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An hour of your day goes a long way!

How to become a volunteer befriender

Please note: due to current advice on Coronavirus, we are currently only providing a Covid-19 Telephone Befriending Service which offers help and support to the most vulnerable members of our communities at this unsettling time, through conversations.

Become a volunteer Community Companion telephone befriender….it’s good to talk!

Has lockdown left you bored and lonely? How about lifting your spirits by volunteering? Befriending by phone helps you and the person you call, as a weekly chat can help you both reconnect with the world!

We are looking for volunteers aged 18 plus, to join our Covid-19 Telephone Befriending Service, which offers help and support to the most vulnerable members of our communities at this unsettling time, through conversations.

By helping to reduce fears for those experiencing anxiety and uncertainty; our telephone project offers a friendly voice at a moment of increased isolation and loneliness.

If you would like to become a telephone befriender we would love to hear from you!

You can download an application form here.

Make a difference to someone’s day …an hour of your day goes a long way!

Join our Community Companions befriending project to help socially isolated people within Bridgend County Borough. Help them to meet new people, improve access to local services and improve their overall health and wellbeing.

We are recruiting and training volunteers aged 16 + to befriend people who may feel isolated and lonely for various reasons.

Imagine going days or weeks without seeing somebody or not being able to get out of  the house? An hour of your time to visit someone or to help them participate in community activities can make a huge difference to their day.

Our volunteers may befriend a person by visiting them in their own home for a couple of hours a week, accompany them to go shopping, support them to go to medical  appointments, visit a community café or various other social activities and clubs.

A simple guide to becoming a befriender:

• You must be aged 16 or over;
• We ask that you can commit to a minimum of an hour a week over a three month period;
• You will be expected to attend our free training with other new volunteers before being placed;
• Travel expenses will be paid if you travel to support a person, although we will try to place
  people in their local area as far as possible to minimise costs;
• Your befriending support for a person is completely confidential;
• You will have to undergo a DBS check at enhanced level which is free of charge;
• You will receive full support from our Project Officer during your time as a befriender.

Further information can be found by downloading our volunteer’s guide to becoming a befriender in Bridgend County Borough

Contact us:

For further details, contact BAVO, T: 01656 810400 or E: bavo@bavo.org.uk