Call Companion

  • VO97601
  • Home-based volunteering


Description

Call companions are volunteers, over the age of 18, who make regular telephone calls to older people. These calls provide friendship, joy and conversation.
As a call companion, you will make regular telephone calls to an older person experiencing loneliness and isolation. These calls provide a lifeline of friendship for our older people, and the regular, warm, friendly chats and companionship provide a vital link with the outside world from which they have become isolated.
Over time, you and the older person you have been matched with will get to know each other well and together you will spend many hours full of fun, laughter and stories.
Call companions call the older person they are matched with between two and four times per month, and each call lasts around 30 minutes. During your first call with the older person, you will decide together how often the calls will take place and at what time.
This is a long-term voluntary role, so we are ideally looking for individuals who are able to commit to volunteering with us for at least 12 months.

Organisation aims and objectives

Re-engage is a charity that is positive about older age and committed to fighting loneliness so that people can have social lives and friendship groups however old they are. We inspire and enable meaningful connections and shared experiences within communities across the UK for people over 75 facing loneliness and social isolation.

Availability

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

Morning
Afternoon
Evening

30 minutes per week

Restrictions

Must be over 18
Experience required: No experience necessary however we are looking for call companions with the following skills and attributes: •Good conversation skills •An enthusiasm for speaking on the phone and making connections remotely •A friendly, empathetic approach •The ability to really listen to people •Patience •A passion for improving the lives of lonely and isolated older people •The ability to volunteer as part of a mutually supportive team of call companions •Basic computer literacy
Travel details: Home based
Minimum age: 18

Support

Training details: Core and role specific training is self-directed online.
Support: Named Contact For Volunteer