31st May 2022 - Written by Katy Westaway
Reading time: 3 minutes
This Volunteers’ Week, we spoke to Johanet and Wendy from Orchard Grove reablement centre about the benefits of volunteering.
From 1-7 June, Volunteers’ Week is an annual event that celebrates millions of volunteers across the UK. At Brunelcare, we are so grateful for all our wonderful volunteers for donating their time to support our customers.
One of our volunteers is Wendy, 52, who has volunteered at Orchard Grove Reablement Centre for just over a year.
Wendy used to work at Orchard Grove as a Reablement Carer, but couldn’t commit to the hours due to personal circumstances. She has now returned to Orchard Grove as a volunteer and loves it!
Johanet Sloan, Reablement Centre Manager, supports Wendy as a volunteer. Johanet has been working with us for over six years and has welcomed many volunteers in her time as Centre Manager.
At Orchard Grove, we do lots of things with the guests. We bake, make bunting, play games, knit, or sometimes do nothing at all apart from have a lovely chat and a cup of tea! Volunteering makes the guests happy, and if I can cheer someone up then that’s a successful day to me. The best thing about volunteering is the flexibility, I can come and go as I please and it’s always great fun!
There are opportunities for volunteers to create a range of activities with the guests at Orchard Grove. Volunteers at the centre give our guests different social contacts and social opportunities.
It’s nice to have other contacts than the usual lovely care and reablement staff, a new face is always great to see! The chance to engage in fun activities and chat about things for as long as possible is invaluable. Volunteers have done a range of activities with our guests, including music appreciation, baking, arts and crafts, games and puzzles etc.
Volunteering means time well spent! It’s giving and receiving. You get what you put into it and that’s what it’s all about. Our guests are so appreciative of the time and effort volunteers invest in them, and our volunteers get a lot of pleasure from spending time with our guests. A win-win situation all round, and everyone at Orchard Grove loves Wendy. She’s just brilliant, and we’re incredibly lucky to have her as a volunteer at Orchard Grove.
Happy Volunteers’ Week! I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who donate their time to us at the charity. Volunteering at Brunelcare is incredibly rewarding and makes a real difference to the people we care for. We have a variety of volunteering opportunities across all our services at Brunelcare and are looking forward to welcoming some new faces at the charity.
