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Charities could not survive over Christmas without the help of Volunteers

Charities Age UK Canterbury and Catching Lives could not survive over the Christmas period without the help of volunteers.

Through Whitstable Volunteer Centre, generous volunteers have offered their services over the Christmas period to aid the elderly and homeless, who would otherwise be alone.

Catching Lives' Winter Night Shelter for Homeless People has seen an incredible community response this year to support the night shelter in the Canterbury area. The scheme runs from December through to February, providing shelter during the coldest months of the year for homeless people.

The charity has seen a rise in the number of people sleeping rough or vulnerably housed in the Canterbury area.

Centre Manager Terry Gore, 46, knows how important volunteers are, especially over the busier Christmas period.

He said: "I could not run this project without volunteers - it would not even be possible to open the doors.

"We have volunteers of all different ages helping out, from students to semi retired or fully retired, as well as people from all walks of life."

The Catching Lives Day Centre in Canterbury, which is opposite Canterbury East railway station, has even had to turn volunteers away at this time of year. Last Christmas Terry turned away 40 volunteers as it simply wasn't possible to supervise them all.

But what makes a person want to give up their Christmas to help others?

Jill Hurst, who is volunteering with Catching Lives on Christmas Eve, found the charity when she signed up at Whitstable Volunteer Centre in the summer.

Jill said: "I think it is important to be doing something, if not all through the year, but especially at Christmas.

"Catching Lives came to my attention when Whitstable Volunteer Centre sent out their time2time newsletter, and I saw that they needed volunteers.

"I wanted to do something useful and local to help the community, but also something that wasn't long term."

Jemimah Kuhfeld and her sister Florence have both volunteered to help Age UK Canterbury (formerly known as Age Concern Canterbury) this Christmas day. With their parents going away for Christmas, they thought it was a good idea to give their Christmas day to helping others.

Jemimah, a photographer who lives in London, said: "We lost our grandma last year and thought we'd like to offer some Christmas companionship to elderly people who might also not have family around them.

"I believe the old and the young need each other, and that Christmas is a time for coming together in whatever form of community you can.

Age UK Canterbury and Age UK Faversham are each providing a Christmas dinner along with festive cheer at their centres on Christmas day. A minibus service will be running to transport clients to and from the centres between 10am- 11am and 2.30pm- 3.30pm.

Jemimah adds: "Giving up our Christmas Day is something which we've always talked about doing, we thought we'd offer our services, energy and company to those who might need it.

"I think it will be nice to spend some time talking to the people and chatting about life, as Christmas can be a philosophical time of year, a good chance to reflect."

It isn't just driving the minibuses and helping with the dinners, volunteers have helped decorate the centres and participate in activities, all designed to keep the Christmas spirit high.

By Sam Williams

Check the Checks

Volunteer Centres in Kent and Medway are working together to prevent unnecessary bureaucracy from discouraging valuable volunteers. Highlighting a strand of Volunteering England's "Free Volunteering from Red Tape" Campaign, we are asking volunteer-involving organisations to undertake CRB checks on volunteers only when they are necessary.

CRB checks form an essential part of responsible safeguarding when used appropriately but some organisations use them as a default option. In reality, CRB checks are only necessary when the volunteer will have frequent or intensive contact with vulnerable people.

Many volunteer-involving organisations have already contacted the Kent and Medway Volunteer Centres to express their support for the campaign. They have committed to a responsible and reasonable use of CRB checks.

We have also written to MPs across Kent asking them to make their colleagues in government aware of the negative impact that red tape can have on volunteering. Several have responded to express their support, including our own local MP, Julian Brazier.

To find out more about cutting bureaucracy around volunteering contact us on 01227 772248 or info@whitstablevc.org.uk

If you would like to support our campaign, email us with the words "We support Check the Checks" in the subject field.