“Volunteering
has given me a purpose again. I was a Brighton cabbie and I used to
love meeting people and chatting about ‘this and that’. After retirement, I
had all this extra time, but my days just blended into one. Since starting volunteering, I’m meeting
people again and making new friends. I
literally feel like I’ve got a reason to get up again in the morning. I’m so proud to be part of this team and helping
in the community. It’s raised my self-worth;
I’m laughing again and it has also improved my health”.
Who Are We?
Age UK West
Sussex, Brighton & Hove (AUKWSBH) enable older people to Love Later Life.
Our aims are to promote the wellbeing of all older people; to make later life a
fulfilling and enjoyable experience and to enable people to flourish.
The Role
- You will be supporting older people through weekly visits to their home. The role involves providing short term practical support, not personal care, to vulnerable adults including those recently discharged from hospital.
- Support can include low level support such as having a cup of tea and a chat, light shopping, light snacks.
- Support with companionship and support to rebuild confidence to regain or develop independence.
- Some clients may require additional support for tasks such as digital inclusion, which volunteers (if they want to be) can be trained to provide.
How will we support you:
- You will be provided with induction training and be shown how to work to guidelines to be sure you are confident and able to carry out your volunteer role.
- Induction training will cover an introduction to Age UK West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and its’ services, policies, and procedures.
All relevant training will be free to volunteers and you will receive on-going support and training to carry out your role effectively and be able to enjoy doing so with confidence.
What will you get out of volunteering for Age UK:
- Meeting others, having fun and a sense
of fulfilment.
- Be part of a growing team and being
involved in a vital service out in the community.
- If you are looking for a job, we can
give you some volunteering experience whether you have worked in this setting
before or not.
- We will train you so you will gain
knowledge of working in a charity sector and that will help you in your search
for a job.
- Our charity emblem looks good on any CV
and we can also give you a written reference.
What skills do I need?
No qualifications are needed.
However, you will need to have:
- Excellent listening and communication skills.
- Good IT skills are favourable.
-
Patience and sensitivity are essential.
- The ability to work confidently on own initiative and know when to seek help and support.
- The role requires committed and reliable volunteers.
- A minimum of approximately two hours per week.
- Visits are carried out to meet clients’ needs
and can be between 10am - 8pm during the week and over the weekend.
- Willingness to undergo a DBS check.
- An understanding of the needs of older people.
- A kind, empathic and patient nature.
- An understanding of the need to observe confidentiality in informal settings.