Home-Start Cambridgeshire launches campaign to find community volunteers
A local charity that supports families through some of their toughest times has launched a campaign to recruit more volunteers to join their team after seeing a rise in demand over the last six months.
Home-Start Cambridgeshire is looking for people who can spare even just two hours a week to help deliver their services to families in the Fenland area. The support that volunteers give families today, will last a lifetime.
Whether that is being matched to support a local family as a home-visitor, taking on a leadership role as a charity trustee, or perhaps with skills to help with family groups or fundraising.
Marney Connor, scheme manager, of Home-Start Cambridgeshire, said: “Home-Start has seen referrals rise significantly over the last six months, making the charity more important than ever to support parents with many issues including isolation, loneliness, mental health, financial worries, disabilities and bereavement.
“We are looking for people who can pass forward some of their spare time and kindness to make a real difference to another person’s life. If you have the time, we have the role. Be a volunteer for Home-Start and make an impact on a child that will last a lifetime.”
Home-Start Cambridgeshire is among a network of more than 180 Home-Starts across the UK whose staff and trained volunteers offer parents compassionate, non-judgemental support. As part of the Home-Visiting service, volunteers complete an in-depth training programme after which they are matched to a family who they visit once a week.
One mum described it as “life changing” when her volunteer came every week to hold her colicky tearful baby, enabling her to shower in peace then sort out paperwork. A disabled mum was given support to bake with her children in lockdown and a refugee family given the confidence to explore their local area thanks to their volunteer taking them out and about. A mum of a baby with Downs Syndrome born with two holes in her heart requiring surgery, said her volunteer became a lifeline of emotional support that she hadn’t even realised she needed.
Marney said: “Volunteering is a wonderfully rewarding opportunity to give your time knowing it is making a big difference to a family in our community. It is such a simple concept but a really powerful one. All our volunteers have parenting experience and are all ages, with many different backgrounds and experiences.
“Being a parent has never been easy. It can be lonely, frustrating, heart breaking and over-whelming. Life-changing events can happen to anyone. That is why we are here to stand alongside families when they need us most - and we need more amazing volunteers to help us do that.”
If you can spare as little as two hours a week, you could help parents not just survive but thrive. As a Home-Start volunteer, you will be given training and support to be effective and make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work.
Our next Volunteer Preparation Course starts on Tuesday June 14 from 10am to 2pm at The Oasis Centre, Wisbech. For more information please contact us at office@homestartcambridgeshire.co.uk or on 01480 700242.
