Volunteering Matters is a national volunteering charity which works with communities across the UK to tackle complex issues through the power of volunteering. You can find more information on the Volunteering Matters website.
In Milton Keynes, Volunteering Matters is currently run three volunteering projects, all of which are commissioned by Milton Keynes City Council or the CCG:
- Grandmentors is a mentoring project that matches volunteers aged 40+ with young care experienced people between the ages of 16–25 to help them navigate the transition from care to independent living, to help them progress towards their goals and develop their confidence and independence.
- Stepping Stones is a mentoring project that matches volunteer mentors of any age with young people aged 8–25 who have recently been discharged from long term inpatient mental health care, to help them navigate the transition to living back in the community, to help them develop their resilience, confidence, self-esteem and support networks and untimely to work as part of a wider team of people supporting the young person to try to prevent readmissions.
- The Volunteer Drivers Service helps older and other vulnerable members of the community with transport to medical and other essential appointments as well as social outings from time to time.
For all projects full and comprehensive training is provided by Volunteering Matters as well as ongoing support from a Project Coordinator. They will also reimburse all expenses associated with volunteering, including travel expenses/mileage. Volunteering Matters projects make a huge difference to the people they support across Milton Keynes. However in order to support more people, they desperately need more volunteers.
Have a look and find more information on the Volunteering Matters website.