News

VON is in need of volunteers, and we are so grateful when one volunteer recruits another! It says a lot about their experiences as part of our team and helps us with our goal of getting more care to more people who need it. 

Recently, a volunteer in the Volunteer Visiting program in Southwestern Ontario was making her regular telephone calls when she planted a seed in the mind of a client.

Volunteer Gwen was speaking to client Shirley (pictured), who had been getting calls for about five months and found she really looked forward to, and enjoyed, the conversations. Shirley told Gwen that she wanted to volunteer, but had a physical disability that prevented her from doing some types of volunteering. 

Through that discussion, it occurred to Shirley that she could be the one making the calls. After all, she enjoyed a good conversation, she had some spare time and she wouldn’t even have to leave the comfort of her home.

“It was a win-win,” says Janet Somers, volunteer coordinator for VON Oxford. “She really sees the value in this program and loves to cheer people up. And she knows how important social connections are.”

Shirley finds the after-dinner hours most lonely, and plans to make calls at this time to clients who might feel the same way. It’s a full-circle moment for Janet. “As a volunteer coordinator, it makes me smile every time we add a volunteer to our team,” says Janet. “It makes an impact on our community and simply makes it a better place.”

Janet points out that volunteers don’t need to commit a lot of time. “Volunteers helping even one or two hours a month can make a real difference in the lives of people and support VON Oxford to be the place to help folks to ‘live every day’ (one of our key VON goals).”

Shirley has now been onboarded as one of VON’s newest volunteers, and she is all set to help others who might be experiencing the type of loneliness she well understands.

“We’re proud of all of our volunteers,” says Janet. “Welcome Shirley to our awesome team!”

About Volunteer Visiting

VON’s friendly, trained volunteers visit isolated members of the community to provide companionship, support and personal assistance. Volunteers are trained and carefully screened before being matched with a client. In some cases, “visits” are conducted by telephone. Individuals on a waitlist for in-person visits may also receive phone calls until they can be matched with a volunteer visitor.

Follow this link to find information about Volunteer Visiting in your area: https://von.ca/en/von-care/volunteer-visiting

VON also has a Telephone Assurance program in some locations. Visit this link to see if it is available in your area: https://von.ca/en/von-care/telephone-assurance