We have 33 volunteers on the books, and we are always looking for more. Most of our volunteers give between two and six hours a week. You do not need a clinical background. You will be inducted carefully, paired with a regular, and offered as much or as little contact with patients as suits you. We will pay your parking and feed you lunch on shift.
Location: All adult inpatient wards, Yeovil District Hospital.
Lead: Annette Parker, Volunteer Coordinator and Trustee.
Wheel the morning trolley round the wards with a colleague. You will sell papers, fill water jugs, listen for as long as the patient wants to talk, and once a fortnight join the Comforts pack-out at the office. Most of our trolley volunteers stay with us for at least four years.
Location: The Friends’ Café, Level 2.
Lead: Helen Marsh, Café Manager (paid).
Front-of-house in our café — taking orders, clearing tables, restocking the cake counter, and looking out for visitors who are waiting for very difficult news. We will train you on the till.
Location: Friends’ shop, main concourse.
Lead: Tracey Knapp, Shop Manager (paid).
Behind the counter in the concourse shop. Sales, stock, the small steadying ritual of greeting every patient who comes through the door at 09.00. There is a waiting list for this role.
Location: 22 Brocks Mount, Stoke-Sub-Hamdon.
Lead: Jacqueline Henderson, Honorary Secretary.
Stuff envelopes for the Quarterly Dispatch, file the trustees’ minutes, water the geraniums. Suits those who like a quiet morning with a radio and a kettle.
Location: Ham Hill, Westlands, village halls across South Somerset.
Lead: Frances Hayward, Trustee.
Marshal a walk, run a tombola, pour the tea, lift the tables. Two or three events per quarter; you choose which ones.
Location: Selected wards by arrangement.
Lead: Margaret Spurr, Trustee.
Sit with long-stay patients who have asked for a visitor. Conversation, the morning paper, sometimes a hand of cribbage. This role requires a DBS check and a short safeguarding induction.
Fill in the form below. A member of the volunteering team will write to you within five working days from the Stoke-Sub-Hamdon office. We meet every prospective volunteer in person — usually over a cup of tea at the Friends’ Café.
Both are friendly events at which most of our trustees and volunteers will be present, with a small recruitment stand near the cake table.
