Author: Laura

As a befriender volunteer I found it works in two ways. I want to and hope that I am helping people and making a positive difference to service user’s varied lives. Sometimes they may be lonely, bored, or isolated. By being able to listen, offer friendship support, empathy, and a friendly non-judgemental ear I am honoured that they can share their worries or life stories. The calls can also potentially identify if they have any needs or concerns with which they may need help.
My life has been enriched by hearing about their various interests, joyous and, occasionally about their sad times. Speaking with diverse service users is more rewarding and satisfying than I could have expected. I now appreciate my own situation more and hope I am becoming a better and more understanding person.

I’ve been working as a volunteer with the befriending service since May. I originally signed up as a Rotherham Hero to deliver food and essentials to residents who were shielding and through this was contacted by RotherFed who asked if I would like to do this instead. I’ve always been a people person, so it seemed like a perfect fit.’
‘I’m now retired but I have spent all of my working life in customer facing roles, so I’m used to talking to different types of people and enjoy getting to know people from all backgrounds. I currently make three calls a week to residents who either want a chat, or just have someone to listen to them. Lots of residents who are shielding are lonely or bored and simply want some company. Just a small amount of time out of my day can make a real difference to somebody’s week which is really rewarding.

I saw the Rotherham Hero’s programme adver-tised in the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic and instantly felt that sense of inclusivity and ca-maraderie that I believe ultimately underpins our community; I applied to join as a volunteer tele-phone befriender immediately and loved every minute of it. The application process was simple and well executed, and I was pleased to receive a telephone induction and useful reference docu-ments that helped me fulfil my duties. As well as this though, the continual online and telephone support from the RotherFed team really helped me to feel like a part of something bigger, like a valued part of that community. As for the be-friending role itself, it has been a privilege to take part in the scheme, and to chat each week with people who I knew would benefit in some small way from hearing a friendly voice at the end of the telephone, as I in turn benefitted from hearing theirs’. Thanks again for the opportunity to volun-teer with the befriending team, I feel very fortu-nate to have taken part in the scheme.

Best wishes, Sarah