Chessington Voluntary Care Scheme appeals for new volunteers

A care scheme in Chessington is appealing for new volunteers to help provide assistive care for the elderly and less-able members of the community.

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Chessington and Hook Voluntary Care Scheme works daily with a team of 100 volunteers to assist the elderly with daily activities when friends or relatives are unavailable. The volunteers assist clients with daily chores such as shopping, gardening and driving to medical appointments.

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The scheme offers help to the elderly community at no cost and is always looking for willing volunteers- especially over the Christmas period.

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Margaret Haydon, a 78-year-old from Chessington has been an occasional user of the care scheme since she gave up driving two years ago. She said: “There’s almost always someone available to drive me to my hospital appointments and lots of my friends get use out of the scheme too. It’s absolutely brilliant.”

 

Margaret’s daughter, 54-year-old Joanne Wright, spoke about how the scheme is also beneficial for her. She said: “From a relative’s point of view, the care scheme is a huge help because the volunteers are reliable and you know they can be trustworthy. They can be a great help to the families of elderly people who work full-time most often.

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“It really fills a gap of need in the community.”