Voluntary Action South West Surrey

Age UK Surrey aims to:

• promote the wellbeing of older people in Surrey
• improve public awareness of issues concerning ageing
• influence public policy to meet the needs of older people
• work with other agencies in the provision of relevant services for older people

If you have the time - however little - there are so many ways in which you can help.

The rewards are great.  You will use your skills, meet new people, have fun and find it very, very rewarding.  You can be sure that the time you give is making a positive difference to older people in the community.

Your help through the toughest times

Breast Cancer Haven is the charity that supports women through their breast cancer treatment. When breast cancer tries to rob a woman of her individuality, her confidence or her strength, we provide the tailored package of emotional, physical and practical support that helps her hold on to them. 

We support women and their families via a network of six welcoming centres around the UK and through an expanding network of other services.

We're there to provide women with breast cancer the support that treatment alone can't.

How we do it

We offer advice on practical things like money and work, help combatting stress, exhaustion and nausea, advice on healthy eating and exercise. And above all, there will always be someone to talk to about your deepest fears.

Our trained professional nurses, therapists, counsellors and advisers listen to your individual concerns and give you all the practical, emotional and physical support you need in a tailor-made package.

Our support is free of charge and available in our beautiful Breast Cancer Haven centres – which are as far away from a hospital environment as you can imagine.

Each visitor to Breast Cancer Haven can expect to receive up to ten free hours' of supportive therapy time. In addition, you will also receive two hours' of nurse specialist time at the beginning and end of your tailored programme.

Our free support is also available to men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Family members

Family members and close friends of people that have been diagnosed with breast cancer can access up to four hours' of free counselling.

Anyone can come – whether you’ve just been diagnosed, having treatment or in recovery. There is no need for a doctor’s referral. So just contact us, make an appointment and we will take it from there.

If you can't get to one of our Breast Cancer Haven centres help is also available over the telephone, through our self-help films on this website or via our Haven at Home DVD which you can order free of charge from our shop.

Brightwells Gostrey has been in the heart of the community for older people for over 30 years.  We provide a warm and friendly environment for senior citizens to meet. Offering a variety of vital activities and services including freshly cooked meals, daily activities, craft workshops, grandparent and toddler groups, outings and much more. We are proud to bring a sense of belonging, companionship, fun and enjoyment to those in their golden years.

We also provide a Community Meal Service, ensuring those who need it, regularly receive a nutritious freshly cooked meal and pudding. All dishes are prepared from scratch in our kitchen. However, it is far more than just a meal we are delivering.  Our team of volunteers are a friendly face to many, helping to reduce social isolation, something which has become so much more important in the recent months.

The Brigitte Trust is a registered charity offering a free service of emotional support and practical help to people and their families at home when a life-threatening illness such as cancer or Motor Neurone Disease has been diagnosed.  The service is provided by trained volunteers enabling carers to be supported and for a family member to remain at home for as long as possible. In partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support we are growing our service across Surrey and need volunteers from all areas

Here at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) we want to beat heartbreak forever from the world’s biggest killers. Heart and circulatory diseases kill 1 in 4 in the UK and 7 million people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK.

About the British Red Cross

The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies.

We enable vulnerable people in theUKand abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them to recover and move on with their lives.

We are a good neighbour scheme, a network of volunteers providing practical help to improve the quality of life for elderly, vulnerable or infirm residents of Guildford.

The type and demand for services has changed over the years and today we maintain some 150 volunteers helping Guildford residents in need. 

These days, transport to GP surgeries, clinics, dentists and hospitals are the main tasks we undertake. But we also do shopping on behalf of a client or doing small one off jobs in the home like putting up shelves or changing light bulbs.

We provide a number of services that include:

Transport

Lifts to Doctors Surgeries, Dentists, Clinics, Clubs and Day Centres. We can also take you to Hospitals and to visit relatives in nursing homes. We do not go to hairdressers

Shopping

We shop on a weekly or fortnightly basis for anyone who is housebound. We can also shop on a temporary basis, for example when someone first comes out of hospital.

Odd Jobs

We help with small one off jobs around the home such as putting up simple shelves or curtain rails, moving heavy furniture or changing a light bulb for those with limited mobility. We do not undertake housework, plumbing, gardening or electrical repairs.

Our Vision

Cherry Trees aims to be a model of excellence in respite care for children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities.

Cherry Trees aims to provide a high quality service of respite care to children in a relaxed and caring setting.

 We believe that every child is an individual with the right to enjoy a normal pattern of life within the community, appropriate to his/her age.

 Although we support individual learning programmes for each child and follow through with all programmes that are being implemented at home or school, we do not provide a structured educational system as we believe we are a “home from home” where children can relax and play.

