Menu
Why volunteer in a Care Home?
A lot of Registered Care Homes are desperate for volunteers, Care Homes are short staffed, and our wonderful and skilled carers, don’t always have time to sit and chat with the residents, which is what so many of the residents crave. Studies have found that the average amount of social interaction for people in care living with dementia far below the minimum needed to keep a person healthy. Research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) found that ten minutes of social interaction a day helps improve wellbeing for people with dementia in care homes.
A lack of social interaction has many knock-on effects including loneliness, agitation, depression and decline of physical health. Care home staff are already doing an amazing job, but often with the current shortage of carers, they don’t always have the time to spend regular one-to-one time with residents…
That’s where you come in!
Volunteering Opportunities (examples)
Anything from calling bingo numbers, giving interesting talks, reading to residents, accompanying residents with craft activities or on outings etc.
Skilled hairdressers / Nail Technicians are often sought after, having their hair cut or nails painted can make our residents feel good.
Many different games can be played e.g. dominoes, card games; board games; chess, scrabble etc. Understand what they can play, or maybe something you want to learn
Any specialist skills such as musicians, singers, dancers, magicians etc. School groups such as dance or choirs, all can get extra practice performing in front of a group and the residents can receive entertainment. It can even improve your skills for performing in front of an audience.
Helping to maintain their garden in the home’s grounds delights the residents, installing a bird table / feeder, handing baskets etc. what can work in and around the Care Home.
Ferrying and accompanying residents to hospital appointments, collecting prescriptions, shopping or running errands.
Helping the Care Home or Residents with any administrative / correspondence tasks e.g. form filling, answering phones etc.
Any housekeeping chores, such bed making, cleaning, room tidying.
Some residents receive comfort from listening to someone read to them, this could be their favourite book or even the Bible or someone to pray with them. They may not have been able to attend church for a long time, and miss sharing that part of their lives with others.
Training Volunteers
If you join our team we are with you every step of the way.
The training we cover is mapped to the Care Certificate and will very much depend on the individual, the Care Home and the volunteering role.
Our package of training includes the below and is generally completed before volunteers start.
Training sessions are tutor led virtual training groups of 6-8 people, and we will tailor this to the volunteers needs for timings.
Volunteer Benefits
Volunteering in a Care Home can be an incredibly rewarding thing to do, it can change your perceptions of certain things, and can allow you to build long-lasting friendships with residents and staff of the Care Home.
New Career: It could lead to a new career, you never know, you might enjoy working in the care sector so much that you start to wonder whether if it could become a new career path. If you have always loved the idea of working within the care sector, volunteering could be the perfect way to find out if you are suited to these types of roles.
You will stay busy: If you choose to spend your spare time volunteering in a care home, you will keep busy and will be able to make the most of your spare time.
Putting your problems into perspective. Seeing other people’s problems, such as illness like dementia, will help to put your problems into perspective. Those little things you have been worrying yourself silly over will seem far less important when you hear about other people’s problems that are more serious than yours.
Community – Sharing your time and skills for the benefit of others promotes the wellbeing of users of the services, staff, local communities and yourselves. At the same time you are championing our cause within the wider community.
Helping people: What is better than helping others? How many people can say that they use their spare time purely to help other people? By choosing to volunteer at a care home, whether that’s as someone who reads to the residents, helps with meal times, or does some cleaning, you will be making life better for the residents.
Making a difference: Having a fresh face, or someone new to talk to really does make a huge difference to the residents of care homes and puts a smile on their faces.
Making friends: If you chose to volunteer in a care home, you will have the opportunity to build strong relationships, both with the residents and other carers. By taking the time to get to know the residents and the carers, you can begin to build long term friendships with them.
Learn from Others: One of the fantastic things about working with the elderly people is that you can learn a lot from them. Every single day you will hear old stories and learn about new pieces of history – you can learn a lot from older people if you just take the time to listen.