Getting involved
Becoming a volunteer can be a great way to stay active, help your local community, and meet new people. There are all sorts of opportunities, and you can find something that suits you by contacting one of the following organisations.
Community Impact Bucks
Volunteer Centre for Buckinghamshire, helping members of the public to get involved in community activity. Around 1500 volunteering opportunities registered, they match and place people who want to volunteer into suitable roles with local charities and communities.
They also help groups that involve volunteers with all aspects of how to find and retain volunteers, and how to run an effective and rewarding volunteer programme.
If you have any questions about volunteering or would like to volunteer yourself then contact 0845 3890389, email volunteering@communityimpactbucks.org.uk or visit their website.
Contact the elderly
Could you volunteer time one Sunday each month to help lonely and isolated older people in your community?
We work with Contact the Elderly, a national charity, to run a volunteer led service offering older people the chance to enjoy the company of others.
For 40 years Contact the Elderly, with over 412 groups nationally, have been taking out lonely and isolated older people one Sunday afternoon a month for tea and a chance to enjoy the company of others.
Volunteer drivers take a group of 6 to 8 elderly people to hosts' homes where they enjoy their hospitality. The group visits a different home every month and spends a few hours in the company of friends, old and new.
'Volunteering for Contact the Elderly only takes a few hours of my time one Sunday each month and gives isolated, elderly people something wonderful to look forward to. What really surprised me is how much I enjoy the experience!' Jenny, volunteer driver.
We have groups covering Aylesbury (3 groups), Amersham, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chalfont St Giles, Chesham, Gerrards Cross, Great Missenden, High Wycombe (2 groups), Marlow, Stoke Poges, Iver, Winslow, Bourne End and Burnham.
Call Contact the Elderly on 0800 716543 for an informal chat.
Age Concern Buckinghamshire
Opportunities include visiting housebound people, providing practical help through driving, gardening or DIY, using office or cooking skills and supporting someone through bereavement.
Contact: 145 Meadowcroft, Aylesbury, HP19 3HH, Tel. 01296 431127.
Alzheimer's Society - Buckinghamshire
Opportunities for volunteers to visit people with dementia in their homes. Training and out of pocket expenses given. Regular support and meetings offered for befrienders.
Contact: Nicole Palmer, Dementia Support Worker, Alzheimer's Society, The Tower, 42 Wedgewood Street, Fairford Leys, Aylesbury, Bucks. HP19 7HL, 01296 331722