Befriending Manager Volunteer Roles in Bristol

Befriending Volunteer

You can make a difference…Age UK Wandsworth is a small, local, independent charity that has been working with older people in the area since 1963. We rely on your support to keep serving the older residents with in the Wamdsworth community. We have a dedicated team of experienced staff and a large network of dedicated local volunteers. Our aim is to enable everyone to age well in Wandsworth. We would love your help to be able to continue to support older Wandsworth residents.

Our Be-a-Friend service is one of our longest running services, matching people over 65, who live alone and have limited social contact, with a friendly local volunteer with similar hobbies and interests. The volunteer and their new friend set up a suitable time for them to meet each week for a chat and a cup of tea, which could be during the day, in the evening on the way home from work or even on the weekends . If you would prefer to volunteer from home, you can also be matched with an older person for telephone befriending. For many of our matched pairs, this is the beginning of a firm friendship. 

Befriending Plus

Befriending Plus is an extended version of the Be-a-Friend programme, for individulas needing help with life admin and small tasks as well as companionship. For Befriending Plus pairs, time spent together can include helping to use a phone or tablet, helping the client to organise their file, going out for a coffee or popping to the post office together. This support can help older people to stay independent at home for longer, as well as increasing their confidence to do these tasks when the volunteer is not there.

We are recruiting a number of new trustees to our Board, particularly individuals with a background and skills in clinical psychological care, finance, fundraising and/or marketing and communications, digital, data and technology, and more generally in the charity sector, to join our talentedand collegiate team.

For more than 80 years, Fire Fighters Charity has stood side-by-side with the UK’s fire and rescue services community, as a trusted source of clinical care and support, an independent shoulder to lean on, and an enabler for positive health and wellbeing change.

Our Board, together with our dynamic and developing Senior Leadership Team take pride in the quality of our services, our relationships and partnerships, and the rich history of our charity and the fire sector more generally. For us, it is a pleasure to apply our skills and expertise to this compelling cause, and an organisation that can mean the difference between darkness and light, despair and hope, and to be able to see firsthand the relief, respite, wellbeing and happiness our services can bring. Our teams of staff and volunteers, right across the UK, are ambitious, dynamic and committed; we invite you to consider joining us on our journey.

The role:

• Ensure the charity and its subsidiaries comply with the charity’s governing document (Articles of Association), charity law,  company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations.

• Ensure the charity pursues its objects as defined in its governing document.

• Ensure the charity applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objectives.

• Ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation, contribute actively to the board of trustees by giving strategic direction to Fire Fighters Charity, setting overall policy, defining goals, setting targets, and evaluating performance against these.

• Ensure the financial stability of the charity - protect and manage the charity, ensuring the proper investment of the charity’s funds.

• Safeguard the good name and values of Fire Fighters Charity and its subsidiaries. Principal trustee responsibilities:

In addition to these statutory duties, trustees should use any specific skills, knowledge or experience they have to help the Board make appropriate and timely decisions, for example by scrutinising performance information, leading discussions and dialogue about key issues, providing advice and steer, evaluating or offering advice on areas where a trustee may have particular expertise.

We are looking for individuals with strong personal commitment to Fire Fighters Charity’s work and objectives, and a desire to develop and promote the charity so that we can extend our reach and grow our impact.

Background to the role:

Keep Active is a volunteer-delivered project at The Creighton Centre, which aims to provide support to older people (60+) who have had a fall, stroke or other illness.  We work in partnership with the NHS Community Rehabilitation Service across Hammersmith & Fulham. As a Keep Active Volunteer you would visit an older person (the average age is 84) once a week for up to nine weeks to help them with improving mobility indoors with exercises, or outdoors with walks in their community. This project aims to empower people to get back to independence, access community once more and reduce risks of future falls and hospital re-admittance.

Availability/commitment:

· To live in or near Hammersmith and Fulham, or travel regularly through

· To be able to spare 1-2 hours a week, preferably during working hours

Role of the Keep Active Volunteer:

· To attend an initial one-off training session [with Volunteer Coordinator and therapists from NHS rehabilitation teams].

· To visit an older person’s home once a week for up to 9 weeks to supervise and motivate them to continue practicing their exercise and walking goals, as prescribed by NHS rehabilitation teams.

· Support might include:

- A walk around their local community possibly going to the park or visiting shops.

- Encouraging them to complete a prescribed gentle exercise program.

- Keeping an older and sometimes isolated person company.

- Visiting someone in their homes to help them reach their exercise goals.

NB: Please note that this is a volunteer role and you will not be expected to provide any physical support. This is a motivational role only.

We will provide:

· Induction training and NHS Community Rehabilitation led training (weekday training).

· Regular contact and support from the project staff.

· Occasional social events for volunteers

· Occasional training opportunities for volunteers

· A reference after 3-6 months of volunteering with us

· An enhanced DBS check

· Reimbursement of travel expenses incurred during your volunteering

Skills needed:

· Good listening and communication skills and a good level of spoken English.

· Empathy and a kind and patience approach.

· Enthusiasm and commitment.

· A friendly personality.

· The desire to make a positive difference to someone’s health and wellbeing

· Ability to cope with clients who are unwell.

· A positive attitude towards empowering and improving the lives of older people

· An understanding of and commitment to our policies (including: Confidentiality, Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities)

Accountable to:

Keep Active Coordinator