Volunteer Driver and Walking Chaperone - Birmingham, United Kingdom - Sense

Sense

Verified Company

Birmingham, United Kingdom

1 week ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

How you can make a difference
Walking is a popular activity that you can do alone or in a group. It enables people to get outside, be active and connect with nature.

You'll be able to provide our service user, an elderly man with a visual impairment, with some company, and improved social connections, reduced anxiety and stress, improved self-esteem, mood and sleep quality - all proven benefits of walking.

By driving him to and from your walks, which are planned for you through our sensory walks programme, you're granting him access to services he otherwise struggles to get to and providing him with a friend along the way.

Sensory walks help individuals to engage with nature, so that they can use their senses to connect with their surroundings, have meaningful experiences and be active.

Our walks are designed for people with complex disabilities but can be enjoyed by anyone. You don't need to take much, or any, equipment.

But a sensory walk doesn't have to be long or to a specific destination - it could just be walking to the shops or around your local park.

What your role will involve

You will collect the participant from their home address in Stourbridge at approximately 10am every Tuesday (as and when available) and accompany him to and on a slow-paced walk around various outdoor venues around Birmingham, including a stop-off for tea and coffee.

Sense has a schedule for different sensory walks that happen weekly so little planning is required on your end, you will just need to maintain a positive, supportive and friendly relationship with the participant and encourage him to socialise with other attendees on the walk.

He is an older gentleman in his 70s, with partial sight loss and reduced mobility but he is otherwise independent.

The support you provide is convening with him, driving and accompanying him on the walk, with possible gentle guiding as requested.

A standard / enhanced Disclosure & Barring check will be required for this volunteer role.

Will the role suit me? Yes, if you are:

A confident driver with a full, clean driver's license
Reliable and punctual, with good communication skills
A sense of fun and adventure
Respectful of others and their diversity
Interested in supporting the work of Sense and want to make a difference to people who have complex disabilities and are deafblind.

What can Sense offer me as a volunteer?