"I find that being there at callers worst time is very rewarding and I have learned so much"

Leecliffe Big Local is a resident led charity funded by the National Lottery and Local Trust, and has been making Borehamwood a better place to live since 2010. They have many projects mainly working in partnerships with other organisations, churches, schools, youth clubs etc. One of their projects is Chatter Tables. It is a safe place for local residents to meet, have a cuppa and a chat. Many residents may feel lonely and isolated especially since Covid and Chatter Tables has been established to tackle exactly that! Chatter Tables is located at St Michael and All Saints Church in Brook Road, every Monday between 12pm and 3pm. Two wonderful volunteers ensure that the place is set up on time to welcome the attendees and making them welcome! One of our volunteers is Francis. Francis also known as Frank or “the man with the bright flowery shirts” has been volunteering since December 2022, after retiring from his heating engineering job in June that year. After sorting things at home he started to get bored as he likes to keep himself busy. He likes things to be organised and tidy. Francis loves talking to people and considers himself as a “people’s person” so no wonder why Chatter Tables appealed to him! He says: “I want to help the local community”. Francis comes every Monday to set up, makes cups of hot drinks, putting biscuits out and chatting to people. He works very well with the other volunteer Sandra and together they make the best team ever. If anyone would like to volunteer for Chatter Tables or other projects such as gardening in schools or working with young people, please contact [email protected] or 07525236408 or checkout the live volunteering opportunities here https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/Leecliffe-Big-Local/opportunities

Meet Helen, Volunteer Trustee and Secretary at Young Careers Crew. Young Carers Crew (YCC) is an independent charity based in Stevenage that provides respite and support to young carers living in Stevenage and North Hertfordshire. The young carers are young people aged 8-18 that are primary or secondary carers for a member of their family. They run fortnightly sessions and occasional outings where careers can ‘just be themselves’ and enjoy their time at the group.YCC also aims to serve as a place for the young carers to get any support they may need from other young carers, or the volunteers at the group. Please tell us a little more about yourself and your volunteering work? I joined Young Carers Crew in 2012. Having started as a Group Volunteer (when I particularly enjoyed helping the young carers develop their cooking skills), I went on to become the Secretary and then one of the Trustees. I'm proud to be part of this fantastic team, who all work together to support our young carers. What made you decide to start volunteering? A desire to make a positive contribution to my local community. Why would you recommend volunteering to others? When you see the hugely beneficial effect on these young people - increased confidence, well-being and happiness - it gives such a wonderful sense of satisfaction, and you really do feel you've made a difference to their lives. Find out how you can help and get involved here https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/Young-Carers-Crew/opportunities

We caught up with Ray, founder at Green Care at Norton - a wonderful social and therapeutic gardening project located across a number of growing sites in Letchworth. They work with vulnerable and lonely adults who maybe long term unemployed or have special needs. Ray offers volunteers an opportunity to develop their flower farm project which involves growing and preparing cut flowers for sale. Ray recently joined GoVolHerts platform to promote his volunteering opportunities to support the expansion of their project and has already experienced a very promising start. They have recruited 4 new volunteers and received 8 applications since the start of July. "We've had quite a lot of interest...we recruited a really good floristry volunteer who is now a regular and an admin volunteer who I work remotely with. We also have a really lovely guy who's interested in general horticulture and another lady who has just started coming last week. We've also had lots of people email. It's been really great and thank you so much for all you help". Find out how you can help Volunteer with Green Care at Norton https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/Green-Care-at-Norton-CIC/opportunities