Health and social care is one of the largest volunteering sectors in the UK. This includes organisations like the NHS and charities which improve the wellbeing of people of all ages. So what do helpers actually get involved with? The opportunities are more diverse than we imagined as our bloggers reveal.

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Monday Jul 25, 2011

Unexpected Benefits

This week I experienced a rather  unexpected benefit of voluntary work, I was asking for advice regarding my CV and one of my colleagues who  had previously worked in recruitment was able to provide me with some extremely useful constructive  criticism, I’m glad to say this resulted in a significantly improved CV. Working on the CV meant I was unable to verify as many organisations as I normally do in my weekly stint , to rectify this I brought some work home to complete, the CV advice I received was excellent so I was happy to develop a small technical guide in return, which my colleague is free to use at the job club she organises After  a month or two of volunteering at Help Direct I feel I am starting to know most of the people  I work with. It’s nice having a day each week to look forward to, however plenty of work still gets done In recent weeks the social aspect of my volunteering has become more prominent, the voluntary work at Help Direct has become my sole opportunity to interact with others outside my immediate family

Posted by Carl ( 2:20 PM )
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Monday Jul 04, 2011

A Brief Recap

This week I was able to spend more time correcting the database I¿ve built, it generally works correctly, but not perfectly yet. One or two bits of functionality lie beyond my current ability to implement; I certainly aim to overcome these problems in upcoming weeks, this has the benefit of both increasing my skills and self confidence and Help Direct will hopefully gain a fully functional database, populated with current data, I was also able to help a colleague with software problems she was experiencing, now I¿m confident she has the ability to utilise the software correctly, Personally the major benefit of my voluntary work is the chance to interact with other people, limited interaction with others is a major problem with unemployment, now I¿m starting to find my feet in my voluntary role I¿m able to make a more useful contribution, in addition to getting to know other members of staff, my self confidence is going from strength to strength, fortunately the database I have created has dramatically increased the number of organisations I can check in my weekly 4 hour stint, I¿ve discussed the database with a colleague and I attempt to implement the changes he suggests, these final tweaks will hopefully make the database perfect for our purposes, other shortcomings I correct as I find them, these final changes are the icing on the cake with the database being an estimated 85% complete. I¿ve enjoyed working with other team members to develop a high quality solution designed to completely meet our requirements, which is something you miss when unemployed plus it¿s also been a handy refresher course on databases.

Posted by Carl ( 2:29 PM )
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Wednesday Jun 15, 2011

My role

My role is to verify that data stored about voluntary organisations on the help direct website  is accurate, to assist me in this process I have created a database to store the information, this should assist other members of the team when they periodically review the data, being a bit of a geek, I find the opportunity volunteering gives me to practice skills learned at University pretty satisfying.

This week I started on the task at hand, there’s an extremely large number of organisations to be checked, before starting I was given a helping hand by another team member who cleared up one or two misconceptions I had, he ensured that I was given all the information and equipment I required to proceed including a nice hot cup of tea. Throughout my time at help direct other colleagues have been extremely helpful and supportive.

During the course of my first shift a number of shortcomings became apparent with the database I’d created to store organisation data, I then proceeded to modify the database at home to eliminate these shortcomings so it will be more useful during my next session and to colleagues when they need to periodically review the information, I’m planning on adding extra functionality to the database to make it even easier to use hopefully allowing the organisational data to be easily checked in the future.

This week’s session continued where the previous week’s work left off, I’m pleased to say that I was able to check noticeably more organisation’s details this week with changes I’ve made to the database bearing fruit making the whole process far more efficient & streamlining, coupled with my greater familiarity with what is expected from me I was able to check over a third more organisations this week , in addition to this I was getting to know my colleagues a bit more this week which certainly makes the work more enjoyable, and I’m continuing to enjoy the work, I’ll not bore readers with technical details of what I’m doing to the database, I’m continuing to add extra functionality to the database as I continue in the role, hopefully by the time I’ve finished verifying all of the organisation details there will be a completely functioning good quality database perfectly suited to the task, which will make the job of my colleagues easier in the future

