Leeanna is a volunteer Health Walk leader on multiple Health Walks around Exeter and dedicates a lot of her time to Health Walks at Westbank. Leeanna has a great relationship with existing walkers and generates a lot of new referrals from conversations she has with people at social groups, as well as from people she bumps into whilst leading the walks. Leeanna’s name regularly comes up in feedback from existing health walk members, who all say that Leeanna has a natural way of making people feel welcome and is always friendly and approachable.

A firm advocate of Health Walks at Westbank, Leeanna has been involved in promoting the service in a number of different ways. In May 2024, Leanna took part in Health Walks at Westbank’s 20th anniversary celebration and gave a fantastic interview for ITV West Country news, when she discussed her personal story, how the walks have helped her through some tough times and how she has benefited from volunteering and taking part in the walks. The interview speaks volumes about the importance of social connections and how transformational volunteering, and our Health Walks, can be to people’s wellbeing.  Leeanna’s story was relatable for lots of our walkers, as well as other volunteer health walk leaders and showed people they are not alone with the challenges they face.

Leeanna is a huge part of Health Walks at Westbank and is loved and respected by many walkers and volunteers. Despite experiencing some tough times in her personal life in recent years, she has still managed to lead walks each week and has used her experience to help others.

Leanna says of her volunteering role “I lead two walks a week. I enjoy being able to organise things, including additional activities. It means I can continue to use the skills I used in my working life. 

"When my husband died in March 2024, everyone was so supportive. It took me a while to get back into the swing of things, and the first time I went back to a Health Walk following his death, it was like getting a giant hug from everybody. 

"I try to be not just a walk leader, but a friend of the whole group. I see it as a mini community. You get chatting, and you never know what you're going to learn! It's important to me to encourage a sense of belonging because my walking groups are about more than exercise - for many people, they are a lifeline.”