Find out how you could help beat loneliness in your community
Southampton folk who would like to find out how they could help beat loneliness in their community are invited to meet us at our upcoming volunteer recruitment events.
Nobody should feel lonely
We believe that nobody should feel lonely and we work hard to tackle this throughout the city with our service users. We work with them through our befriending service and we are always looking for more volunteers to help us.
Volunteering is not only beneficial to those we help but is also proven to be great for those who volunteer too. We call them our Communiteers and they are a cheery, friendly bunch of all ages, genders and ethnicity who find it very fulfilling helping others.
Some also say being a Communiteer has also helped beat their loneliness too, as they are telephoning people for us or are out and about meeting new people.
Our Communiteers
Volunteering is varied, our friendly Communiteers provide valued support in all sorts of ways. From making regular telephone calls, just to check in, which is great if you don’t feel able to meet face-to-face, as well as safely driving people to medical appointments, shopping for those unable to leave home, popping in for a cup of tea and a chat, and of course, providing emotional support.
It’s also flexible and rewarding, just an hour of your time, could be the highlight of someone’s week and we are urging anyone who has ever wondered what it’s all about or thought about giving it a go, to come and meet us and find out more at our upcoming sessions.
Come and meet us!
Make & Brew, St James Road Methodist Church: Tuesday, June 21, 10am-12noon
Atherley Bowling Club on Hill Lane: Wednesday, June 22 from 6pm-8pm and Saturday, June 25, 10am-12noon.
Hear from a current volunteer
Lynda Walton, who is a telephone befriender for us, said: “I first became a volunteer during the Covid pandemic. I felt frustrated at the beginning of the lockdowns as I had to isolate completely and was not able to help people in need in our neighbourhood. All I could do was phone around those neighbours I knew would be suffering, then I received the email from Communicare asking for volunteers to ring isolated and lonely individuals on a regular basis.
“I jumped at the chance to reach out to those for whom a daily telephone call was the only human contact in their day. I’m still volunteering in this way and feel privileged to be able to lighten someone’s ‘load’.”
Interested in volunteering?
If this sounds like something that could be right up your street, find out how you can join us here.