For me personally one of the most satisfying aspects of volunteering is the sense of direction an purpose I gain from volunteering, I frequently bring the work home and the improved skills and confidence I develop as a result gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

Posted by Carl ( 1:58 PM )
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Joining Help Direct

Prior to writing the blog proper it’s probably best that I introduce both myself and the role I will be undertaking

My name is Carl Potts, I live in North Lancashire and I’m currently unemployed following a serious illness in 2007 which has left me with some disabilities, loss of self confidence is one of the symptoms of both my illness and unemployment, I’d say this is certainly true in my case. I wished to return to a workplace at a pace which would suit me; the voluntary work gives me the opportunity to both develop both new skills & self confidence in a friendly supportive environment.

The service I have volunteered for is called Help Direct, it has been commissioned by Lancashire County Council, the service is run by a number of organisations including Age UK (formerly Age Concern), the service is generally preventative in nature, if people can get the right support & advice before small problems escalate into something more serious, then the service will be extremely useful for the local community.

My role at Help Direct is to verify that information contained in the wellbeing directory section of the help direct website is accurate and up to date, this will involve contacting the community groups in the directory to confirm details and where appropriate taking note of local events which may interest the public.

My first session at the Help Direct Offices in Lancaster was an induction meeting where I was introduced to my Line Manager and other members of the team, who I’m pleased to say, made me feel very welcome, my responsibilities were explained to me and I was briefed on the standards of professionalism expected from the volunteers, the exact purpose of the website was explained to me, in greater detail than was possible at the interview, so now I have a much clearer understanding of exactly what Help Direct is all about and how I will fit in, I have to admit I’m looking forward to getting to grips with the role in upcoming weeks and have designed and developed a database to store Organisation details for the website which was extremely gratifying for my inner geek, personally I enjoy the sense of purpose and direction that voluntary work gives, especially after a period of unemployment

As part of my induction I was required to sign a confidentiality agreement to ensure that private details I learned in the course of my role remained confidential, basically I am expected to behave in a professional manner

Posted by Carl ( 1:54 PM )
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Saturday Apr 02, 2011

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.

Over the last few months, I have been unable to continue to volunteer at the hospital as much as I would like to due to other commitments. I have recently started studying for a degree with the Open University and have taken on some exciting new roles working as a Musical Director. This has resulted in a lack of time to dedicate to volunteering. However, rather than giving up hospital volunteering (which I really enjoy!), I have been able to use the experience and knowledge I have gained over the past 4 years as a hospital volunteer to assist in the training of new volunteers as they begin to work with patients and staff on the wards. I have also been able to continue to volunteer as and when time allows.

Volunteers' Week 2011 is fast approaching (1^st – 7^th June) and in order to mark the occasion, the staff at our Hospital Volunteer Centre have asked me to co-ordinate a new Volunteer Centre Newsletter which will be circulated to volunteers and staff as well as being distributed to public areas within the hospitals. The first issue will be published to coincide with Volunteers' Week and the plan is to produce a bi-annual publication of the newsletter. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any thoughts and opinions on the type of information that you would like to see in a Newsletter. At the moment, the main thoughts are: Volunteer Achievements, Training Updates, General Volunteering News and some Inspirational Quotes and Stories. What do you think?...

~ Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. ~

=] G

Posted by Geraint ( 4:08 PM )
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Wednesday Sep 15, 2010

Why Do I Continue To Volunteer?. . . Because Simple Things Make A Difference.

In my previous posts I have explained why and how I began volunteering but I have said very little about the reasons behind why I still continue to volunteer.

So why do I still do it?

Aside from meeting some fantastic people and the experience I have gained from working in a hospital environment I think it's mainly due to the amazing feeling when you know you have made life a little better for someone by helping with simple tasks that make volunteering so worth while.

