'Micro' Volunteering

Our Move Mates scheme, where people who find it difficult to get out by themselves are paired up with a volunteer walking buddy, is getting more and more requests from all over the city.

Unlike many volunteering opportunities, being a Move Mate is really flexible and can take very little time indeed, in fact it is more like micro-volunteering.

This is not a befriending service, where you need to visit someone at a set time each week for at least an hour. This is a walking buddy scheme where you meet the beneficiary at their house and walk with them, either for exercise and a breath of fresh air, or to a specific place, for example a chemist to pick up a prescription or to an event. 

Pete, one of our Move Mates told us about his experiences with the two people he walks with.

I signed up to volunteer as a walking buddy not quite knowing what I was getting into. I was soon paired up with an older lady local to where I live.

Mrs G is smart, she uses Mensa puzzles on a daily basis to pass the day! But unfortunately, her mobility was not as good. However, with the use of a frame, we are able to get outside the house and walk to the end of the street. Something she would never do on her own.

I am often busy with my full time job so we don’t meet on a regular slot. Instead, I arrange a weekly meeting to suit both of us and usually give her a 30 minute warning when I leave work on my bike.

Since then I am also meeting another lady on a more irregular basis. It is obvious that they both get a huge amount from my visits. More than this, I challenge any volunteer not to get a huge satisfaction from the visits. Even when life is busy I genuinely look forward to my walks.

Move Mates and the buddy scheme is a fantastic idea. As you would expect care is taken to provide DBS checks for volunteers and pair people up depending on their requirements. I would encourage anyone to look more into volunteering.

Being a move mate is a great opportunity to volunteer, get a little exercise and make a huge difference to one of your less able neighbours. It's definitely win:win for everyone.

Want to get involved? Apply to volunteer here.