Volunteer Champions and Isolation Buddies Providing Vital Support in the Community

Everything moved so fast and so did we! With the rapid onset of Covid-19, we all had to adjust at speed to stay safe and protect vulnerable people in our communities, while still keeping essential wheels turning. For our team at Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham within the space of only two weeks a veritable army of volunteers were recruited, checked, trained and deployed into a brand new suite of services for our older clients; a mammoth undertaking.

The Isolated Buddy Service is in full swing and will continue to develop and extend its reach in the coming days and weeks. The cornerstone of the service is a team of 13 Volunteer Champions distributed across the Borough to organise more than 30 Volunteer Buddies who have come forward to help us out during these challenging times.

These amazing volunteers are matched with isolated people living locally to give ongoing support for the duration of the coronavirus isolation period and beyond. They provide help with practical tasks such as buying groceries, collecting prescriptions and keeping in-touch by phone to maintain the all-important human contact. We aim to reach and support several hundred individuals throughout the borough in their time of need and are working tirelessly to do so. It’s a huge team effort!

One of the Volunteer Champions, Flora, has been providing a personal weekly shopping service for a group of people in sheltered housing. Like so many of our volunteers who have come forward to help, Flora says she is “so happy I can help on a personal level”. The residents have expressed their gratitude for the work of Flora and others, saying it provides a real lifeline as well as essential social contact. However, being able to help out has had a positive impact on the volunteers too. In Flora’s words: “It has made me realise that volunteering like this is valuable at all times, not just during a national crisis. I hope many who are helping will continue to do so long after the pandemic has passed.”

We are hugely grateful to our amazing team of volunteers. The difference they are making to older people in need is incalculable. In the words of a Housing Officer whose residents are being supported by Flora and her team: “I could not be more pleasantly and happily surprised by your response and wanted to say a massive thank you on behalf of all the residents.” Joyce Farrell, Specialist Housing Officer, Riverside and Banim Street Sheltered Housing Schemes. 

If you know someone in need of support then complete our Client Form (requesting help): https://tinyurl.com/rtgfebe or call: 020 7386 9085