Simple tasks that the ever-busy nursing staff cannot spend time doing really do make a huge difference. Helping a stroke patient turn pages in their magazine, spending time in conversation with a young patient who has had surgery and is anxiously waiting for some company at visiting time or sitting with an elderly patient and listening to their life stories as they wait for test results and not having the need to rush off to see other patients or fill in forms. These, along with many other simple tasks are things that most nursing staff would love to do, but simply do not have the time. This is the area where hospital volunteers can really make a difference to a patients experience of being in hospital.

There are no words that can describe the feeling you get after seeing a stroke patient return a smile for the first time in 3 months - just because of something you did. There are no words to explain the feeling you get when a patient says "Thank You"- just for spending time talking with them. There are no words to explain the feeling you get when an elderly patients daughter thanks you for spending visiting time with her mum when she was unable to visit the previous evening....

Simple things really do make huge difference and there are no words to explain the feeling you get when YOU are the one that made that difference.

=] G

Posted by Geraint ( 12:12 PM )
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Monday Sep 13, 2010

The Very Beginning. . .

Whilst planning to apply for University to study Nursing, I was advised to get as much work experience as possible to enhance my application. This led me to undergo 2 weeks placement at a local hospital observing in theatre, endoscopy, A&E and several different wards. However the NHS Trust could only offer me a placement for one week and although this was a great help and gave me an insight into how different areas of the hospital work I wanted something more long term to enhance my chances of getting into university.

Whilst walking through the hospital corridors, I saw a leaflet for hospital volunteering which I took home but did nothing about. Several months later I found the leaflet at the back of a drawer and decided to find out more about the opportunity. I liked the sound of the opportunity and thought it would be a good thing to put on my CV and application forms so I sent for an application form. This first application didn't get completed as I didn't really want to spend my time working without getting paid. However several weeks later I was reminded that I really did need the experience I could gain from volunteering if I was going to apply for university. I sent for another application form with the view of volunteering for no more than a few months but.3 years later I am still volunteering and enjoying every moment.

My first shift was in the Emergency Department and it is here that I have enjoyed working the most. As one of the first volunteers to be placed in the department it was all very new to me, the volunteer centre staff and the department staff. The first few shifts were rather daunting as the department gets very busy at times and nobody really knew who I was or what I could do to help. I stuck with it and after getting to know the staff and them getting to know me we developed a broader range of tasks that volunteers could get on with within the department from helping in the office to sitting with patients who are often scared and need reassurance. 3 years on I am now helping to train new volunteers and educate staff about the role of emergency department volunteers and how we can be used effectively to help staff, patients and relatives within the department. 

So whilst my initial reason for volunteering may have been rather selfish and primarily to enhance my CV and university application, it has resulted in me gaining an insight into just how beneficial the role of a volunteer can be to staff, patients and relatives and the realisation that the smallest things often make a huge difference as you'll see from my next post.

=] G

Posted by Geraint ( 10:52 AM )
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Thursday Sep 09, 2010

The story so far

Hello, I’m Geraint. I am 21 years old and live in South Wales. Ever since I was a child I have always wanted to work in a health and social care setting. Initially as a paramedic (watching ‘Casualty’ on the TV spoiled that idea for a while when one of the paramedics was thrown off a roof!) but more recently I have been interested in Nursing Care.

In order to fulfil my dreams of working in health care, I initially studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Health Studies. After one year I had the idea of becoming a doctor so dropped out of the BTEC course after 1 year in order to study the A Levels I would need to get into medical school. Less than a year into the courses I realised I didn’t have what it takes to become a doctor. My grades were poor, I was struggling with the sciences and my head of school told me I’d “never make it to medical school”. This was a bitter blow for me. Usually such comments make me more determined to prove people wrong. But this time, he was right. When I got my A Level results in August 2008 I remember thinking that I should have stuck with my first BTEC course. I had failed Biology, got a D in Psychology and an E in AS Level Chemistry. I remember thinking at the time that maybe I should have stuck with my first BTEC course?  If I had, I would have been a first year student nurse instead of receiving poor A Level Results. If that was the case, I would have graduated as a staff nurse and started my first nursing job this month. But do I regret my decisions? No - not at all. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and as the song says “Que Sera, Sera” – “What Will Be, Will Be”.  I have met some fantastic people, gained some awesome experiences and had fun along the way.

