www.volunteerfriends.org.uk
Email: info@volunteerfriends.org.uk
Our mission is to serve the community by encouraging friendships, combating isolation and celebrating independent living.
The recognition of the need for a service which addresses the issues of loneliness and social isolation was brought to the attention of the Volunteer Centre over a period of years and as a result of constant feedback from user groups and clients. Those clients who accessed services which met specific medical needs advised us of their desire to broaden their horizons and have greater access to the wider community at a social level.
As a result of substantial and unavoidable changes to our aims and objectives in 2016, this organisation proposed to proactively develop (through small pilot programmes) those services which would fit the purpose of the projected need.
“Volunteer Friends” was conceived as the ideal vehicle to establish a range of services which promotes friendship, social inclusion and, hopefully, more community engagement. We shall begin by setting up a social car scheme to be accessed by our current and new service users and from these beginnings other services will be designed and launched.
It is our intention to recruit volunteers to be drivers, escorts, befrienders, caterers and hosts, event organisers and any other roles as deemed appropriate to the needs of the organisation and its users. We shall encourage our users to become active participants and in as much as it is possible to set the agenda for their future activities.
Our aims are to:
• encourage independence
• increase social rehabilitation
• promote well-being
• provide stimulating activities