Making A Difference Volunteer Update

This week we have launched our new Hospital at Home project. This is similar to the Pulse Oximeter project, but involves offering a light touch monitoring service so patients can be monitored at home rather than needing to attend appointments.

We are looking for volunteers who can devote some time out of their day to attend home visits with individuals in the community who need some help using their Doccla kits. These kits can monitor vitals from home, and allow patients to be monitored from home, rather than attending time consuming medical appointments. Each client will need one or two visits a day, for up to two weeks including weekends, and this task can be shared amongst multiple volunteers to allow everyone to work this activity around their schedule.

These will be individuals who have been recently discharged from hospital or who are being closely monitored by health professionals, and need a little bit of help. 

This kit is very simple to use, and we will give you full training on how to help individuals use it. Volunteers will need to be DBS checked and we can arrange this. If you might be interested in this activity please get in touch via email or give us a call  on 01727 649980.

We have had lots of new nurses register with us from the Watford General Hospital, and many of these arrivals have requested nurse buddies. These new nurses need some help learning about their local area and having some support while they settle in.

If you have some local knowledge of Watford (you do not have to be based here, but it would be beneficial if you would be able to travel here to meet the nurse in person) and would like to help these new arrivals, please do email us or give us a call on 01727 649900. 

Additionally, we are running lots of trips every week, and so if you would like to join these trips as a guide or help us drive the minibus to facilitate the travel to these locations, please reach out to us on the contacts listed above. 

As you may know, our Leeming Road hub is currently closed, so Computers and a Cuppa Borehamwood will temporarily be running on Wednesdays from 1pm to 4pm at Aberford Hall community Centre (Aberford Road, Borehamwood WD6 1PN), and on Fridays from 10am to 2pm at Organ Hall Community Centre (37 Bairstow Close, Borehamwood WD6 4TB) with our team member Rex. If you would like to join as a volunteer, please do reach out to us on 01727 649900 or email u here. 

Our other Computers and a Cuppa sessions will be running as usual, and we would welcome anyone who is interested in helping us provide these sessions to reach out to us via email to find out more.

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

We would like to continue to offer a Handyperson and Gardening service in the Spring for vulnerable people who are elderly, disabled, or have poor mobility.

Please call us on 01727 649900 or email us to find out more.

With the New Year upon us, we have had many new requests for Neighbourly walks from clients who would like to get a bit of fresh air and exercise. This is the perfect opportunity for anyone looking for low impact exercises to keep you fit and healthy. 

We are particularly looking for volunteers to support the St Albans area due to the volume of requests we get here, but we would also appreciate volunteers to give support to the Hertsmere area also, to make sure we can cover all our requests. 

This activity can be done around your prior commitments, and will usually involve having a 30 minute to 1 hour walk every week or two. You can also be matched with people near you if you would prefer to walk to their location. 

If you would like to hear more about this opportunity, you can speak with a member of the team via email or call us on 01727 649900. 

This role would see you helping to run a peer to peer group that allows individuals with long term illnesses to gather and share their feelings.

We are also be running Ukrainian support meetings, so we are looking for volunteers to help facilitate these.

You can find out more about this opportunity here.

You can email or call us on 01727 649900 to find out more.

Training courses are available to our volunteers all year round. You can learn about all the topics we cover and register for dated sessions by clicking here.

New Volunteer Expenses Claim Form

We have a new volunteer expense request form. If you don't have it, please email us and we will send it to you.

For Shopping Delivery and Prescription Collection Expenses

• To claim expenses, please sign up to our dashboard and upload your expenses there. Click here to create a login using the same email address that you originally signed up with. You will then see a list of your completed and pending activities.
• Please submit expense claims the same week that you carried out your shop, and if appropriate, provide a photo of your receipt. If an expense is not claimed in a timely manner it can lead to a client going into arrears, which can cause them stress and confusion. We appreciate your help with this.
• If this is your first shop, you will first need to email us your bank details  so you can be reimbursed.

For Vaccination Centre Expenses

• If you haven't already uploaded your bank details, please do so through your online dashboard.
• If you are experiencing financial hardship because of your volunteering expenses, please email email us and we will reimburse you as soon as possible.

For Drivers, Litter Pickers and Other Roles' Expenses

• You will have been sent an expense claim form when you confirmed your job. To claim your expenses, please complete this and return it to the sender.