Even though I have volunteered as a first aider for many years I have more recently become a Hospital Volunteer. I have been doing this for the past 3 years, primarily based in the Emergency Department but often working on various other wards including surgical, stroke, rehabilitation, and respiratory wards. This has given me a huge insight into the world of Health and Social Care and I believe it has enhanced my views of not only health and social care but other aspects of my life.

In future posts I will tell you more about why I began volunteering, more about my role as a Hospital Volunteer and hopefully share some of my experiences and memories of volunteering with you along with my views and my outlook on situations that arise as a result.

Geraint

=] x

Posted by Geraint ( 5:00 PM )
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Friday Jun 18, 2010

The very very least I could do

Ive been neglecting this blog for a few weeks and for that I can only apologise.

Last night was really really really busy. Today I am exhausted. Two hours of washing up and an hour and half of chopping onions and garlic is terribly tiring. This is the unglamorous side of volunteering in all its glory.

Some people perhaps wouldn’t want to spend their Thursday evenings washing up 50 peoples dirty dishes, or chopping thirty onions and 12 bulbs of garlic. I wouldn’t have ever said that these would do it for me. But you know what? I wouldn’t want to spend my Thursdays doing anything else now.  

Last night was a bit sad for me, washing up and onions aside, one of my favorite guests is leaving the shelter. He has managed to find a house and is moving in today. This is excellent news for him but incredibly sad for me. He has become one of the regular faces in my life that I look forward to seeing. If I'm sad and fed up he makes me smile, and if I make a mistake he laughs with me. He is a very cheery person and he will be missed by all of us volunteers. But I'm very happy for him and he seems very excited by his move. I will be looking forward to hearing all about it when he comes in to visit us.

His situation has confirmed in my mind why I am doing what I am doing. He had been at the shelter since October and the staff at the shelter have helped give him some stability, support and a safe place to stay while he found a permanent home.

I can not bare to think what would have happened to him if he had been rough sleeping for the last 9 months. Thinking about the possibilities scare me a lot, and yet I know that there is more homeless people sleeping in the streets of London every night. Wikipedia has just told me that in the UK there are 10,459 rough sleepers and  98,750 households in temporary accommodation.

This is a shocking statistic. Homeless can affect anyone and I think that we are all guilty of carrying around a stereotype in our heads about what type of person becomes homeless. We often think of alcoholics, addicts, people that have just come out of prison. I have found, through volunteering, that this is not actually true. Homelessness can affect anyone. Anyone. I heard someone say that you are only ever one paycheque and an unfortunate incident away from loosing your home.

I went on some training recently, for another volunteering role at crisis. We had a session on this subject, and what makes up the Homeless population in the UK and it includes:

• Young people who have just left the care system;
• Men and Women who were previously high earners who lost their jobs, or are homeless due to relationship breakups;
• Ex service men;
• Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers;
• Women escaping domestic violence;
  

The list goes on, and of course it includes addicts, but what I wanted to illustrate is that it can happen to you. It can happen to me. Every guest at the shelter has a different story, some of the guests are from backgrounds similar to mine. Some of them work, the majority want to work. I have heard horrendous stories about people being attacked, physically and verbally, and sexually abused while rough sleeping, and the stories have bought me to tears and kept me awake at night.

If I can play my part to help a charity that is keeping these people safe and giving them stability then I will happily wash up for two hours and chop onions every Thursday night. It’s the least I can do.

Posted by Jenni ( 2:44 PM )
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Tuesday May 11, 2010

I dont believe in Charity. I believe in Solidarity

 

Thursday was a significant day for a lot of you because it was the day you got to go and vote. I did the same but that’s not the only thing I did on Thursday. I was volunteering again (although after I proudly went into the voting booth and crossed my piece of paper and whispered thank you to Emmeline Pankhurst!)

