Volunteer corner

THE Link Visiting Scheme are a charity dedicated to reducing the serious impact of loneliness in Wokingham Borough.

We believe the best way to do that is through friendship and helping people feel connected to their community.

We rely on our volunteer Befrienders to improve and enhance the lives of older people.

We do this through quality time and focused attention; a chance to hear stories of days gone by and build a connection.

With the covid situation over the last 18 months, we have not been able to provide our normal face-to-face service, however now restrictions are easing we have now resumed this, and we would like to recruit and train new volunteers to help as we also start to resume some of our additional activities.

We ask you to give one or two hours per week or per fortnight to visit and offer friendship and support. Regular visits are our minimum requirement for at least six months.

We provide training before you start visiting and on-going training if you need it. We have a support structure in place so you can always call on someone if you have any questions or concerns.

We stay in touch regularly and put on events so you can meet other volunteers too.

n CLASP and the Learning Disability Partnership Board have adopted Wokingham Train Station. This is a very exciting project for us. We are looking for an enthusiastic volunteer to work with us to bring this project alive.

SWR are keen for us to run various activities at the station including keeping it tidy, putting up information,

making and tending flower boxes, using the station to run events around our charities.

An example is Addington School, who are part of our board, mend bikes, so they looking to have an open day offering to mend bikes for passengers.

CLASP sing in a choir, and we are hoping to do a sing out at the station. The station manager and SWR will offer us support (and we can apply for grants if we need to invest in the station.)

However, we need someone to help us get this off the ground, support the activities and help us find our way. It is a wonderful opportunity for our learning disability community to make a positive difference whilst learning new skills, gaining confidence mixing with others, and being responsible for their station.

n The Cancer Support Network has been established to support people living in and around the Wokingham, Bracknell, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead boroughs that are affected by cancer.

The aim of the network is to support people through their cancer journey offering, direct peer-to-peer voluntary support, monthly group meet-ups, an online chat facility, an information/signposting hub and health and wellbeing events. We aim to support people when they are feeling vulnerable or alone through a holistic programme of support. We bring people together to share experiences.

It’s essential that you will have had your own cancer experience. You will either be a cancer survivor or have cared for a close loved one in the past.

We are specifically looking for Cancer Champion Volunteers. Volunteers offer direct support. This is currently via the telephone or may be in the home or an agreed location when we are more Covid secure.

You will lend a listening ear and offer emotional support. You will have an empathetic nature and understand the difficulties when someone faces cancer. You are asked to commit to a possible weekly session, but this may vary depending on individual arrangements.

Volunteers receive full training and will be asked for references and be expected to agree to a DBS reference check.

n These are just a few roles on our books. Visit our website www. volunteerwokinghamborough.org.uk to find out more and have a look at all the roles we have to offer. If you would like to get in touch with us please call 0118 977 0749 or email volunteer@ wok-vol.org.