 We advocate respect, dignity, freedom of choice and privacy for each child.  We believe in the principle of  Child First, Disability Second.

 We respect and acknowledge the role of parents/carers and the challenges they face in nurturing the potential in the child or young adult in their care.

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

GTCC exists to:

Show Compassion, Offer Care and Support Community:

Each of our projects begins with showing compassion to others at their point of need and seeking to understand their situation without judging. We respond by offering care which may include emotional or practical support as appropriate. We work collaboratively with others to support community in Guildford by connecting with those facing isolation, welcoming those who feel rejected and embracing difference and diversity.

“Fostering cross-cultural understanding and friendship by providing young people with quality opportunities for international volunteering, work experience, education and training”

Crossroads Care is Surrey's leading charity providing respite care support to Carers. We've been working across Surrey for over 30 years, with our core purpose being to improve the quality of life of unpaid carers and those they are caring for. 

COVID-19 Emergency Response

As a result of Coronavirus, Crossroads swiftly implemented a response by providing essential shopping and prescription collection services to carers and to other vulnerable people that were isolated at home. We provided regular wellbeing calls to check in on people to see how they were coping and to offer support with shopping. We're now developing a volunteer based Outreach Support and Telephone Befriending with Digital Tech project largely in response to Covid, but which enable us to continue to support people who need it with shopping and prescription collections, and also with support in learning and using digital technology.  We are seeking new volunteers who are interested in providing Outreach Support and / or Telephone or Digital Befriending.

As an Outreach Support Volunteer you would support people living in the same borough as yourself with shopping and prescription collections. We would provide you with appropriate PPE and pay any related fuel costs.  

As a Befriender you would support carers and other older people, or those being cared for, who are feeling isolated and alone and who would benefit from having someone to speak to simply to chat about life, the weather, local services and events etc. We're interested in hearing from volunteers who are relatively IT savvy and would be able to connect to our Cloud based phone system to make telephone or virtual calls to clients. We'd also like volunteers to get involved with an exciting new Befriending with digital tech project, through which you would be able to support people in learning to use, or building confidence in using laptops, smart phones and tablets. Even if you're not computer savvy, but would benefit from being a befriender yourself, please get in touch.

We're also looking for new Trustee's to join us now, so if you're interested in supporting us in leading the development of respite services for carers in Surrey, please enquire through our website www.crossroadscaresurrey.org.uk

We are also always looking for people that are interested in other volunteering roles, including by offering support in care or club settings, in the community or in the head office.

If you are interested in becoming part of our Surrey wide team and being involved in providing support to your community, please email us at enquiries@crossroadscaresurrey.org.uk to request a volunteer pack.

We'd love to hear from you... if you have a good understanding of what it's like to be a carer and are looking to give something back through volunteering.

Established in 1995, Dance Woking is an innovative dance organisation which provides high quality opportunities to watch perform and take part in dance, providing new experiences that inspire artists, audiences, participants and communities. Dance Woking champions and celebrates dance as a socially and culturally relevant force through an annual programme of events that resonate with our audiences. Dance Woking is an outstanding contributor to the arts, culture and sport in Woking and the SE of England, with a regional and national reputation in its support and development of dance.

Dance Woking presents three seasons of dance every year featuring national, regional and local artists, bespoke commissions and premieres of new dance in Spring, Summer and Winter.  Dance Woking provides local people with opportunities to engage in creative learning and participation projects. 

To provide grants to Guildford based charities to further the training and development of disadvantaged young people and adults with special needs.

The English Regional Transport Association(ERTA)is a voluntary membership-based, pro-public transport improvement association with several of its projects having a nation-wide positive benefit and impact. Membership is open to all.

The overarching aims of Family Action's Social Prescribing service in North East Hampshire and Farnham are to:

• Improve health and wellbeing outcomes for residents in the area
• Reduce inappropriate demand for health and social services
• Enable residents to be proactive in managing their own health and wellbeing
• Help people to access the right support
• Be accessible to as many people as possible within the community

To encourage social inclusion by providing a welcoming and stimulating environment in which to meet. To facilitate and promote better health among older people. To enable the elderly to be independent and allow them to enjoy life in their own homes for as long as possible.

The Day Centre provides a range of services which are accessible, affordable and attractive for the elderly of Farncombe and Godalming, including:

Balanced and economical lunches and snacks
Bathing service
Hairdressing
Chiropody
Transport
Recreational activities
Outings and holidays

Girlguiding is the largest organisation for girls and young women in the UK.  The aim is to sustain and promote a stimulating and enjoyable programme of activities.  These will help girls and young women develop their potential and enable them to play an active role in their community.

Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership is a local charity based in Knaphill. We provide support to people of all ages who are seeking meaningful employment but haven't been able to find it for various reasons. It could be illness or disability, redundancy or simply a lack of confidence in general. Whatever the reason, we will work with the individual to rebuild their confidence and give them the skills they need to get back into the workplace.

Global Sight Solutions is a registered charity, based in Guildford, which provides free eye care to the world’s poorest by establishing eye hospitals in India, Africa and elsewhere. It is estimated that worldwide there are some 50 million poor people in need of this service. Global Sight Solution’s business plan ensures that each facility becomes financially self-sufficient, thereby ensuring that cataract operations, and the like, can be provided on an ongoing basis. Each hospital is administered by members of Rotary International which ensures transparency and accountability of every transaction. Rotary International provides grants for such humanitarian work and thus enables a cataract operation to be carried out for a donation of just £5 here in the UK!

Global Sight Solutions is the trademarked name of The Guildford Rotary Eye Project

Info: wwwglobalsightsolutions.org

Guildford Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Guildford, covering 500 square miles of Surrey, North east Hampshire, the London Borough of Kingston and a part of West Sussex. With a seating capacity of 1000, the Cathedral provides both focus and resource for the whole community, a venue for concerts, art and education, a place of pilgrimage, as well as stillness, prayer and daily choral worship.

Volunteers support the work and mission of the cathedral in friendly and convivial surroundings with interesting and like minded colleagues. 

The Guildford Lions Club was formed in 1967 and has a focus on making a difference to peoples' lives in Guildford. We are all volunteers, both males and female, with a passion for helping others whilst having some fun along the way.  We support our local community but as part of Lions International we also respond to global crises when appropriate.

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

Marie Curie Nurses are available in every village, town and city throughout the UK, caring for terminally ill patients who wish to die in comfortable and familiar surroundings at home with their families. Last year in Surrey, our nurses worked over 10,000 hours, through the night and day, caring for many local people. This comes at a cost to the charity of £20 for each hour a Marie Curie Nurse is in the home. This is why collections are so important to us.

The Medical Cadet Training Corps provides an environment where young people can learn, practice, focus, enjoy, feel safe and develop leadership skills in the following subjects, Military knowledge of the field gun, Physical fitness, social skills and extensive first aid training, we are also keen on teaching cadets ethical decision making and providing help to the community. The MCTC is able to reach at-risk young people and offer much needed care and support. For these aspirations to become reality however, it is essential that the MCTC is seen to be firmly rooted within the life of the wider community, and supported by all organisations, businesses, charities, schools, the local authority and anyone that is there to support children in our community, and that wherever possible, young people are provided with the opportunity to participate in the life of that community. Through the programmes, activities and ethos of the MCTC, the officers and instructors guide and support young people and act as mentors and role models in their personal, social and physical development. The programmes that the MCTC provides will create opportunity for the young people to develop into mature and responsible adults who will play an important role within their communities and wider society.

regards

I Clarke (MCTC CEO and Commandant)

To work with partners to ensure that those, in Surrey and beyond, who have missed out on learning in the past, have opportunities to learn and to reach their full potential.

Haslemere-based Pathways Community Support project exists to coordinate and host services to assist those hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis to get back on their feet. To that end we aim to offer a broad range of support including pathways back into work or training, benefits advice, mental health and well-being opportunities, for all ages.  This means that people in the local area can have the opportunity to be seen in their home town, reducing the need to travel to Guildford Job Centre etc, the costs, potential added health risk, and the carbon footprint that involves. The Job Centre also offers job and training schemes to suit all stages of life and career, including young people, and can also signpost to domestic abuse and mental health services. For more information email claire.matthes@haslemeretc.org

Send Family Link exists to meet the needs of adults and children visiting relatives or friends in HMP Send. We aim to offer a safe, pleasant environment where all visitors are met with dignity and respect,provided with the facilities they need and offered information, support and the opportunity to discuss any difficulties they have in confidence.

Puttenham Eco-Camping Barn is run by a small environmental charity

Project Oasis North Downs (POND)

Its mission is to provide simple inexpensive overnight accommodation in a 250 year old barn. in an environmentally responsible way.

It is aimed at walkers, cyclists & people enjoying the surrounding beautiful countryside.

The Eco-Barn has many environmental features including solar panels (on its bike shed!), rainwater harvesting & local varieties of apple trees in the garden. It is now in its 11^th year of operation.

We aim to open at weekends, during school holidays and on as many other nights as we can between Easter & October.

Our mission is to relieve the distress of people who have suffered rape and/or sexual abuse or assault, and to educate the public.

