VOLUNTEER CORNER
Age UK Berkshire are a local independent charity which provides integrated health and wellbeing services for older people across Berkshire. They are looking for several different types of volunteers across the Wokingham Borough area.
Telephone Befrienders are needed on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to contact older people who love along and have limited or no social contact by offering companionship and support through regular phone calls. Volunteers will need to be kind, caring and friendly and reliable. They are also looking for Home from Hospital visitors.
Volunteers are needed to provide a few hours of social and practical support for people who are being discharged from hospital and live alone. This will involve helping the client during the first couple of weeks to help them settle in. This could include doing things like a little shopping, picking up prescriptions, making tea or just having a chat. Volunteers will need to have flexible availability and be able to pop a few times per week for the first few weeks of the client returning home. They are also looking for Money Management Visitors.
Volunteers are needed to support older people who need some help with managing their finances by visiting them at home every two weeks. Volunteers do not need qualifications in finance or business are required, just an everyday understanding of budgeting, paying bills and personal banking. DBS checks will be carried out for all of these roles.
The British Heart Foundation are the nation’s heart charity and the largest independent funder of cardiovascular research. Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer but we are leading the fight against it. Their pioneering research has helped to transform the lives of people living with heart and circulatory conditions. The charity have a shop Wokingham which is vital at raising funds and it is in need volunteers to cover shifts doing various roles. They are looking for volunteers who can help with the till and on the shop floor and also sorting donations as well.
Sebastian’s Action Trust walks alongside families of life-limiting and seriously-ill children from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. They are looking to recruit Volunteer Befrienders who can offer practical, social and emotional support to the families and children. This may include driving them to appointments, helping with homework, going to activities with them or just being a good listener. Volunteers help out when they can and must be caring and friendly. The nature of the need of the families means that this sort of volunteering is not for everyone, so we offer training and ongoing support.
Please contact us at The Wokingham Volunteer Centre for more information. Call: 0118 977 0749, email volunteer@wok-vol.org.uk or visit www.volunteercentrewokingham.org.uk