Homeless people can vote, the parliament Uk website says that a homeless person can vote if they register using a declaration of local connection. So, how do you go about doing that? Well you can visit your local Electoral Registration Office and fill out a form saying where you would live if you were not homeless and where you have lived in the past plus you have to detail where you spend most of your time, in a day shelter, on the streets etc.. This helped clear up in my mind the common misconception that homeless people cant vote.

They don’t make it easy though and I wasn’t surprised that the majority of the guests at the shelter hadn’t voted. (Well, out of all the guests I spoke to).

So that’s what I learnt on Thursday.  Pretty interesting stuff.  A friend of mine, Clive, who is homeless and spends a lot of time in Old Street station with his dog Bilo didn’t know he could do that. So, just goes to show how publically available that information is.

Anyway, back to volunteering. The atmosphere was that of Christmas Eve in the kitchen. The other volunteers and I voicing our concerns over a Conservative government and had practically convinced each other that no one in their right mind would vote conservative and we were full of anticipation for would happen that night and I think it had a good effect on dinner. It was delicious! We even had apple crumble and ice cream for afters. The funniest part of the night was looking over at the TV area where about 15  men were sitting watching Grease the musical. 15 men. Sitting. With blank faces and not a smile between them. But not one of them changed the channel. It was incredible and im sure they left it on because they were enjoying Sonia, another volunteer, sing out of tune and dance to the songs! J

I also spent a long time talking to one of the guests who bought in his beautiful dog Tara. It was really interesting listening to his story and I went home feeling lucky. Lucky my life so far has been relatively easy and that I haven’t had to face the challenges other people have had to. But I also went home feeling positive. He’s a positive person and his energy is catching.

As Eduardo Galeano once said: "I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people."

I found my Thursday incredibly educational, and yet another thing I have learned thanks to giving up my time to volunteer.

Posted by Jenni ( 9:45 AM )
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Tuesday May 04, 2010

Bokbokbok

This Thursday at the shelter seemed fraught and was fast paced. Im not sure if it was the storm brewing outside that had an affect on everyone feeling hot and bothered and edgy but everyone seemed a little fed up. When I mean everyone, I mean the kitchen volunteers in particular. It didn’t help that we were deboning and skinning chicken for an hour and a half . Hey! Who says volunteering isn’t glamorous?!

But were not phased easily and it was wonderful seeing how some people cope under pressure. Tammy made me laugh and joked about the whole chicken disaster and Ed, a new volunteer took everything in his stride. I spoke with a volunteer who I hadn’t had a chance to speak to before and I learnt a lot about her. By the end of the evening we had the giggles and the stress of it seemed to have disappeared.

It reminded me of boring maths classes at school when I would sit in the back row and giggle about the ridiculousness of maths equations with one friend or another.

But what do you do when you have stress in the “volunteering place”? Well, we did what we would do in any work place. We approached the Volunteer Manager, Louis. Louis is great, he seems to have a whole heap of energy and it really rubs off on the people around him. He motivated us and made us feel good about what we were doing. He encouraged us to continue. As a volunteer manager in my paid non-volunteering job I know I can learn a lot from Louis.

So, volunteering doesn’t just allow me to say “I can help cook meals for a lot of people” on my CV it also allows me to say I can cope under pressure, I can work with people from different backgrounds and who work differently to me and it means I can say I understand how volunteers feel and the importance of excellent volunteer management, because I have first hand experience!

So what was for dinner? well it was surprisingly delicious chicken and mushroom sauce and rice. We even got ice cream for afters, although I may never want to see another chicken. Ever.

Posted by Jenni ( 3:57 PM )
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Monday Apr 19, 2010

Cheese Sauce and Lots of Smiles

Another Thursday and another evening at Shelter from the Storm. This Thursday I helped out in the kitchen, helping to cook a hot meal for 45 guests.

