How volunteers can support every service

Throughout Volunteers’ Week, we’ve been highlighting the impact of the time, care, and connection our volunteers give to the people we support.

Anita Cobb, Service Manager at Shinewater Court, had one thing to say about her experience with volunteers: “here’s to having many more”!  We spoke to Anita and Joanne Reilly, Head of Volunteering, to gain more insight into how broadening the horizons of volunteer roles can help our services to thrive. 

It takes a village 

Most volunteering roles at Brainkind involve connecting and communicating with the people we support. What many don’t realise, Joanne told us, is that Brainkind’s Volunteering team recognises five distinct categories of volunteer for our services: 

Befriender 

These volunteers are matched with one of the people we support who has similar interests, and provide companionship and social connection, which are vital to enriching the life of someone in recovery.  

Activities and wellbeing 

Perhaps the broadest category, these volunteers could do everything from leading yoga classes to craft sessions and beyond. This is a great role for anyone with a very specific skillset that they want to share. It’s highly adaptable to the individual needs of both the centre and the volunteer and shows how versatile volunteering can be. 

Anita highlighted a perfect example from Shinewater Court. Richard Goude has been running a current events discussion group called ‘News and Views’ at Shinewater’s Day Centre for an astounding twenty years. Richard (pictured above with a group member) said that he most enjoyed “hearing what the residents have to say and bringing them a ‘Window to the World’”.  

Driver 

These volunteers, Joanne said, “are like gold dust”. Their role is to drive the people we support out into their wider communities and facilitate more vital social opportunities. Anita added that Shinewater Court benefits from volunteer drivers taking the people we support “out in the community”: “it’s always a positive experience”. 

Fundraising 

These volunteers might not work with people we support directly, but they are willing to hit the streets and shake buckets – proverbially or literally! Joanne said that these volunteers don’t have to be permanent but can be hugely helpful during fundraising events. 

Gardening  

This category is very popular. Anita said that the volunteer gardeners at Shinewater Court enable the people we support to “work alongside them”. Whether providing people we support with these opportunities to get their hands dirty or to simply enjoy verdant green spaces, these volunteers enable services like Shinewater to grow necessary grounds maintenance into rich beds of activity.  

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Though these are the main categories of volunteering that Joanne recommends, she emphasised that “adapting and moulding volunteering around individual needs” is key for both our services and our volunteers. Anita added that “the fact that people are willing to give us their precious free time is truly wonderful” and “the difference volunteers make in people’s lives is great”. If you’re interested in exploring what volunteering with us could look like or want to find out more, check out our volunteering opportunities:

brainkind.org/get-involved/volunteer/