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.

All | Sara | Jasmine | Dawn

Saturday Mar 14, 2009

Second Time Lucky?

Hello everyone!

As you can see from my previous blog, my life in the world of volunteering hasn't gone smoothly!

I didn't hear anything about my visits to Eva for some time, so I emailed my coordinator.  It turns out she was just getting on with things, including receiving visits from another service!  I think Eva was very well supported and probably only accepted the offer of a visitor from Age Concern out of politeness.  So I had to make the decision not to continue the visits because I felt like there was someone else out there who probably needed the service more.

Since then I have had my introduction and one visit on my own with Lily*  Lily is amazing! - I feel blessed to know her.  Despite having a myriad of physical problems such as arthritis and osteoporisis, she is incredibily positive, thoughtful and kind.  We spent ages laughing about things like the time she'd left her purse in the fridge, or when she went to write down my name after the first visit so she woudn't forget - and she'd already forgotten it!

Lily doesn't have children and her extended family don't visit much, which is a shame because she loves children.  She also can't look after a pet which is sad because she loves dogs, and has to make do with a soft toy instead (brought a tear to my eye!).  I'm hatching a plan to ask my friend to bring her dog over to visit because he is already trained to visit the elderly.  She would like that.

I've learnt from this experience that just because you are volunteering and doing something amazing, it doesn't mean that the people you are working with will be organised and things will go as you expect.  I've also heard that despite asking for volunteers, people sometimes don't know exactly what to do with them.  Don't let this put you off.  If you have a paid coordinator this will help because they will be trained. 

I'm so glad I did this, I can't quite describe the feeling - but it's wonderful!

What are you waiting for?

Jasmine x

 

Names changed to protect identities.

Posted by Jasmine ( 5:36 PM )
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Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

The Story so Far

Good Evening!

First of all, thanks for the interest in my first blog.  Second of all, apologies it's taken this long to enter the second one!  Things haven't gone quite as expected...

I had my introduction with Eva before Christmas.  Barbara from Age Concern sat back and let me chat with Eva - although Eva did most of the talking :).  She was amazing - totally with it and I really liked her, even after such a short period of time.  We're both Capricorns, and, if you're interested in that kind of thing - I could see a lot of similarities between us. 

We arranged a fixed day and time when I would visit, and I left really looking forward to starting the regular visits.

And then... things didn't go as planned.

Eva caught a virus which would have delayed things by a couple of weeks; of course older people take that much longer to recover.  I called her every week, and we would have a brief chat and I arranged to ring her again.  The 3rd time I called, she told me something happened to her support network, and she would need to go into respite care over Christmas.  I contacted Barbara and she said that she'd pass on my number to the family and ask them to call me in the New Year.

I guess I've learnt that you can't predict or expect things to go smoothly because the elderly need more care and support, so there might be difficulties along the way.  It is a shame because I was so ready to start and I feel rather stalled now.  I haven't heard from the family yet, which is actually rather worrying.  I expect she's just having an extended stay, but I will contact Age Concern in a couple of weeks if I don't hear anything. 

Now, in the meantime, I could write about other things - but they wouldn't be anything to do with volunteering or Health and Social Care - and that's why you're reading this!  So, I'll say goodbye for now, and will update as soon as I can.

Jasmine x

Posted by Jasmine ( 9:30 PM )
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Friday Nov 21, 2008

So, I've decided to volunteer

Hello, I’m Jasmine, I’m 29, and live in Hertfordshire with my fiancé.  I work full-time for a Government agency and will be starting an Open University course soon.

I’ve been thinking about volunteering for a long time.  I made a few half hearted efforts to start but didn’t follow them up.  And of course there were other things using up my energy like different jobs and a part-time college course.

So what made me ‘Do-It’ this time?  Well I always said I’d do something when I was more settled in life.  So one evening whilst watching a fantastic program on Channel 4 Called The Secret Millionaire with my fiancé I made the decision. There might be a turning point for you like that when you realise you have to help.  Lets hope it won’t be too much like my turning point and involve crying at the TV, using up all the tissues and worrying your partner!  Maybe I should stop watching these programs!

I volunteered via do-it.org.uk, which was so easy to use, and even though I knew what I wanted to do, I had a good look through all the different categories to see what was there.

I want to help the elderly. I’ve always had a special affinity with older people and enjoy spending time with them, listening to their stories and being amazed by their quiet wisdom. 

I work full-time and I have a home and a fiancé to look after, so I thought I’d start with something small, and then do more later if I could. Age Concern’s befriending scheme looked really right for me, so I signed up.  Barbara* popped round with some forms and we had a nice chat about what my hobbies and interests were and she explained the process and what was expected of me.  The system is set up to ensure you aren’t overly burdened and they recognise you are giving your time and have other commitments.  It was good to be made aware of some of the issues the elderly face so I was prepared.  By the end I was enlightened and certainly more excited about starting.

I’m due to meet with 96 year old Eva* this week and I can’t wait.  Barbara* thinks we’ll get on well, and I really hope so.  It could be a new chapter in my life as well as hers.

Tune in next time to find out how we got on!

Jasmine J

*Name’s have been changed to protect identities.

Posted by Jasmine ( 4:28 PM )
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