Thank you to High Peak volunteers

During this appreciation week, both Blythe House Hospicecare and Helen’s Trust along with Stepping Hill Hospital wanted to thank the volunteers whose work is ‘invaluable’.

Anne Wilcox from Buxton was born in 1948, the same year as the National Health Service was founded.

Anne, who is one of 200 volunteers at the hospital, had a career as a safety officer at the University of Sheffield. On retirement she missed working with people and so took up volunteering at the hospital, at first working on patient surveys.

Later she joined the Chaplaincy team, and her main role is in visiting wards and talking with patients, although she also does office work and does odd jobs too.

She said: “It is a great privilege being able to meet people of all faiths and none; being a listening ear to those who are worried about the future, sad, lonely, or hurting.”

Yvonne Hanson, voluntary services manager for Stepping Hill Hospital said: “There have been volunteers supporting the National Health Service right from its very beginning, and its amazing that some of our volunteers were born in the same year as the NHS. During National Volunteers Week we’d like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers for the fantastic work they do, and invite others who may be thinking about volunteering to get in touch with us.”

At Blythe House, the volunteer team plays an enormous role in supporting this vital service provision – at the hospice building in Chapel-en-le-Frith; in patients’ homes; at fundraising events; and in the charity’s high street shops, and online stores.

Julie Forrest, volunteer manager at Blythe House and Helen’s Trust, said: “We are incredibly grateful to our volunteers every single day of the year, not just during Volunteers’ Week. There is no two ways about it; we would not be able to do what we do without them.

“We have an incredible team who constantly surprise us with their talents and skills. It is an honour, and a privilege to support and manage the team.”

Karma Francomb has volunteered at the hospice’s Whaley Bridge shop since November 2011, five months after she arrived in England from Bhutan.

She said: “‘Volunteering is not just for English people. I encourage all non-native speakers to volunteer too. There is no better way to learn about the English culture and improve your language skills, than volunteering and there is no age limit for volunteering.”

More than 200 volunteers give over 3,000 hours of their time every week to the charity. Charlie Barnes became a hospice community volunteer in 2020.

He said: “I feel a lot of pride and a sense of identity. There is so much reward when volunteering. It is full of rich encounters that leave you with so much gratitude when spending time with each individual you meet.

“Sometimes it is simply the company that patients are looking for. Someone to listen to them. It gives you a chance to discover new parts of yourself that you may never thought you were capable of doing.”