Volunteers needed urgently in Ludlow to help older people

News from our partners Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin 

Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin (Age UK STW) is looking for volunteers to support older people in Ludlow. 

The local charity needs volunteers for its befriending and home from hospital service. 

Volunteer befrienders visit older people in their homes for a couple of hours a week to provide companionship, but can also take them out to a coffee shop, or to one of the charity’s lunch clubs. 

Home from hospital volunteers support older people who have recently been discharged from hospital. They ease the transition from hospital to home by providing non-medical support for up to six weeks. In addition to companionship, they typically help older people with the shopping, collecting prescriptions, accompanying them to appointments, and even making a cup of tea. 

Heather Osborne, Chief Executive Officer at Age UK STW, said:

“Our services could not run without our dedicated team of around 800 volunteers who are the life blood of our charity. Giving up an hour or two of their spare time will make all the difference to the life of an older person who may be suffering from loneliness, a lack of mobility, or both. Our volunteers get a huge amount of satisfaction helping older people, and our services are in great demand, particularly in Ludlow.”  

If you would like to donate some of your time to help an older person in the Ludlow area please contact Janice or Claire in volunteer recruitment on 01743 588570. Full training is given and expenses reimbursed, it is not a requirement to hold a driving licence. 

For more information about Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin go to www.ageuk.org.uk/shropshireandtelford

Further information

Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin is a local charity which has been working tirelessly for over 66 years to make life better for older people across the whole of Shropshire. 

Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin offers a range of services for older people in the county. These include: Information and Advice, Day Centres, dementia support, the Help at Home Service, volunteer befriending visitors, Home from Hospital services, Pub Clubs, Living Well activities, Benefits Advice, and Advocacy on behalf of older people. 

Last year over 100,000 volunteer hours were given to support older people, ranging from helping people to fill in benefits forms, supporting people in our 40 Day Centres, visiting isolated older people at home, to acting as receptionists in our Shrewsbury office.

As part of our ‘No one should have No one’ campaign, we are raising money and recruiting volunteers to increase services such as befriending and social activities that reduce isolation and loneliness among  older people in Shropshire.

Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin is based in Shrewsbury and in Telford.  The Shrewsbury office is open from 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday, 01743 233123.  Our office at Meeting Point House in Telford is open every morning, 01952 216018.  Further information about our local services is available on our website www.ageukshropshireandtelford.org.uk