Volunteering

Midlands Visitors at the AGM

We are most grateful to our nationwide team of voluntary visitors who help us to look after our beneficiaries, by visiting them regularly, offering friendship and helping us keep in touch with any changing needs. This is so important to beneficiaries who are living alone and may feel isolated and lonely.

Thank you to Elain Morgan, who whote this ditti. It was read out at our Presidential Handover event. We hope this might inspire you to get involved:

Some Food For Thought...Maybe ?

You're out for the evening; you're feeling quite good,
Some drinks, a fine dinner, wonderful pud.
A "Charity Do", we all know all about them,
We see the same faces again and again.

So... buy a new frock, turn up, and look pretty,
Smile, say "HELLO!", chuck some dosh in the kitty.
That's all very well, and we thank you…A LOT
However.... that's only one half of the plot.

The people you're helping with your generous donation
Are the old, the unfortunate, Invisible Nation.
There's a thing that they need a lot more than your cash,
It's something you have, but it's nothing that's flash.

It's your time and your company, your friendship and chat,
Just a few hours a year, nothing much more than that.
The role of the visitor will be a small one to you,
It's a "something of nothing" amongst all that you do.

But the folk who you visit, they have such a nee,
Which we've mostly forgotten in this era of greed.
So please volunteer, it's a fabulous post,
And, I've seen this before, YOU may benefit most.

We are keen to be able to offer this service to any of our beneficiaries who would like a visitor. If you would be interested in helping in this way please contact our Welfare Department for further details on 020 7404 5222.

Case Study - Bob Lock

Hi, my name is Bob Lock and I retired in May 2004 after working for 30 years for Cadbury's at their Somerdale, Bristol factory. Shortly before I retired I had the pleasure of meeting Liz and Irene who were visiting the factory to raise awareness of the Confectioners Benevolent Fund. As I was looking for something useful to do in my retirement I agreed to become a volunteer visitor, as I saw it as a way to help people who are worse off than myself.

Volunteer Visitor

I currently deliver four Candy Carers to beneficiaries in the Bristol area. I deliver them personally and usually spend between one and two hours on each visit chatting about their old jobs, their health and their interests. All the people I visit are very nice and make me very welcome and, I hope, look forward to my visits as much as I look forward to visiting them! I find it very rewarding to meet people who have worked in the same industry as me.

Welfare Committee

Shortly after I retired I agreed to join the Welfare Committee. I sit with other dedicated people to debate claims for grants. It is very sad to see some of the applications that are put forward for help, but rewarding to know that the money we can give them will make a huge difference to their lives.

Area Committee

I have also joined the South West Committee where I have been heavily involved in arranging, along with other members of the committee, a tea and bingo party for 50 beneficiaries from the South West. I was given the task to book the room, along with the catering arrangements and liaising with the club staff on the day to ensure all was well. My wife and I were kept busy all afternoon giving people lifts from and to home, making and serving tea and biscuits to tables when the people arrived, clearing tables, washing up, filling the goodie bags with confectionery kindly donated by firms. I even ended up being the ears of a hard of hearing person during the bingo, sadly we never won anything, not even a line.

All in all you can see I have had a busy and very enjoyable year volunteering and I hope my health will allow me to continue for many years to come.

If you would like to be involved with the Fund please contact us. We are always grateful for all the help we can get.