This is a mammoth task and it isn't helped by the fact that we don't get much of a say about what food is available. A lot of the food is donated or is on special offer in the supermarket, so we really are on a budget! This week it was oven fish, you know, the kind you get in the freezer section in the supermarket. And to go with this we had mashed potatoes. Not a very appealing meal but it was made delicious with a  bit of imagination and a cheese sauce which went down so well we had a que for seconds!

Now im sure you don't want to hear about my culinary skills (although the cheese sauce was made by me and tasted amazing!) or the mountains of washing up we had to do afterwards. Something I decided to write about this week is the people ive met while volunteering.

It would probably sound a little cliché to say that ive made friends with some lovely people while volunteering and that it leaves me with a bit of a warm glow, but its true.

Its not just the guests that I have enjoyed talking too, although I do enjoy talking to them, it's the other volunteers too. When I started volunteering I have to be honest and say I had a pre conceived idea of what a fellow "volunteer" would be like. Older perhaps, not much of a life, after all who has time to give up an entire evening of their week? Someone with no life, I thought! (I know, ridiculous isn't it? Especially since I was volunteering!!!) I could not have been more wrong.

I have met people of all ages but mostly people the same age as me, with very similar interests. I even met a lovely girl called Tammy, who lives just round the corner from me in another part of London. Tammy is very funny – we share exactly the same sense of humour and laugh a lot when we volunteer together. I enjoy getting the bus home with Tammy and talking about boys, work and our week almost as much as actually volunteering. Varina is a lovely Austrian girl who is the same age as me and we often work together in the Kitchen. Varina makes me smile and amazes me with her ability to cope under pressure even when the rice doesn't cook properly! I would never have met Tammy, Varina or all the other lovely volunteers if weren't for Shelter from the Storm.

So if you are considering volunteering I recommend doing it and doing it as soon as possible. Not only will it give you the lovely feeling that you helping people less fortunate yourself, I guarantee a lot of laughter and a lot of lovely people just waiting to meet you!!

It even make washing up for two hours worth while......

 

Posted by Jenni ( 4:14 PM )
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Thursday Apr 08, 2010

Shelter from the storm

Hi

I'm Jenni, im a volunteer for Shelter from the Storm, a homeless charity in London.

So why do I volunteer at Shelter from the Storm? Well, it all started when I volunteered for Crisis over the Christmas period. I always knew homelessness was an issue, it didn't take much to work that out, I just had to take a stroll down my road to meet more than one Big Issue seller, or take a walk through Old Street station and you will meet 5 or 6 homeless people in the space of five hundred yards. But with a few weeks over Christmas with the prospect of not much more than eating turkey and staring at the TV I decided to put my time to use and volunteered for Crisis, at their dependency centre. This is the temporary shelter that the charity Shelter put up for homeless people with alcohol or drug dependency's for a few weeks every Christmas.

I'd never done any volunteering like this before. I met homeless people, helped them get warm clothes, a bed to sleep in and some warm food. Some people shared their life stories with me, others just sat and played scrabble. I found myself enjoying it and when Christmas was over and I'd waved goodbye to some new friends I thought I needed to do something that felt a little more permanent. Soon after I received an email from Crisis saying that an organisation called Shelter from the Storm was looking for volunteers.

I jumped at the chance of doing some similar voluntary work and signed up straight away. Within a week I had secured myself a regular Thursday shift and I realised just how different it was volunteering in a permanent shelter. The atmosphere is welcoming and calm, the guests and volunteers friendly and approachable. The shelter sleeps 45 guests each night apart from Friday night when it is closed.  The guests have a bed to sleep in for as long as they need it, and two cooked meals a day.

No drugs or alcohol can be consumed on the premises, so the atmosphere is slightly different to Dependency Centre, but just as enjoyable.

I help to cook dinner, wash up, fold clothes, play ping pong and listen to anything any of the guests would like to talk to me about.

During my time at SFTS I will be writing this blog, to talk about my experience volunteering for a homeless charity!

Keep an eye out for updates...

 

Posted by Jenni ( 9:33 AM )
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Thursday Dec 10, 2009

Festive Frolics!

