Voluntary Action South West Surrey

The Artventure Trust enables people with learning difficulties,physical & mental disabilities to explore the visual arts.  We aim to help vunerable people integrate into the community.  Working alongside practising artists & others with a variety of skills & experience, we combine to give a flexible & fun approach to the creative process.

Community Angels are trained befrienders who offer six months of weekly face-to-face support to adults of all ages in Guildford borough struggling with loneliness and/or social isolation. 

If you have a couple of free hours a week and enjoy listening and getting to know people, we'd love to hear from you. We provide training to get started (2 x 3 hours sessions), match you carefully with someone to befriend and provide ongoing support while you are volunteering with us.

Hear what our volunteers say on https://youtu.be/5MAb_UVTcc0

Community Angels is one of three projects run by Guildford Town Centre Chaplaincy.

To make a difference

About us

The halow project is a growing community-based charity, situated in Guildford, Surrey. We support young people, aged 16+, with a learning disability on their journey into adult life.

The young people we work with want the opportunity to:

• Build relationships
• Become part of the community
• Find meaningful employment
• Have a home of their own

We believe that the young people we support have the right to be part of and respected in their communities and are entitled to a life they choose in ways which best suit them. halow is committed to developing creative opportunities and removing social barriers.

Headway Surrey supports people with acquired brain injuries and their families and promotes understanding of the implications of acquired brain injury throughout Surrey.

Horsley, Bookham & Leatherhead Riding for the Disabled Association is a registered charity which provides facilities to benefit disabled children and young adults by having regular contact with horses.

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We have been operating for over 30 years giving rides to children and young adults with physical and learning disabilities in Surrey. Our riders include those with autism, Down's Syndrome, spina bifida and dyspraxia.

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Each week, with the assistance of our coaches and volunteers, our riders can enjoy the horse riding experience. This provides them with the chance to be independent, to feel a sense of achievement and it puts smiles on their faces!  If proof is needed of the therapeutic effect of riding, we had one little boy who had never spoken before and whose first word was the name of his pony.

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Our dedicated team of volunteer coaches, group leaders and helpers is paramount to our continued success, without whom we could not operate. 

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We are always looking for volunteers and sponsors, and welcome any contribution which will help keep this wonderful community effort going.

The Macular Society is the national charity for anyone affected by central vision loss. We have more than 21,000 members and, as the biggest membership group in the sight loss sector, we are the voice of people with macular conditions. We provide information and support to improve the lives of people with macular disease and to ensure no one has to face it alone. We have around 400 Macular Society support groups around the UK and beyond, run by volunteers. We have a helpline as well as befriending and counselling services and we offer one-to-one training in skills to make the best use of remaining vision. We campaign for better care and we fund research so that one day we can overcome macular disease.

Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People (QEF) is a disability charity based in Surrey, with national reach. With more than 85 years’ experience of developing innovative services which support almost 10,000 disabled people a year to achieve their potential and increase their independence.

QEF works with children and adults with physical and learning disabilities or acquired brain injuries. They offer a wide range of expert services, whether it’s providing expert neuro rehabilitation to rebuild a life affected by brain injury, providing assistive equipment and specialist advice to increase independent mobility, or acquiring the skills to drive a specially adapted car.

About Denecroft

Denecroft is a small residential home for up to 6 adults with learning disabilities, autism and vision impairment. It is situated near to London Road, Guildford close to GLive.

Volunteers help the people who live there to do the things they love and be active in the community.

About SeeAbility

We provide specialist support, accommodation and eye care help for people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss.

We don't underestimate people.

We encourage people with disabilities to challenge what they expect from life, from themselves and from wider society.

The people we support overcome huge barriers to achieve exciting new things every day - they challenge us all to think about what’s possible and to rethink disability.

Our aim is that people we support are able to live ambitious lives and achieve things they never thought possible; whether that is forming more friendships and relationships, enjoying new experiences and activities or finding employment.

Our self-advocacy, influencing, supported employment and research programmes mean more people with disabilities are able to change attitudes, influence service provision and change policies towards people with disabilities.

Shooting Star Children's Hospices is a leading children’s hospice charity caring for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families.

Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, we are here to make every moment count. We support families from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.

Our bespoke support is free of charge to families and available 365 days a year. Our care service includes emergency respite care, symptom management and end-of-life care at Christopher's hospice in Guildford and a comprehensive range of therapies and support groups for the whole family at Shooting Star House in Hampton,

It costs £10 million a year just to maintain our current level of care and, with around 30% of our income coming from government funding, we rely on our supporters’ generosity to keep the service running. What’s more, we know there are many more families desperate for our vital support, so it’s crucial we raise more funds to provide more care.

We have volunteer opportunities at our hospices and at our shops.   Volunteers roles are very varied and include helping on reception, in the kitchen, housekeeping, gardening, pool watching, admin, fundraising, shops and at our events.

The aim of the Surrey Coalition is to campaign and promote the rights of disabled people to have equality of opportunity and to live independently.

At TALK, we support people with aphasia by:

• Enabling you to practise all aspects of communication

• Familiarising you with strategies to aid conversation

• Helping you to rebuild confidence and self esteem

• Encouraging you to become socially independent

• Providing you with information, advice and ongoing support

• Helping you to live positively with aphasia following stroke

• Working closely with local speech therapists, the Stroke Association and other organisations supporting people with aphasia after stroke

CKT believes no young person should be precluded from taking music lessons because either their parents cannot afford them or they are not inspired to take up lessons.  

We help fund music lessons for financially disadvantaged children and young people in Surrey whatever their level of musical development and tries to level the music playing field by funding inspirational performances to encourage children to take up instruments in schools where historically take up has been low.   

The Treloar Trust provides education, care, therapy, medical support and independence training to young people with physical disabilities from all over the UK and overseas. Our aim is to prepare these young people for adult life, giving them the confidence and skills to achieve their full potential.

Our Vision

A world where physically disabled young people take control of their lives and achieve their aspirations

Our Mission

To enable physically disabled young people to achieve their aspirations by:

• Providing personalised learning, therapy and care
• Supporting transition into adulthood
• Promoting independence and inclusion

Our Values

We are Inclusive

Everyone – regardless of physical ability, where they live or socioeconomic background – should have the opportunity to take part in life. We treat our Beneficiaries with the same dignity as their non-disabled peers and work to remove barriers in their way.

Our students and Beneficiaries are always at the centre of everything we do. Before we make decisions, we ask, “How will our students and Beneficiaries benefit from this?”

We act with Integrity and Respect

Physically disabled young people should be free to direct their own lives. We listen to young people’s views and support them to make age-appropriate choices about their daily life and informed choices about their future.

We celebrate and promote diversity, value and support each other, and treat everyone with mutual respect. We support a culture of openness, honesty and transparency, where the safeguarding of our students and wellbeing of our staff is paramount.

We strive for Excellence

Physically disabled young people and their families deserve outstanding care and support. We work to make sure all our services are excellent and actively challenge each other to ensure continuous quality improvement.

We continually innovate to ensure that our Beneficiaries receive the cutting-edge, excellent support they deserve.