Three Rings has been built by volunteers, for volunteers since 2002. In 2022, our 20th year of operation, we supported over 47,000 volunteers at nearly 600 organisations – enabling them to deliver more than five million hours of volunteering… and we did all of that with our own team of volunteers!
Like any voluntary organisation we depend on our own people to make that happen, and we’re always glad to have new members of the team – so if you want to help make Three Rings even better, and leverage your time to deliver millions of hours of good works, why not get in touch?
Our volunteers are split into several different groups, often focusing on different areas such as Development, Support, or Welcome among others, but many have moved from one team to another, or volunteer across several teams – which you’ll see in some of our bios below!
We’re scattered throughout the UK, so we mostly work remotely. But, we try to get together now and then, even if it’s just for our Christmas Party, or for social and development events like our Support Team Awayday, or DCamp.
Here’s a little introduction to some of the people that make Three Rings happen:
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Dan came up with the idea for Three Rings while volunteering at Aberystwyth Nightline. He went on to volunteer at two Samaritans branches and two LGBT helplines. He’s occasionally found trying to visit randomly-generated pairs of GPS coordinates.
Ruth started using Three Rings in its first full year at Aberystwyth Nightline and has been writing Three Rings code since the mid-2000s, which she now does alongside her work as an UK Engineering Manager. Her favourite colour is purple.
As well as being CEO at Three Rings, JTA is an Information Professional working in the civil service. He sits on a number of other Boards both in the UK and internationally, with a particular interest in libraries, safeguarding, and EDI. He gets through a lot of coffee in order to fit in all his meetings.
Chris has been a volunteer with Samaritans for more than 40 years in a number of branches, and was a volunteer with Lancaster Nightline in their first year of operation. He enjoys sailing and playing bridge (but not at the same time!).
Paul has been a Three Rings volunteer for eight years, and sits in the Dev team. He’s a current Samaritan listener, and when not volunteering enjoys outdoor sports, books, and standing around in fields listening to electronic music.
Geoff has volunteered with Three Rings for 4 years. They found out about volunteering for Three Rings while trying to integrate Three Rings with some internal system as a volunteer for Cardiff Nightline.
Mike came to the Board as a Non-Exec Director as both a Three Rings user, and an admirer of the Three Rings approach. Mike has a 40+ year volunteering life as a Samaritan Listening Volunteer.
Before volunteering with Three Rings, Debbie volunteered with Teddington and Ham Hydro co-operative, as their Company Secretary. Fun fact – Debbie likes to paint pictures.
John is the Data Protection Officer for Three Rings CIC, a former Nightliner, and an enthusiastic tester for new versions of the system. He lives in Norfolk, where he helps run a cattery.
Ele first used Three Rings as a member of Aberystwyth Nightline, before moving on to a spell as a Samaritan. Since 2010, she’s been the creative force behind the Three Rings Christmas Card, which gets sent to our users and close friends of the project every year
Beverley has volunteered with Three Rings since 2013. They currently head up the Dev team, after stints on Welcome, Support and Docs. In their spare time, they enjoy motorbiking, hunting for elderflowers and sewing.
Jacob is a sometimes developer and even more occasional helper on the welcome team. His day job is a full time maths teacher in South East London. Outside of work he enjoys sailing and cooking, though not always at the same time
Andy is currently part of the support team at Three Rings. He has been a Samaritan for a number of years as a Listening In volunteer, as well as part of the Quality & Service Improvement Hub. He enjoy visiting places when he has the time now, that he’s retired!
Pete has been volunteering for Trussell Trust for several years, and does shifts at the Eastbourne foodbank. Pete comes from a software background and, after retiring, decided to continue being a dev with Three Rings. He also enjoys amateur dramatics, stage sword play, foreign language study, long hikes and travel!
We are always looking for more people to join our team of volunteers! Get in touch and we’ll have a chat with you about the many ways in which you can volunteer with us.