Whether you want to volunteer on a regular basis or now and again, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities available…
View our latest opportunities below or use the search options to find your ideal role. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or need some extra help, get in touch.
- Anywhere in Kirklees
- Flexible
Who Are We?
Re-engage (formerly Contact the Elderly) is the national charity dedicated to tackling loneliness and social isolation amongst older people living in the United Kingdom. Our mission is to empower older people to make new social connections, and break out of the cycle of social isolation.
Our History
Re-engage was set up by Trevor Lyttleton MBE in the early 1960s after he met an older woman in Marylebone who lived alone. Saddened by the realisation that she was just one of many older people living like this in the borough, Trevor decided to make a change and hosted his first tea party in March 1965.
What do we do?
Everyone should have the chance to make new friends.
Our group and one-to-one activities will help you expand your social circle in a friendly, safe environment.
Tea parties
Our tea parties are free monthly social groups open to people aged 75 and over. They are a chance for a change of scenery and regular afternoons of conversation and laughter with friends of all ages.
You will even be taken there and home again so don’t need to worry about organising travel.
Call companions
Would you like a regular friendly chat over the phone with your very own call companion?
Call companions is available to anyone aged 75 and over who would benefit from a regular chat over the phone with a friendly volunteer.
"Getting a call companion is the best and most valuable thing I've ever done.”
Community Christmas call companions
The period around Christmas can be difficult for anyone who’s on their own. Community Christmas offers a weekly chat over the phone throughout December with a friendly volunteer to lift your spirits.
The award-winning rainbow call companions
Are you lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or otherwise part of the LGBT+ community? Are you aged over 75? Would you like a regular friendly chat over the phone with your very own call companion?
Rainbow call companions is an award-winning free service for older LGBT+ people who are lonely, isolated or in need of companionship and feel they would enjoy a friendly phone call every week or two with a volunteer who is also LGBT+.
Activity groups for older people
Activity groups are free monthly groups open to people aged 75 and over who are lonely, isolated and in need of companionship. Taking part in the groups is a great way to stay active and to make new friends.
Every activity group has a group coordinator who is responsible for organising the group and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Anyone who attends an activity group can be picked up and dropped home again by one of our activity group drivers so there is no need to worry about organising travel.
Activity groups are designed to get you moving and will include gentle exercise, activities and sports that are suitable for people of all abilities.
We have activity groups in Wales, Birmingham, West Yorkshire, Bristol and the South West.
Become an activity group driver
Activity groups are free monthly groups open to people aged 75 and over who are lonely, isolated and in need of companionship. The groups are a great way to stay active and to make new friends.
As an activity group driver, you’ll collect one or two older people each month from their homes so they can attend the activity group, and return them again afterwards. Your role also includes socialising with the older people at the activity group and contacting the older people prior to collecting them to check that they’re still able to attend.
The gentle exercises, activities, and sports can vary from group to group and month to month depending on what it is the older people enjoy. However, each activity group will contain an activity that gets people moving such as: dance, chair exercises and stretches, boules, skittles, or boccia.
This is a flexible role, and you’ll work alongside the activity group coordinator to ensure that wherever possible you collect and return home the same older people each time so that they feel comfortable and supported.
You’ll need a DBS check for this role.
Tasks include:
- Driving one to two activity guests, using your own car, to the venue and returning them home again after the activity.
- Staying at the group to help with activities, conversation and serving refreshments.
- Liaising with the group coordinator to confirm which activity guests you will pick up.
- Keeping the group coordinator informed of any concerns or issues you might have.
Reengage
18 yrs and above
- Application form required
- References required
- DBS (criminal record check that the organisation will organise)
- Valid Driving Licence
- Own Transport
We’re looking for activity group volunteers with: Good driving skills Good conversation skills A friendly, empathetic approach Patience A good sense of humour Basic computer literacy A passion for improving the lives of lonely and isolated older people If this sounds like you, then please use our online application form and get in touch.
17/01/2024
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