Volunteer Lesley says thank you to the NHS
It’s Volunteers’ Week and Agewell is proud to be joining the national campaign to recognise the important contribution which volunteers make UK-wide.
“Without our team of volunteers, Agewell simply wouldn’t be able to provide the range of support which local older people desperately need,” says Agewell CEO, Deb Harrold.
This team includes 51-year-old Lesley, who sees volunteering as a great way to put something back into the NHS.
Lesley has been helping out on a Wednesday afternoon at the new Agewell shop in the Outpatients Department at Sandwell Hospital, since it opened in April.
She says: “I go to hospital appointments a lot both for myself and with my mum, who’ll be 80 this year, and it’s really nice to be able to say thank you and make a contribution in this way.”
Lesley used to work in the shop when it was run by the Royal Voluntary Service. After it closed, she found herself taking on additional caring responsibilities for her mother which took up a lot of her time, but she didn’t want to lose contact with the hospital altogether.
She says: “When the new Agewell shop opened, volunteering was an ideal way for me to carry on caring for my mum but also to have a break and do something positive with my spare time as well. I enjoy helping people and I also enjoy the social side of volunteering. Everyone I’ve met through volunteering has been very friendly.
“The patients and relatives are so grateful to us and we often end up helping them find their way around the hospital to get to their appointments on time. My three hours in the shop go really quickly and I thoroughly enjoy what I do.”
Lesley says she hopes to increase her work as a volunteer with Agewell when she has more spare time.She explains: “The great thing about volunteering is that you can give as much or as little time as you have and always know that your efforts are very much appreciated.”
If you’d like to find out more, click here to view our volunteers page.