Yesterday was our last carers' meeting before Christmas, so we decided to throw a little party!  We decked the halls and put on some festive tunes and arranged a buffet of Christmas foods.  There was plenty of laughter and chatter, and the carers seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves!  I mingled and socialised with lots of different carers including Anne, who I spent most of my time with last week.

There was a tinge of sadness to the event; there's something about Christmas and its orientation around families that heightens the pain of having a loved one with dementia.  A few people understandably became teary and it brought home to me the reality that my own grandfather won't be here this Christmas.  This was something that I worried about before I become a volunteer for the Alzheimer's Society, namely, that it would open up wounds for me what with my own grandfather having died of the illness.  And that did happen yesterday, which was a challenge.  But, on the plus side, it wasn't just sadness that I felt; I also felt empowered as a volunteer as I was really able to empathise with the carers.     

The lady who runs the support group presented me with a bunch of flowers in front of everyone to say thanks for my volunteering work and George*, one of our support group regulars, even gave me some bath products as a Christmas present.  They were both such kind gestures and George's gift in particular reinforced my sense of how truly grateful people can be when you give up your free time for their wellbeing.  For me, moments like that really spur you on as a volunteer.

I'll be honest; volunteering can be emotionally tough and I did go away from the party feeling quite upset.  I couldn't stop thinking about how, for our support group members, Christmas Day wouldn't be the completely joyous occasion that it is for many families.  I think we have to expect to be tested emotionally as volunteers, however, as many of the people we meet are in unfortunate situations; if this wasn't the case, they wouldn't need our help.  Furthermore,  knowing how hard Christmas would probably be for the carers made it even more rewarding to be able to help them enjoy at least some festive fun.  

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you will join me on my volunteering journey in the new year! 

*Name changed to protect identity  

Posted by Sarah ( 5:24 PM )
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Monday Nov 23, 2009

Touching a Life

My last visit to the carers' support group was the most fulfilling and moving yet.  I had one of those light-bulb moments that you sometimes get as a volunteer where you think to yourself, 'this is why I bother giving up my time for free'. 

Just to explain, there are three of us volunteers that run the support group and we have between four and twelve carers attending the group per month.  Sometimes everyone will chat as a group; other times smaller numbers of people will break off into their own conversations. 

For the past few months I've noticed that a really sweet, quiet lady who attends called Anne* seemed a bit reluctant to join in conversation and I suspected it was because she was a bit shy.  So in the last meeting, I purposely sat next to her thinking that I could try and engage her in one-to-one conversation in case she found group interaction intimidating.  I really didn't want her to go away at the end feeling like she didn't get anything out of the support group because she couldn't bring herself to talk. 

The meeting started off with two representatives from Wiltshire Farm Foods bringing in brochures and samples of the ready meals that they sell (the group co-ordinator occasionally organises talks like this that she feels may be of benefit to the carers).  I took the opportunity to pluck up a conversation with Anne by commenting on the food that we were sampling.  She told me that she has to eat a gluten-free diet, so we ended up leafing through the brochure together working out which meals she could eat. 

We got on to talking about all sorts of things from her daily visits to her husband who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease to grandchildren, Christmas shopping and my hopes to become a teacher!  Three hours later the two of us had been chatting to each other non-stop and I felt that we were really beginning to strike up a friendship.  The other volunteers commented afterwards that they had never seen her talk so much! 

When Anne thanked me for her company at the end of the meeting and told me that it had made her day, I was delighted.  Before I became a volunteer, I used to think that volunteering that didn't make a difference on a grand scale was insignificant.  This experience made me realise that touching the life of one person who is in need of support, like Anne, is what really matters.  It's no small feat because to that one person it means so much.  I was so pleased to be able to bring some companionship and enjoyment into Anne's life, knowing how heartbreaking her husband's illness is for her, even if it was just for one day.  That is what I love about volunteering; not only does it provide invaluable support to those who require it most, but it has a real feel good factor for the volunteer too.

* Name changed to protect identity

Posted by Sarah ( 4:32 PM )
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