Making A Difference Volunteer Update

With the weather getting colder and gritters out at night, I hope you're keeping warm and taking the necessary precautions to ensure your safety when travelling. Check the Met Office website to keep up to date on weather forcasts and warnings, and remember to wrap up when volunteering.

If you're feeling chilly working from home, remember that you can book one of our free hot desks at our main office. Click here to learn more and book your space.

You may have read in last week's newsletter that our support of the remaining COVID-19 mass vaccination centres will be coming to an end on Thursday 15th December. I want to say a HUGE Thank You to all volunteers who came to help out at all hours, in all weathers, and always with a smile! We couldn't have provided this service without your help, and we really do appreciate you for it.

All the best for the week ahead,

Stephen Craker

Chief Executive

To say THANK YOU for all your hard work this year, we planned three Christmas celebrations for staff, trustees, and volunteers.

Events have already taken place at Phillimore Community Centre in Radlett, and Beaumont Day Centre in Waltham Cross. To everyone who attended, thank you for coming along! We hope you had a fantastic time and enjoyed the refreshments. It was lovely seeing you all.

To those who haven't yet attended, tonight is your last chance to join in with the fun! We will be at Trestle Arts Base on Russet Drive in St Albans (AL4 0JQ) from 4-6pm. Register here to join in with the festivities.
 
We're looking forward to seeing you!

Today, Thursday 8th December, is Christmas Jumper Day! Staff and volunteers at our main office have dressed up in their finest jumpers and accessories.

We are observing this day as part of UK Charity Week which celebrates the work of all fantastic UK charities.

Never heard of Christmas Jumper Day? Click the button below to visit Save the Children's dedicated webpage to learn more.

Learn to better communicate with people living with deafness and hearing loss at our two-hour information session run in partnership with the Hearing Advisory Service.

Date: Wednesday 14th December

Time: 10am-12pm

The Samaritans and Hertfordshire County Council are offering free Suicide Prevention training for public sector frontline staff and people working in the voluntary sector in Hertfordshire - this includes you!

Sessions are available throughout December and January. You can view each event and book your place using the button below.

We hope you are already aware of our Warm Welcome Hubs taking place in Radlett and Borehamwood. Now that these are up and running, we need friendly Activities Facilitators to help us organise some activities for the attending guests.

Activities we could offer include:

• Knitting
• Cooking
• Reading
• Movies

We are open to activity suggestions. If you have a particular hobby you can share, even better. Get in touch by emailing or calling 01727 649950.

We are looking for Bus Buddies to help out on our Shopper Bus and Day Trippers services.

Buddies will help people on and off the bus and carry shopping, as well as chat with the clients to make them feel part of the group.

If you are interested in this role, email us or call 01727 649950.

To learn more about our Shopper Bus and Day Trippers services, click the button below.

The Our Health Matters project aims to tackle health inequalities in Cowley Hill and Brookmeadow, Borehamwood.

We are recruiting volunteer Community Connectors who will help us give voice to the communities in these areas which may be facing health inequalities. This will include ethnic minority communities. 

It would be helpful if you had experience (as patient or carer) of severe mental illness, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, or hypertension.

If you would be interested in joining this project, please email Jane Yates or call 01727 649900.

If you enjoy or excel at manual jobs like DIY or gardening, We Want You!

We offer a Handyperson and Gardening service for vulnerable people who are elderly, disabled, or have poor mobility.

To learn about available Gardening volunteer opportunities, please click here.

To learn about available Handyperson volunteer opportunities, please click here.

Use the button below if you would like to read more about what this service offers.

Our health-related Peer-to-Peer Support Groups are for people diagnosed with long-term illness. They run in St Albans, Watford, and Potters Bar.

We are looking for kind, patient volunteers to help deliver these sessions.

Click here to register your interest in volunteering.

We are looking for meeting facilitators to help out at the support meet-ups we run for Ukrainian guests and hosts in St Albans and Radlett.

We are looking for friendly, compassionate volunteers to help deliver these sessions.

If you are interested in helping out, please email us or telephone 01727 649900.

The Multiply project aims to improve people's numeracy skills by offering maths-boosting sessions. On topics such as basic numeracy, Shopping on a Budget, and Family Budget, these sessions will help people in their everyday lives.

We are looking for volunteers to become Number Ninjas. Number Ninjas will help us:

• Identify the learning needs of local residents
• Engage and refer suitable candidates for tailored tutoring support.

If you are interested in this opportunity, email us or telephone 01727 649950.

If you have a few hours to spare, consider becoming a volunteer office administrator in one of our offices.

You will be helping us with important tasks such as volunteer recruitment and arranging shopping deliveries.

If you're interested in this role, please email us or call 01727 649950.