone who doesn’t like to be in the limelight, the way your fiance Simon Hawkins proposed must have made you blush?

“Oh God yes. He proposed to me on stage in front of hundreds and hundreds of people at the Colchester Free Festival last year.

“It came out of the blue and I was so embarrassed, but it was a lovely moment. He’d gone to so much trouble to organise the proposal with the festival organisers and to get us up on stage.

“He told me we’d won a competition and we had to go on stage to collect it, then he got down on one knee. Everyone was cheering and clapping. We are hoping to get married this Christmas.”

We are always hearing about the “Big Society” and the importance of volunteering, do you think more people should do it?

“Yes definitely. Volunteering brings communities closer together. When people say to me ‘what do you get out of it?’ I say I get the feeling of doing something for others and that’s a feeling you can’t buy. It gives you a sense of pride.

"Personally, I’ve also learnt a lot of skills that will stand me in good stead when I go for a job when the children are older, but you don’t do it for that. I’m a mum of young kids and I could just sit in my house and focus on my own life but getting involved with the charity has also given my children a sense of how important it is to help others. They came to the Wander in the Woods and they loved it, they really enjoyed helping me. I want them to grow up with a sense of selflessness.”

Who is your inspiration?

“Jayne Marshall, the lady who had the idea for the charity and now runs it. She is going through cancer, but to see how she is determined to work to help others despite her own problems is so humbling. Her goal was to break down the barriers that stand in the way of children who are unlucky enough to be born with disabilities and she is achieving that. She is an amazing person and a real inspiration to many. ”

 If you want to take part in this year’s Wander in the Woods, or want to volunteer to help out the charity then contact Vicki on 07814 105794 or e-mail vicky.finch@scans.uk.com l To find out more about the charity, visit www.facebook.

com/#!/groups/SCANS2011/