Sam talks about Volunteer Week
1st- 7th June is National Volunteers Week in the UK and is the ideal time for us to say a huge thank you to our fantastic team of volunteers who support the work of Enrych.
As well as the many volunteers who befriend our clients to ensure they do not become isolated, we also have a number of amazing volunteers who undertake projects on our behalf, including the Team at the Coalville Belvoir Rotary Club who recently helped set up our Feel Good Café at the George Smith Hub in Coalville as well as helping one of our clients to clear their house and garden. Volunteering is a great opportunity to get involved with something you are passionate about and Enrych, like many community charities, would not be able to do our valuable work without them.
Increasing independence and confidence in a variety of skill areas is also part of our vision at Enrych and many of our volunteers share an interest with our clients which enables them to do this, from cooking a nutritious meal or baking a cake to writing a book or maintaining a tranquil and enjoyable garden space. Many of our clients have become more confident in living independently whilst enjoying the social interaction with our volunteers that helps to prevent loneliness and isolation.
Many of our clients and service users at Enrych have also become more confident to get out into the community and often, our volunteers will meet people connected to Enrych out at a café and stop for a coffee and a chat. This again helps us to meet the social needs of our clients and potentially help them to make new friends as well.
Supporting our events to run as smoothly as possible is also something for which we are incredibly grateful to our volunteers. We have a volunteer driver who provides transport to some of our clients to enable them to attend some of our popular events, particularly Boccia and Multisports which runs every Thursday from 11:30 to 1:30 at the new Coalville Leisure Centre. Another volunteer helps out at our Art Group which runs every Wednesday from 10:00 to 12:00. The attendance figures at our events continue to grow, thanks to the great work of our volunteers in making these welcoming and engaging sessions enjoyed by everyone.
Finally, at Enrych we actively look to engage in projects that allow us to immerse ourselves in green space. We have been working in collaboration with TCV (The Conservation Volunteers) on the Millennium Gardens Green Gym in Measham (also a Thursday activity) which we have a group of volunteers offer to help each week. Gardening and being in nature is something that we are very much aware of that hugely enhances the wellbeing of everyone who connects with us. To celebrate this National Volunteers Week, the final message I have is a big thank you to all of our volunteers for helping our clients to get out into the community, become more independent at home, maintain good mental health and wellbeing as well as helping to restore our environment. The value of our volunteers can’t be under-estimated and we must continue to thank them for the work that they do, not just through Volunteers Week, but every week!
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