Have Some Time to Volunteer?

Published on: 15 Nov, 2024
Updated on: 15 Nov, 2024

A round-up of news and volunteer opportunities listed and promoted by Voluntary Action South West Surrey

Winter Warmer Giveaway

Voluntary Action South West Surrey, the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership and Zero Carbon Guildford are hosting a Winter Warmer Giveaway at a pop-up shop at Guildford railway station in December.

The initiative is that people are welcome to donate unwanted / pre-loved coats, fleeces, hats, gloves, scarves, and so on. All ages and all sizes needed. They will then be free to anyone who would like an item or two, or more!

Items can be dropped off at the station (the former Trend dry cleaners unit) by the taxi rank at the station entrance on Monday, December 2, from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

Items can also be dropped off straightaway at Zero Carbon Guildford’s shop at 168 High Street, Guildford, open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.

Then, on Tuesday, December 3, from 10am to 4pm, the giveaway at the railway station takes place.

On the two days there will be signs showing where the pop-up shop is.

A number of volunteers have also signed up for two-hour shifts at the pop-up shop on both days. There are some shifts still available.

For details phone Voluntary Action’s Alice Sheppard on 07936 364336 or Kate Jones on 07513 825132.

For more details about the pop-up shop and the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership, phone Sara Grisewood on 07375 531987.

A similar Winter Warmers Giveaway took place at Reading railway station last year, and was very successful.

The Southeast Communities Rail Partnership has also helped to set up a support group called the Friends of Guildford Station. Its aims is to promote the station and rail travel in the local area. It now has a Facebook page (set up by Ben Darnton of Ben’s Collectors Records) onto which useful information is being uploaded.

Anyone who would like to join the group or for more information about its aims, can contact David Rose (Voluntary Action, local historian, and so on!) at d.rose@vasws.org.uk, phone 07825 419408.

New volunteer roles at the Sime Gallery

The Sime Gallery, within Worplesdon Memorial Hall, has the following volunteer roles.

Marketing volunteer: to help market the gallery’s events, create posters and flyers for upcoming events, liaise with social media volunteers, promote events to local newspapers, magazines, and on websites, create and send events newsletter and manage an email database.

Community learning volunteers (ideally two to three people): to learn workshops (that have already been created) to provide workshops to community groups (for example) to young people with learning disabilities, with up to six workshops to be delivered per year in term time on Wednesdays or Friday afternoons, manage relationship between outreach groups and the gallery and liaise for booking workshop dates.

School workshop volunteers (ideally two to three people) to give learning workshops to local schools, learn the workshops that have already been created, with up to 10 workshops per year in term time, manage relationship between schools and the gallery and liaise for booking workshop dates.

For more details email Kate Jenner on kate.jenner@surreycc.gov.uk

Kate Jenner is the heritage learning and communities officer for Surrey Heritage (Surrey County Council) and is supporting the gallery through the Surrey Museums Partnership.

The gallery is dedicated to the work of artist Sidney Sime, who in his later life lived at Perry Hill, Worplesdon.

Charity supporting young people with disabilities

F6IT is a charity delivering support, fitness, clubs and leisure activities for children and young people with disabilities and additional needs.

This enables them to participate and enjoy activities alongside their families and friends within their community.

Enthusiastic volunteers are sought to join its small team. These are: a chief operating officer / project manager, a fundraising manager and an administrator.

For details send an email to marylouhoney@icloud.com

F⁶IT is an acronym that represents: F^{6 –}family, friends, fun, fitness, function and future.

Click here for F6IT’s website.

Team of volunteers clean war grave headstones

A group of volunteers spent a morning giving war grave headstones a clean at St Mary’s churchyard, Perry Hill, Worplesdon.

Two volunteers cleaning one of the war grave headstones at St Mary’s churchyard, Worplesdon. Picture by volunteer photographer Patrick Fuller.

Voluntary Action South West Surrey organised this as part of its Volunteer Connections project, that aims to recruit more volunteers in communities across Guildford and Waverley and to help organisations, charities, and so on, who rely on volunteer help and support.

The volunteer work was organised by Voluntary Action’s Kate Jones and David Rose, in conjunction with the ecclesiastical parish of Worplesdon.

There are nine war graves in the churchyard, while a further three men who served are buried within family grave plots. The graves are of men who served in either the First or Second World Wars.

Among the volunteers were three military veterans.

Volunteers who took part in cleaning the headstones of military personnel buried in St Mary’s churchyard, Perry Hill, Worplesdon. Voluntary Action South West Surrey’s David Rose and Kate Jones are third and fourth from left, respectively. Picture by volunteer photographer Patrick Fuller.

The group enjoyed their morning’s work and were pleased to see the headstones looking a lot brighter once the algae and mud splashes had been cleaned off.

The volunteers are keen to carry on this work elsewhere. For more details call Kate Jones on 07513 825132, or send an email to k.jones@vasws.org.uk