We’re aware that many of our residents and members of the public will want to help others at this difficult time. We have lots of opportunities to get involved across our communities, and we’d love to work with you to make a difference to those in need.
Who can sign up
We want to hear from everyone who would like to volunteer, particularly if you can help with the following roles:
- Community Responder Volunteer – Picking up prescriptions, food shopping, dog walking and other daily tasks to help our customers
- Community Connection Volunteer – Running activities to help our customers to remain active and connect with each other (we’ll need to be creative here due to the current social distancing rules, and lots of people being in self-isolation)
- Telephone Buddy Volunteer – Providing a regular phone call to someone who is isolated or lonely, and in need of support
What happens next
Fill out this form to register your interest. We’ll give you a call to chat through your ideas and discuss options, and we’ll do our best to match you to one of our schemes or teams that are in need of help.
We know there are already lots of different local groups hard at work in our communities, doing their best to reach out during this difficult time.
If you, or someone you know, is helping out in your neighbourhood, we can:
- Provide funding so you can buy emergency supplies for people in your neighbourhood
- Provide a supporting letter for your supermarket, so you can get the supplies you need
- Provide advice and guidance around the logistics of your project, use our social media channels to request more help with your project, and provide links to local agencies who may be able to assist you further
Staying safe
We want to ensure that everyone who volunteers for us feels safe and secure in their role, so we’ll complete a telephone induction (specific to your role), talk to you about available on-line training, and work together on a risk management plan if necessary.
We’ll take your current age and health situation into account during the matching process, and we may also ask for copies of your DBS documents, driving licence and insurance documents, depending on the role you apply for.
We recommend you read this article on how to help safely for starters.
You can contact the Volunteering Team by…
- emailing volunteering@syha.co.uk
- calling James on 07812 030 744 or Nicole on 07384 510 101
James Smith, Volunteering Manager
