Volunteer Mark on His Experience as a Befriending Volunteer

Interview with Mark at Age Cymru Dyfed

September is Friendship Month, all month. September sets the dawn of the longer nights drawing in and a winter ahead, where being lonely is a reality for so many of our old population in West Wales. During this time, at Age Cymru Dyfed we are busy recruiting to handle the winter ahead and we rely heavily on the goodwill and enthusiasm of our team of volunteers. At Age Cymru Dyfed, you can volunteer informally or formally. This can mean a couple of hours in a workshop or signing up as a formal volunteer and committing more fully. Both are so welcome and we appreciate many of you cannot commit more than a few hours a week max. At Age Cymru Dyfed, we look after our volunteers, paying back expenses incurred during your time such as petrol money and other subsistence costs.  Here, Mark explains how volunteering works at Age Cymru Dyfed.

“After helping a client with their iPad in my formal Digital Inclusion role, help on email and Facetime so that they could keep in touch with their family who were moving away from the area -  I also helped this person with my Befriending Life Links Volunteering hat on. I also volunteer a few hours a week on the befriending project which is hugely rewarding.

Over the past couple of months, I helped develop this person’s IT skills to a level where they don’t’ need my help anymore, although the volunteering continues. We recently discussed artificial intelligence too which was very interesting!

My advice is, if you have the chance to do some Befriending Life Links volunteering, even if it is just for an hour or two a week for a short while, do go for it! You can make a difference to someone’s day – whether it’s just having a chat, going out to a café for a cuppa or arranging for a meet up with one of their newfound friends.”

Sign me up!

For information on volunteering roles within Age Cymru Dyfed and how you can get involved and put your name down – or have a chat to find out more visit our page Become a Volunteer at Age Cymru Dyfed.