Reconnections by Independent Age is a volunteer-led service that supports over-65s in rediscovering their love of life in the communities where they live. We introduce friendly volunteers to residents and connect them to local activities, gatherings and events that provide vital social connections and help break the cycle of isolation and loneliness. Working together with local partners, we create a safe and supportive environment for people to reconnect with their community.

We couldn't run our service without the support of volunteers so please get in touch.

Rowleys Centre for the Community  is situated in the heart of the centre of Cranleigh. We pride ourselves on being a community venue offering many additional advantages to the local community beyond the purpose for which it was initially intended.  Providing high quality services to maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of our local community is at the heart of what we do.

Purpose

Rowleys primarily offers a place for the older population to socialise, keep physically active, stay connected and acquire new skills, which has a positive impact on their overall health and wellbeing and supports reducing social isolation.

Whilst our main aim is to promote the wellbeing of all older people and assist them in making later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience we would like to ensure the Community Centre is open to all and available for other groups to utilise outside of the core offer.

To find out more go to our website: www.rowleyscranleigh.co.uk

The Royal Air Forces Association (or RAF Association), is a membership organisation and registered charity that provides welfare support to the RAF Family.

The RAF Family includes all serving and ex-serving personnel and their dependants. To be eligible for welfare support, for both themselves and those who depend upon them, service personnel need to have served a minimum of one day in the RAF.

The Association exists in the recognition that RAF personnel and their immediate families dedicate their lives to their country, and to ensure that such a sacrifice does not result in suffering, poverty or loneliness.

Whether it’s an injured airman fighting to get back on his feet, a young child missing their parent away on overseas operations, or a World War II veteran needing a shoulder to lean on, we are here to help all generations of RAF Service personnel and their families.

We are working to deliver exceptional care in a welcoming and safe environment for patients at Royal Surrey County Hospital.

From providing state of the art equipment and redeveloping wards, to investing in staff development and funding innovative research, our patients are at the heart of everything we do.

Working collaboratively with medical and support staff, we fund projects that make the biggest impact on the 260,000 people we treat each year – from babies, to children and young adults, to older people.

We don't underestimate people

SeeAbility encourages 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: some big, some small, all extraordinary.

They challenge us all to rethink disability.

SeeAbility provides extraordinary support and champions better eye care for people with learning disabilities and autism, many of whom have sight loss.

Registered as The Royal School for the Blind, SeeAbility is one of the oldest disability charities in the UK and has pioneered specialist support for over 200 years.

Help us rethink disability.

Patron: HRH The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO. SeeAbility is the operating name of The Royal School for the Blind.

Registered Charity Number 255913

Shalford Village Hall provides facilities for educational, leisure and other recreational activitities for those living in in the village and the surrounding neighbourhood. We are very much at the centre of local community events and activities.

SSAFA provides lifelong support to anyone who is currently serving or has ever served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force.

We're ready to help you and your family, whenever and wherever you need us.

Surrey Clubs for Young People is a charity dedicated to ensuring that young people across Surrey and South London have access to high quality youth provision. Our aim is to provide a range of exciting and challenging opportunities for young people, through which they can develop into confident young adults. We do this by supporting a large network of youth clubs / projects across the county.

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.

With a population in excess of one million people over an area of 1,676 square kilometres, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service covers a diverse range of risks from large urban areas such as Guildford, Redhill and Woking with their mix of residential, commercial and industrial premises to large areas of common and heath land.

To assist the operational firefighters, Surrey Fire and Rescue has developed a network of volunteers to help stations and departments to engage more effectively with local communities and deliver community safety initiatives.

Fire Volunteers come from all backgrounds and walks of life, and can offer their skills and support to initiatives and events, often helping to remove the barriers which sometimes a uniformed service can face.

SFVS volunteers are representative of the communities we serve, and therefore often have cultural knowledge, language skills and other skills which can help when engaging hard to reach communities.

If you would like to make a difference to your community, develop new skills, gain work experience, and meet new people, please read on.

Volunteering is a long term development and we are here to compliment the services provided by Surrey Fire & Rescue Service professionals.

Our aim and mission 

Unlocking potential and supporting people to overcome life challenges.

One in 4 of us experience mental health problems every year. We believe that nobody should face mental health problems on their own, experience stigma or discrimination. We all have the right to be well both mentally and physically. 

What we do

We provide services and support that focuses on people’s needs to regain their power and strength, lead a well-balanced life, maintain and increase their feeling of well-being. We accept referrals from GPs, CMHRSs and other charities, service providers. And people can self-refer as well.

Why we do it

We all feel less than fine at some time in our lives and often we can feel lonely, stressed, bored or at our wits end. We are not medics, not trying to sell you anything and not on a mission to convert you, we are just genuinely interested in making your world a better place.

To deliver a high quality freshly cooked meals service and provide social contact for residents living in the Godalming area.