Alice’s experiences as a Community Volunteer

Independent Age’s Community Services help isolated older people to rebuild a fulfilling and independent social life and reduce their feelings of loneliness.

We love to hear stories from our volunteers and the people who use our services about how they are building friendships and improving their wellbeing by accessing our support. Recently Alice wrote about her experience as a Community Volunteer with us.

“I have been volunteering for Independent Age for about five years, after I’d been a full-time carer for my youngest daughter. She could manage on her own and I felt I had a large hole in my life to fill. I’ve worked before with parents and young children in various settings, but I saw an advert locally for volunteering with older people and thought it was time for a change. I have always been a chatterbox so thought that the challenge would be right for me. I spoke to my friends and they said I should apply.

“I was expecting to meet someone a lot older than me so was surprised to be matched with someone who is only four years older. She is on her own and, sadly, housebound a lot of the time because she has disabilities and needs a wheelchair.

“Well, we hit it off straight away. Every week, despite life being hard for us both, we have plenty to laugh about. We chat about things as diverse as knitting, gardens and Boris! I have taken her supplies of wool and she has starting knitting hats for the premature baby unit at the hospital. This has been great for her, and she’s managed to make more than 10 hats so far. We chatted a lot about these things, especially when face-to-face meetings were stopped because of the pandemic.

“I enjoy meeting with my match and hearing her news about her family, church and the soaps on TV. I know she enjoys my company too. She has recently found the courage to get out and about a bit more because Independent Age’s Community Services Team and the church have been supporting her. We’re hoping that this year there’ll be no lockdowns and a chance for us to go out more. I sing in a choir and my aim is to arrange for my match to come and see me singing!

“I would recommend volunteering to you. It is of great benefit for everyone and it is good that you can make a difference to someone else’s life by helping them to get involved with more social activities.”

Get involved

If you would like to work alongside an older person and support them to reconnect with their community and achieve their goals, we’re looking for Community Volunteers in Essex, Nottingham and Tyne & Wear and Teesside. Find out more and apply today.

If you’re based somewhere else in the UK and would like to get involved, visit our website in the coming months, when we hope to have more roles available.

If you know of someone over the age of 65 who might benefit from our Community Services in Essex, Nottingham and Tyne & Wear and Teesside, you can find out more and make a referral on our website.