We’re encouraging members of our local communities to join us and volunteer their time to ‘Do Good. Feel Good’. Some of our current volunteers are sharing their volunteering experiences and telling us what it means to them, their favourite memories and why they’d recommend volunteering to others.

In the second in our series of blogs we meet Chris who volunteers at Meadowcroft, Thame, where he’s been a vital part of the team for nearly three years. 

Chris received the OSJCT Volunteer of the Year 2021 award in recognition of everything he has done to support residents and team members since the start the pandemic, as well as for “generally being a joy to be around for everyone in the home,” as one team member put it. Volunteer of the Year is an important award because it’s voted for by employees, residents and family members so it says a lot about the impact the person has through their volunteering. Whilst Chris describes it as one of his proudest moment of his volunteering, it isn’t the first time he’s been recognised for his incredible achievements having also received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services to Gender Equality in the Civil Service.

Chris said: “I decided to volunteer as my partner’s father was a resident at the home and I wanted to give something back to say ‘thank you’ for the care he had received. Also, I really enjoy the company of older people so I thought volunteering would suit me well.

“My first impressions of OSJCT were that it was a caring organisation with staff who are dedicated to caring for residents. With many demands on their time, I see my role as helping to take pressure off by undertaking some of the one-to-one interaction with residents. This takes many forms, sometimes as a befriender, listening to the resident’s life stories or discussing current affairs.

“By talking to residents, I have been able to understand their life experiences, often from a time before I was born. In my spare time I enjoy reading, gardening, listening to music and playing the piano, so sometimes my visits are just about enjoying these with residents who share the same interests.

“Since joining, I have learnt much about interacting with those living with dementia. I have always had good listening skills, but they are now more finely tuned. When spending time with a mix of residents, I have learnt to pick up the things people may be trying to say but are not able to find the right words. This has been particularly important to me as my own mother was diagnosed with a form of dementia in 2017.

“My favourite memory from my volunteering was taking a resident to look at plants at a garden centre as part of an organised trip. It was just the two of us in this part of the centre and the resident was thrilled that I had taken the time to take her around. She enjoyed the experience so much she that she often reminisced about it.

”I continue to volunteer at OSJCT because I enjoy the time I am able to give, building good relationships with residents and staff. I can also see how my time benefits the staff, many of whom I now class as friends.

“If anyone reading this is thinking of volunteering with OSJCT, I would say go for it.  If you have patience, the ability to empathise, enjoy being with older people and generally like having fun, then volunteering at OSJCT is for you!”

Find out more about volunteering at OSJCT and how you can apply online at Volunteer with us | OSJCT   You could be our next volunteer!