A Week in the Life of...

Sarah, Friendship Club Organiser

Working days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.

Hi there, my name is Sarah. I have been working as the Friendship Club Organiser since June 2022. Although new, I already feel deeply connected to the ethos within Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. My role is to support all the Friendship Clubs that operate within our Peterborough region with practical support and guidance. The clubs are independent and run by volunteers, but we assist to get them up and running and provide ongoing support.

I visit all clubs on a 4–6-weekly basis which allows me to keep in contact with volunteer leaders and carry out regular risk assessments of the venues. It is an important part of the job to understand how each club operates, as they are all individual. Some provide lunch, some entertainment and some just an opportunity for afternoon of chat and a cuppa with others. I certainly came to a fast conclusion on how important these clubs are for their members. For some this is the only interaction with another person they may have all week. This makes me passionate about making sure these clubs continue to run smoothly.

Currently I’m particularly supporting:

• All Club Leaders to access and attend the necessary First Aid course.
• We are in the process of trying to reinstate a Club that ceased to operate after covid hit hard. I am busy trying to put a team together of volunteers, advertising the club and putting all logistics in place to make the club operational and sustainable again.
• I’m acting as club lead for the Werrington Friendship Club, due to a shortage of volunteers. Even though this is an added extra to my role, I enjoy it immensely. The reason I enjoy it so much? The answer is simple. It gives me the opportunity to have that personal connection with a club. I get to know the members, to see them chatting, making friendships and how much they enjoy the talks and entertainment provided.

So here is my diary for last week.

Tuesday  

Today I have the pleasure of visiting our Orton Friendship Club. I like to talk with all the volunteers to see if there is anything they need to chat about. I get a feel for how the club is doing. I help to set up table and chairs. Once members start to arrive, I get involve greeting them and chatting. I carry out a case study with a member who attends. Case studies are important because they help us to understand why people come to our clubs. It also lets us know how they feel about the club and what it truly means to them to attend each week.

At the end of the day, I go through the weekly attendance figures for all the clubs (from the previous week), sent to me by the volunteer club leads. This helps give an insight to see if any club is struggling to obtain and keep members. My last job is to check emails to make sure I have not missed any queries.

Thursday

I telephone previous members from the club we are trying to reinstate, to let them know we’re opening again soon and gauge their interest in returning. I visit local businesses, to distribute leaflets advertising our need for volunteers at our clubs. Back home, I make some calls to club leads, checking in and confirming their attendance on a First Aid course arranged for them. I also have a chat and keep up to date on any new entertainers that can be added to the list I keep. All the club leads have access to the list so they can share entertainers. As my day winds down, I check over emails and reply as needed.

Monday

I research information to open the club at Stanground.  Next, I checked on the entertainment booked for tomorrow’s club at Werrington which I will temporarily lead. Then I make the arrangements for an afternoon tea for the club in October. Once this is organised, I type up my case study from last week, before a last check of my emails.