2nd Jun 2021 - Written by Katy Westaway
Reading time: 3 minutes
This week marks Volunteers’ Week, where we will be celebrating the invaluable contribution volunteers make to Brunelcare through their kindness and dedication. We spoke to Kelly and Cristiana, who both support Howard through volunteering.
It gives me something to look forward to
Howard is a very lucky man as he benefits from two volunteers! Kelly shops for him weekly and Cristiana is a friend on the phone who calls him each week.
Howard is really grateful for their time. He says:
It gives me something to look forward to, knowing I am going to see Kelly or speak with Cristiana. They are both very lovely and we get on well, we all have similar interests.
He sums up the value of the volunteers:
I would miss them both if I didn’t have them.
It is the highlight of my week!
Kelly has been a volunteer with brunelcare for 6 months.
She chose Brunelcare as it was close to her heart, her Grandad is an amazing 100 years old and lives in a close knit community where he is well supported, Knowing the value of this, Kelly wanted to extend her time to someone living alone who didn’t have such support and would really benefit from her time.
She was matched, as a volunteer shopper, with Howard, who she sees regularly each week. After a lovely catch up together, Kelly gets Howard’s shopping list and does his shopping. This is usually groceries and a newspaper but sometimes he throws a curve ball and asks for a plant pot!
Kelly says:
I work full time and am generally very busy but I wouldn’t stop seeing Howard, our relationship has grown and I really enjoy seeing him. When I offered to volunteer I didn’t realise how impactful it would be. It is the highlight of my week.
Thank you Kelly, we are sure you are the highlight of Howard’s week too!
Volunteering is a two way benefit
It was during the second lockdown that Cristiana thought about how it was impacting her and therefore how much negative impact it would bring to vulnerable older people, so she decided to help by volunteering as a friend on the phone, providing a regular phone call to brighten someone’s day.
She said lockdown has put a different perspective on how we take social interaction for granted and how valuable it is, and says that friends on the phone is a valuable service.
She was matched with Howard as they had some similar interests and consequently the conversation flows naturally – she particularly enjoys Howard’s random facts each week!
Cristiania says:
Volunteering has been beneficial to me as well as to Howard, it is a two way reward.
Thank you Cristiania, your time is so valuable!
If you are interested in volunteering and, like Kelly and Cristiana, would like to make a positive difference to someone’s life, we offer a variety of roles to suit everyone. Please click here for more information.