Debbie Miller

What inspired you to join OnSide? 

Having a varied background in private, public and third sectors I knew I wanted to stay within the charity space. I genuinely didn’t know about OnSide at the time when I saw a role available, but the more I researched and learned about them, the more intrigued I was. I was inspired by the mission, but even more inspired by the impact – and that was nearly 9 years ago. The stories I heard back then have grown exponentially and I see on a daily basis how we change young people’s lives for the better.  

What’s been a memorable moment you’ve had working with the team?  

When Future Youth Zone opened, we were all hands on deck. I jokingly volunteered to do face painting at the grand opening. This wasn’t taken as a joke and so I sat face painting for about 8 hours (ps. I have absolutely no creative skill whatsoever, so there were a lot of young people sporting very basic love hearts and stars on their faces!) 

What was the first Youth Zone you visited and what did you think? 

I visited Wigan Youth Zone as part of my interview. To put it simply – I was blown away! I grew up in Wigan and had no idea that such a facility was on the doorstep. The facilities amazed me and I kept imagining how different growing up with a place like that to go to every night would have been (rather than sit on a park freezing!) 

What would be your go-to Youth Zone room and why?

The teenage me would have gone to the girls room/ salon, so that I could hang out with my friends and get my hair done at the same time 😊 (In fact I think the older me would still do the same) 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself

I generally like to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone, and can be a bit of a thrill seeker (I’ve done things like sky diving, bungee jumping and ran an Ultra Marathon). I love theme parks and am genuinely excited for when my now 3 year old is older because she is just like me and is the only one who wants to go on all of the fast, high rides!