Coronavirus Update:
The SVC team are mainly working from home, please email us to organise an appointment to visit the office.
We currently have a number of digital (online) opportunities available, and are cautiously returning to some in-person opportunities.
Please click here for the latest information and news from our team.

Befriending

Who: Anyone aged 18+

Where: Digital

When: Flexible

Contacts: Kumba Sillah (she/her)

Befriending by Skills & Volunteering Cymru

In-person and/or digital opportunities! 

In-person Befriending

About the In-person Befriending project

  • This project is an invaluable opportunity for to befriend an adult with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions in a community setting or at their home.

Role of an In-person Befriending volunteer

  • The role of the volunteer is to befriend a beneficiary by doing a range of weekly activities. 
  • These can include anything from going to the cinema, day trips, arts and crafts, going for a meal, you name it!

Digital Befriending

About the Digital Befriending project

  • This project is an invaluable opportunity for volunteers to befriend an adult with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions in a digital setting; 

Role of Digital Befriending volunteer

  • The role of the volunteer is to befriend and facilitate digital activities for an adult with disabilities and/or mental health conditions; 
  • SVC will pair a volunteer with a beneficiary based on shared interests. Each volunteer will support a beneficiary by getting in contact for a weekly catch up via phone call, video call, letter or a gaming website;
  • We encourage volunteers and beneficiaries to be creative with their digital activities. Our amazing team of volunteers have done a variety of digital activities over video call such as karaoke, charades, bingo, cooking and quizzes;
  • Please note: volunteers are required to have a DBS certificate in order to befriend beneficiaries over video call.

Befriending (additional information)

Aims

  • The aim of this project is to offer social and emotional enrichment to beneficiaries through befriending and facilitating a range of activities;
  • In addition, volunteers will provide compassionate support and amity, and help relieve feelings of boredom, loneliness and isolation;
  • Through engagement, the beneficiaries will develop their social skills, gain confidence and achieve personal goals;
  • This project is invaluable to beneficiaries as befriending improves perceptions of well-being, reduces stress and increases self-esteem and empowerment. Seeing the progress beneficiaries make is always a very rewarding experience for volunteers!

Supported living

  • The individual volunteers will be befriending might be residing in supported living accommodation;
  • Supported living is a concept that was developed to ensure that people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or mental health conditions own or rent their home and have control over the support they get, who they live with and how they live their lives; 

Application process

  1. Complete SVC's volunteer application form;
  2. Complete a short matching form;
  3. DBS check;
  4. Informal interview (short listed applicants).

Partners