Cheryl*, in her sixties, is a volunteer with Communities 1st.  She has undertaken two very different roles – collecting and delivering oxygen monitors to vulnerable people and being a telephone befriender.  Cheryl’s experience highlights the important part that volunteers can play in being the eyes and ears in the community, being aware of possible concerns, and, as necessary, passing on information.

Simon, like many of our volunteers, started volunteering during the COVID pandemic when he helped at a vaccination centre.  He has since become a volunteer driver and what came across from my chat with Simon is his great enthusiasm for the work.  This is perhaps a little surprising because he didn’t plan to become a driver!  He explained “I rather fell into this!  I didn’t go looking for a driving job.  Someone at Communities 1st suggested I might give it a go and I found that it suits me very well.