I’m Mark and I volunteer at Newydd Care Home. This is a care home where elderly people live who need to be cared for. I volunteer here two days a week from 9am to 4pm. I’ve been doing this for two years now.
My Care Manager supported me to find this volunteering opportunity. I asked them to help me to find some volunteering and they did. I had an interview with the Council’s Volunteer Officer so she could get to know me and help me decide on which volunteering role would be right for me.
Then I started volunteering at the care home. They give me different tasks to do. I sort out laundry for some of the residents. Laundry baskets are labelled so nothing gets lost. I make sure the laundry stays with the right owners. I fold the laundry too.
I also help with the tea and cakes. In the afternoon, I push around the tea trolley and help hand out the teas and cakes to the residents. To do this, I need to be careful with the trolley and the hot drinks.
My volunteering at the care home is very important. I know I am helping to make the care home worker’s jobs a little easier. We all support each other.
Sometimes one of the residents passes away. This can be hard but we all look after each other and talk about things together. I like volunteering at the care home and making a difference.
The care home manager and team leader support me when I’m there. I don’t have a support worker with me, they just drop me off. This is how I like it and I think it works well for me.
I know I can go to the care home staff if there are any problems. Luckily, there haven’t been any problems at the care home but it’s good to know what to do.
I want to get a paid job in the future and I know that volunteering helps me to do this. I am more confident now and I have learnt a lot. It’s important to volunteer so you can meet new people and learn new things.
