Making A Difference Volunteer Update

Our new pilot Hospital at Home project will be running until the end of March, and we are looking for volunteers who would be able to support clients with house visits to help them record their vitals and send this information to their designated health professional. This can all be achieved easily through a Doccla kit, which are easy to use kits designed for this job. You will receive full training and guidance on how to use this. You would be helping someone who is unable to use the kit on their own stay comfortable in their home, rather than have to attend the GP each day for monitoring or continue to stay in hospital. To find out more, read below. 

At Communities 1st, we have a group of minibuses which we use to deliver many of our projects, from the shopper bus service to our day trips. These journeys out are looked forward to by many in the community, who enjoy chatting with the friends they have made and shopping for their essentials each week. These trips are valued by our clients and help them maintain their independence. Some of our clients could use a little bit of extra help joining these trips, and that is where our bus buddies project comes in.

We are looking for some volunteers who would be able to join these days out and shopping trips as a support for some of our clients, from guiding them from their doorstep to the shops, to helping them navigate the shops when they get there. If you would be interested in hearing more about this project, please call us on 01727 649980 or email us to speak with a member of the team. 

All the best for the week ahead,

Stephen Craker

Chief Executive

Meet Stephen Craker
Hospital at Home Project

Our New Hospital at Home project will be delivered in the Welwyn and Hatfield, Broxbourne, East Herts, North Herts and Stevenage areas of Hertfordshire, and will help individuals stay at home while monitoring their vitals, rather than attending appointments every day. This can relieve pressure on the NHS, as well as keeping clients comfortable at home.

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, 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 us or give us a call on 01727 649980.

Client survey 2022  

With another year passed, it is time for our annual survey for clients. This survey allows us to check in with our clients, as well as monitor feedback which we can then use to inform and improve our services. 

In order to complete this survey, we need some help calling everyone. If you have some spare time, and would be happy to call some clients and conduct a short survey with them, please give us a call on 01727 649900 or email us. 

We will give you all the training you need for this role. This activity would need to be completed in our main office (1st Floor, Ver House, Park Estate, Frogmore, St. Albans, AL2 2WH), and we will have a full desk set up and landline for you to use.

You will be surrounded by friendly staff members who will be more than happy to support you or answer any questions you have. Just drop us a call now if you would like to know more!

Neighbourly Walks Project

We are looking for some volunteers who would like to support people through our Neighbourly Walks scheme. 

We know how beneficial walking can be for the mind and the body, and we want to support as many people in the community as we can to maintain their independence, and get same fresh air while doing it.

Please call us on 01727 649900 or email us to register for this activity.

International Nurses Project 

We have recently been supporting new international NHS arrivals in Bishops Stortford. This role comes with some new forms of support, and we are looking for volunteers who would be able to support individuals in this area as one to one buddies. Responsibilities would include helping them check in to their properties, showing them around the local area, helping them register with a local GP and dentist, and supporting them in their search for long term accommodation. 

We are also looking for volunteers who would be able to support us in our search for short term accommodation for the new arrivals. We need individuals who can attend house viewings to ensure they are suitable (we will guide you through what you are looking for in these properties, do not worry).

We would cover all your expenses for these activities, such as parking when showing people around, or mileage reimbursement if you drive to a viewing. 

If you would like to know more, or are interested in helping these new international arrivals, please do email us or give us a call on 01727 649900. 

Bus Buddies

We are looking for volunteers who would like to support our clients to maintain their independence on our shopper bus service or day trips. 

This role would see you accompany these bus journeys so you can guide clients who need a little bit of extra help to the minibus and around the shops or day trip destinations. 

Come along, make some friends, and enjoy a trip out, all while helping someone else join in the fun.

Please call us on 01727 649900 or email us to register for this activity. 

Computers and a Cuppa- Update

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 us 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 us to find out more.

If you know some people who may benefit from these sessions, please feel free to forward the session information to them. These sessions operate on a drop in basis, are free, and any one is welcome, whether they are just beginning to learn about tech, or have some prior experience. If you belong to any clubs or groups you would like to advertise these sessions in, please feel free to contact us for any posters you might like to share with others or place on your community/ notice boards. 

Number Ninjas

The Multiply project aims to improve people's numeracy skills, to help them in their every day life, by offering maths boosting courses. These will include shopping on a budget, make do and mend and make do and cook.

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.

Peer to Peer Group Facilitator

We are 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.

Volunteering Opportunities
Activities Facilitators

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 email or calling 01727 649950

Visit our Warm Hubs Directory
Warm Hubs directory
Handy Person Volunteers

We are hoping to get our handy person project back up and running in the Spring, and are looking for some volunteers to support us with this. 

Can you

-Support clients with odd jobs around the house like painting, fitting light bulbs, hanging curtains, and other similar small DIY jobs?

-Help around the garden, doing things like mowing lawns, weeding, potting plants and cleaning up over grown shrubbery and other garden based tasks?

Whether your interest lies in gardening, or if you prefer interior DIY, or even both, let us know by emailing us or call us on 01727 649900, a staff member will be happy to explain this role further to you.

Services Information
Warm Hubs directory
Mini Bus Driver Volunteers

Communities 1st has their own group of minibuses, which we use to help us conduct some of our project activities.

We are looking for some volunteers who would like to help us as minibus drivers, in order to facilitate numerous activities throughout the community, from our shopper bus service to driving on day trips for our international nurses project.

Click here to register your interest in volunteering on this activity.

Find Out About Health Support Groups
Learn about health groups here
Office Administrators

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.

We are also looking for people with website design skills to come in to the office and help with developing websites for our member organisations. Whether this is one of your passions, or something you have experience in from your career, we would appreciate your skills to help with this. 

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

Training Opportunities

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.

Suicide Prevention

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.

View Events and Register Here
Suicide Prevention training events
HIV- Awareness and Support

What we'll be covering:

-Explain the Difference between HIV and AIDS
-Identify routes of HIV transmission 
-Know how to test for HIV
-Know how to prevent HIV
-Identify ways to support someone living with HIV 
-Understand how stigma & discrimination can affect people living with HIV 

Date: Friday 10 February 

Time: 1pm

Register here.

Deaf Awareness training course
Deaf Awareness training 

Participants coming to this session will gain the confidence and basic skills to communicate with those who are living with deafness and hearing loss. It will enable them to understand deafness, signs that someone can’t hear you, body positions and communicating.

Please note this training is via Zoom. 

Date: Wednesday 22 February 

Time: 10am to 12pm

register here.

Deaf Awareness training course
How to Claim Expenses

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 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.