Bupa Community Connections » Volunteering

Be a cheerleader for the day!

Alzheimer's Society — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:00:08 +0000

Alzheimer’s Society need your help to cheer on runners at our supporter point at the Bupa Great Capital Run on Sunday 13 September in Regents Park.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to wear a tennis skirt and wave pom poms (unless you want to of course) and no previous experience is required! We simply ask that you come along full of enthusiasm to clap, cheer and shout out encouragement to runners as they pass. All volunteers will be kitted out with Alzheimer’s Society t-shirts and hand clackers, and given refreshments.

Please do help out by signing up to volunteer. By helping us to create a loud and vibrant cheering point you will help to raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s Society, as well as spurring on our runners to the finish line. Volunteers are needed from 9.30am – 11.30am in Regents Park. Please email ltoller@alzheimers.org.uk if you are able to help.

P.S. You’re more than welcome to bring pom poms if you like!

A huge thank you

siobhandrane — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:27:23 +0000

Congratulations to the Accounts Payable and Purchasing Support team at Bridge House, Leeds who received this lovely “thank you” letter, following their recent community challenge.

12 July 2009

Dear Jeremy

Thank you to you as team leader and everyone who participated in a very successful community challenge day. We are very grateful for your support.

As I previously mentioned, Viola was overwhelmed by the enormity of the gardening project and was unable to tackle it herself. She now has a fantastic starting point and has already spent time in the garden. From a therapeutic position, the garden you have created can help Viola in her recovery as it will enable her to take responsibility for something she enjoys. She is also budgeting so that next week she can buy a watering can and hose pipe. Most importantly, she has a renewed sense of pride about her home and is speaking positively about the future.

Yours sincerely

Liz Lee

Dual Diagnosis Worker

Mental Health Housing Support

The Prince’s Trust volunteering opportunities

princestrust2009 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:06:13 +0000

The Prince’s Trust relies on volunteers to help 100 young people every day to realise their potential and get their lives on track. By giving up just one day of your time to share your skills you can make a real difference to disadvantaged young people across the UK. Fujitsu volunteer from the West Midlands, June Simpson, recently delivered her first workshop for The Trust:

“I don’t have a lot of experience in this area and was unaware of the difficulties some young people have getting into the job market. It made me appreciate the skills I have and what myself and my colleagues had to offer. I think the participants gained confidence in what they have to offer organisations and learnt to believe in their capabilities. I would certainly volunteer again with The Princes Trust.”

We are looking for volunteers to deliver one day CV & Interview skills workshops on our Team programme in London, the West Midlands and South West. The Prince’s Trust Team programme is a 12-week personal development course aimed at re-engaging 16-25 year-olds who are unemployed, providing them with the skills and confidence they need to move forward in their lives. To read more about the Team programme click here.

What is required of you as a volunteer?

Each workshop will require approximately 2 – 3 hours preparation time.

Each volunteer will be provided with the materials and support needed in order to deliver the workshop. These will be emailed to you. Please ensure you read all material well in advance of the date of your volunteering placement in order to allow time to prepare.

You will be provided with the contact details of the other volunteers in your group. Please arrange a meeting with your group to discuss how you plan to prepare for the workshop.

Who will you be delivering the workshop to?

The Prince’s Trust is committed to reaching the hardest to help. The young people you will be working with may have been in trouble with the law; living in care; long term unemployed; or struggling at school. You may come across some challenging behaviour; there will be a Team Leader present at all times during the workshop.

If you would like to express your interest in delivering one of these sessions please visit www.princes-trust.org.uk/beexceptional and complete our online registration form, this will enable you to receive regular updates on the opportunities available within your region.

Care Services’ Community Challenges

siobhandrane — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:50:12 +0000

Well done to our Accounts Payable and Purchasing Support teams who have successfully completed 2 community challenges.

The first was to makeover a garden for a Leeds based charity called Community Links and the second was to decorate the Airedale Scout Hut.

Congratulations to our IS and Payroll teams who have also completed a decorating challenge at Middleton Park Equestrian Centre for young disabled riders and our Legal team who transformed a garden for a local family whose father is terminally ill.

Group medical’s community connections day June 2009

louisemaclachlan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:54:50 +0000

Here are some photos from our community connections day this year. The team went to a housing estate in Hampstead (apparently they do exist!) and helped in the wildlife conservation area. As the locals asked for the work to be done, they were delighted to see volunteers up there and came down for a chat and to say thanks. One even offered us some gravel, although none of us were sure quite what we’d do with it!

The team, late in the afternoon.

Our community partner Dave had 300 pots for us to plant. Needless to say, the ever enthusiastic team had them in the ground within a few hours and were on to the next challenge.

The team also worked on dead hedging onsite, which involves creating a woven hedge from dead wood and tree cuttings. The hedge discourages cars from parking too far up on the site. I’ll be honest, it’s quite scary watching our team take charge of a load of saws. Some of them even got a little trigger happy and took down a few trees – didn’t you Jonathan?!

Nitin, Becky, Pippa and Polly were also pretty pleased with the step they made.

And at the end of the day, those of us left standing did what we do best – hit the local pub for a well-earned drink and a sit down. Cheers!