Volunteers

Lizzie – Volunteer Receptionist

Lizzie has lived in Lincoln for the past year and a half. She is 24 and has moved to England for 3 years from Australia. She has been volunteering as a receptionist at the Voluntary Sector Hub for the past 3 months. This position has worked out really well for Lizzie as it allows her flexibility to be able to go travelling when she likes at the same time as giving her something to do with her spare time. “At the end of the day, you feel like you have really accomplished something and spent your day helping people. When I was new to Lincoln, volunteering was a great opportunity for me to meet new people.”

Jamie – Conservation Volunteer

Jamie spends 2 days a week volunteering for BTCV and works part time as a gardener.

Volunteering with BTCV has taught Jamie loads about trees and given him great experience in working outside. Wanting to get in to outdoor work, Jamie spoke to one of the career advisors at the library who recommended that he came to the Volunteer Centre. Liz referred him to BTCV (British Trust Conservation Volunteers). Since getting introduced to BTCV, Jamie has become very involved and now has a multitude of skills. Tasks include dry stone walling, fencing, erecting kissing gates, coppicing trees and making bird boxes. Jamie works alongside one member of staff and another volunteer and is also a tree warden. “I’m loving it!”

Organisations

Order of St. John’s Care Trust

Coming soon!

Share the Care

Share The Care Young Carers Project works with young people aged 5 to 18 who help to care for someone in their home/family. This person cared for might be a parent/sibling/relative who suffers from an illness, Mental Health problem, physical disability, learning difficulties or substance misuse. Young Carers have responsibilities that significantly impact on their lives, making going out to play, going to the cinema or going to McDonald’s a very rare treat.

Within the Young Carers project we have a Befriending scheme, which is a sub project, designed to facilitate regular outings for the young people. The Young Carers Befriending Scheme Co-ordinator recruits and trains volunteers to work one to one with the Young Carers. Currently the team has 20 active volunteers befriending the children. However, there are another 40 Young carers in need of regular befriending support on the scheme - all of the children on the befriending scheme are aged 5 to 13 and have been identified as children who would really benefit from having the opportunity to go out for respite, experiencing new things and perhaps even to take up a hobby.
The befrienders each befriend one or two children and see them fortnightly or once a month according to the availability of the volunteer and the needs of the child. By having a befriender, the children are able to have some quality time for themselves, where they can leave their caring responsibilities behind. The befriending links have proven to be amazingly positive for the children and have demonstrated to be raising the young people’s self esteem and improving their social skills.

Without the Volunteer Befrienders many of the Young Carers would miss out on experiencing the fun things that most children would consider a part of their everyday life experiences. The Volunteers give the Young Carers time to be a child. Our Volunteers are extremely valuable and without them we would not be able to reach as many young people and support them through their lives while being Young Carers.

For more information visit: www.sharethecare.org.uk