Form filling, bingo, picnics and ukulele bands

Our volunteers have been talking enthusiastically to BBC Radio Shropshire’s Paul Shuttleworth about the wide range of experiences they have while volunteering for Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin.

They spoke of how fun, fulfilling and sometimes surprising it can be to volunteer with our charity as the presenter caught up with them at our Volunteers’ Christmas Lunch, held recently at the Sovereign Suite at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

The broadcaster was momentarily stunned when he heard how a volunteer helped older people to fill in complicated benefits forms. ‘28-page forms?’ he asked in astonishment, ‘Really? 28 pages?’

‘Yes,’ said the benefits volunteer. ‘Blimey!’ exclaimed Paul, ‘No wonder people need help with it!’

In another interview, a volunteer advocate told Paul: ‘I came to this charity because I felt very fortunate in my own life and wanted to do something to help others. My role is really to help with things like communications with official bodies. It’s very rewarding because the people we help are very grateful.’

Next up, a day centre volunteer told of the range of events and activities offered to members. ‘We do a whole range of things that help alleviate loneliness and isolation and help people to make new friends. We take people on trips, we have picnics in the summer, we play bingo, we have lunch from the café, we have entertainment such as ukulele bands who visit us which is lots of fun.’

Anne Wignall, President of the Trustee board at Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin talked about the Age UK North Shropshire Supporters group. ‘We tend to organise fun events to raise much-needed funds,’ she said. ‘We’ve raised about £60,000 over the last ten years.’

‘For example, we recently had a murder mystery evening which was really good fun. We also put on shows and films. Basically, it’s all about fun things with a group of friendly people.’

A volunteer from our Bridgnorth dementia support group spoke of the games and puzzles enjoyed by regulars. ‘Everyone enjoys the social aspect of the group. They get a lot out of seeing other people and we will often have visitors come and entertain us.’

Abi Bebb and Dean Suter from local construction firm, R1 Construction, spoke about their special Christmas appeal to raise money for Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, and also about providing 300 Christmas gift parcels for members of our day centres.

Dean explained: ‘I became a befriender for the charity in 2018. I saw an advert on the TV, actually, and it really moved me, and I wanted to help, so I started befriending. Then a few months ago, we at R1 Construction were looking for a charity partner, Abi got in touch with me and we got the ball rolling.’

Abi said: ‘Very often our clients will ask us what our social value aspect is and what we are providing for their community. This year, we looked at our community and we found Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin and decided we would very much like to do something for older people.’

You can hear the full BBC Radio Shropshire interviews here:

Interview clip 1 (MP3, 7.6MB)

Interview clip 2 (MP3, 7.3MB)

Interview clip 3 (MP3, 6.3MB)

Interview clip 4 (MP3, 7.7MB)

Interview clip 5 (MP3, 8.1MB)

If you've been thinking about becoming a volunteer, why not take a look at the volunteer roles we have available or call our Volunteer Recruitment team on 01743 233 123 to find out more.