Keep Active Volunteer
The Creighton Centre (Keep Active)
Keep Active helps older people back to fitness after a fall or illness.
Keep Active is a volunteer delivered integrated care service, run in partnership with the local NHS rehabilitation teams. Volunteers are matched with clients and visit them weekly for up to nine weeks providing encouragement and support to continue working on their mobility goals. This could include helping with an indoor exercise programme, accompanying someone outdoors or encouraging with stair practice. This service bridges that important gap between a period of intense healthcare input and having the confidence to access the community once more and reduce NHS readmissions.
Befriending, Buddying & Mentoring
Managing People
Volunteer should be willing to make a commitment to be involved with the project. You do not need any particular knowledge but you do need to have: • A positive attitude towards empowering and improving the lives of older people • Enthusiasm and commitment • Good communication skills and a good level of spoken English • Interest in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Care, Rehabilitation Care helps but is not necessary. Additionally, for practical reasons, there are certain things which we require from volunteers, in order to make sure we can support you and our scheme members fully: • A commitment of 1-2 hours each week during the day. • Ability to attend a training day. • To ideally live locally and be able to travel within the borough. • You should have been resident in the UK for over two years, so that we can apply for a Digital & Barring Service check on your behalf.
What support do volunteers receive? • Induction training with The Creighton Centre and NHS Community Rehab led training . • Regular contact and support from the Keep Active Coordinator. • Support meetings with other volunteers & invitations to occasional social events. • Opportunity to attend occasional training sessions throughout the year such as Heart Start training, Dementia Friends sessions, Diabetes and Parkinson’s training and more. • Reimbursement of travel expenses • A reference after 3-6 month of volunteering with us (Must have supported a minimum of 1 client for 9 weeks) • An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check Also, this role will give you: • A chance to meet new people who you wouldn’t usually get to meet and interact with. • A sense of satisfaction from knowing that you are making a positive contribution by giving your support to help an older person recover mobility after a fall or stroke. • Ability to support people to reach their mobility goals in a short space of time! • Training from NHS clinical staff and client handovers with them. • Gaining valuable experience that can support your application to studying, getting paid work, or making a career change (e.g. going on to study medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or social care) • Becoming a volunteer with Keep Active might be useful in gaining a Further Education Qualification, getting paid work or making a career change.
We are looking for people who are able to spare 1-2 hours a week, preferably during working hours, however we do accept those who are wanting to volunteer after work and on weekends.
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All our clients live in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Volunteers should ideally live locally and be able to travel the borough. However, for volunteers willing to travel from farther away, travel expenses are reimbursed.
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