Befriender (CSVA)

Do you enjoy the company of older people? Do you have 1-2 hours free a week? Do you want to make a difference to some ones life? If so this could be the ideal opportunity for you.

Age Concern Mole Valley is an independent local charity whose mission is to improve the lives of older people over the age of 55, in the borough of Mole Valley.

We are looking for fun and committed people who would be willing to give up some of their free time to visit an elderly person who is experiencing isolation and loneliness.

The role of a Befriender is to provide a listening ear and a bit of much needed company to someone who may not have many friends or family near by. Your visit could involve just having a chat over a cup of tea, playing games, doing puzzles, or maybe going for a short walk. We currently have clients with personal interests such as sewing, knitting, playing cards, chess, history, travel, art, music gardening, and sport. So would love to hear from people with similar interests.

Many of our volunteers provide regular weekly hour visits. However, the frequency of visits and times you volunteer can be flexible to suit both you and the clients' needs. Our clients live throughout Mole Valley so we currently have vacancies in Ashtead, Bookham, Leatherhead, Brockham, Betchworth, and Dorking.

What skills do I need?

- Awareness of and empathy with the key issues facing older people - To be respectful of the client’s individuality and be accepting, understanding and non judgemental - Good communication, patience, motivation and empathy skills - You may on occasions need to be gentle but firm and be able to set limits - Ability to listen and communicate with client(s) and staff - To aim to be as reliable as possible and keep all commitments or appointments with the client - Ability to volunteer unsupervised, using own initiative if required, yet have an awareness of the limits of ones own knowledge - Ability to maintain client’s confidentiality