“Doing shopping for frail, elderly and vulnerable people who can’t get out is such a vital service. It’s a real lifeline,” Mary told me as I chatted with her while she drove home! She was, of course, on speaker phone so she could reassure me that she was driving safely. It soon became apparent that Mary is a very busy lady, so I was fortunate that she spared me some time to talk about her volunteering experience with Communities 1st. What an amazing story she had to tell!

Both in their late 80's, Betty and John have now enjoyed 65 years of marriage. They met up when John was completing National Service in the R.A.F., moved to Wembley, and have juggled working lives with bringing up two daughters. Betty managed various temporary jobs until she finally retired at 65 as a School Secretary in Watford. John worked in the battery industry until he had to retire through ill health at 55.

It all started with Beryl's Blue Bus. A few years ago, Beryl noticed an unusual wagon off-loading shoppers outside her local Sainsburys and enquired who the bus was for. She learned that this was one of the many helpful services provided by Communities 1st and, now in her late 80s, Beryl is so pleased that she discovered them. Since her husband Ron passed away seven years ago, Beryl has lived on her own with a number of health challenges. She now relies on Communities 1st’s assistance for shopping trips and getting to her hospital appointments.

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Sign up to our online Talk Cancer Workshop, that will help arm you with the tools needed to raise cancer awareness in your community. The session will help you encourage people to make healthy changes, access local services and visit their GP promptly with any concerns.

We continue to provide lots of training opportunities to our volunteers, to help you challenge yourself and further develop your skill set. 

Volunteers are still required to help staff at Herts and Essex Community Hospital in Bishop Stortford. The shifts here have resumed and the hospital has assured that volunteers will not be exposed to any COVID wards in the hospital.

As Para Dance UK continues to grow and evolve, CEO Patrick McGeough has made the difficult decision to step down from his position. Emma Millward, Head of Dance and Lin McGeough, Operations Manager have also decided to step down.

This week is Random Acts of Kindness Week, a movement that aim to 'make kindness the norm!' The RAK Foundation website is full of ideas for kind acts you could do at home. Today they suggest reaching out to someone who brings joy and happiness into your life.

Coral, a volunteer with Communities 1^st, found that chatting about cake helped her to engage with Nigerian nurses working at the Lister Hospital! The nurses found cake both a source of comfort and entertainment! What is it about the English and their cake?

The Help in a Hospital projects are now all up and running, with shifts available to book on your dashboard in the community activities section. Early feedback from the volunteers and the hospitals has been extremely positive; the project is making a real difference.

Volunteers are still very much needed for these roles so if you are interested or would like anymore information please get in touch by emailing Buddy@communities1st.org.uk.