Volunteering at Christmas & New Year

Gareth Ratcliffe (sat centre) and the team of Hay on Wye Christmas volunteers

This seasonal blog post is about the benefits volunteering can bring to so many people and organisations over the Christmas season. There are so many volunteering options out there during the deep mid winter. It can make a refreshing change to do something different at this time of year, especially if you like to escape the more traditional Christmas activities, or just need a change of scene, (or people!).

Traditionally homeless centres, churches, care homes, mental health charities and telephone befriending services all seek volunteers over the Christmas period to provide practical support and friendship during a season which can be very difficult for many. However, the opportunities are endless and varied - it pays to do a little research and commit yourself in advance to get the best out of your contribution - not just for the organisation you sign up with but also yourself.

We asked some PAVO colleagues, with past experience of volunteering over the seasonal period, or perhaps dipping their toes in for the first time, to tell us more about the benefits.

Gareth Ratcliffe - Health Promotion Facilitator

Bringing joy to Hay-on-Wye: Volunteers join forces to welcome Father Christmas

Each year, the small town of Hay-on-Wye experiences a magical event that warms the hearts of both young and old—the visit of Father Christmas. This enchanting tradition is made possible by a dedicated group of local volunteers who come together to create a festive atmosphere and spread Christmas cheer throughout the community. This was a tradition that was reintroduced over the Covid period. When I was a child, I always remember the visit on the back of the local steam engine a few days before Christmas. These memories have lasted forever.

Volunteer spirit: Spreading the magic of Christmas

The heartwarming sight of Santa Claus and his supportive elves traversing the streets of Hay-on-Wye is made possible by the dedicated volunteers who give their time and energy to make this event a reality. Their efforts go beyond organising the route and ensuring a smooth procession; they play a crucial role in creating an unforgettable experience for the entire community. With Christmas tunes blasting out, the bells ringing and little treats for the girls and boys on Santa's good list.

The magic of Santa: Uniting generations

The joy that radiates from the faces of children and the smiles exchanged between neighbours as Santa Claus makes his way through town are immeasurable. It's a reminder that the holiday season is not just about gifts but about coming together as a community, sharing in the wonder of the festive season, and creating cherished moments that will be remembered for years to come.

As the volunteers of Hay-on-Wye prepare to welcome Father Christmas, they embody the true spirit of the season—selflessness, community, and the joy of giving. Through their collective efforts, they bring to life the magic of Christmas and make it a season to remember for everyone in Hay-on-Wye.

Bringing communities together: A fundraising twist

Each year we also like to raise funds for those who want to donate to a local event for the community. In the true spirit of giving, they are raising funds for the Hay Summer Show, a local event that celebrates the community's talents and achievements. The generosity of those who choose to donate during Santa's visit will contribute to the success of this beloved summer showcase.

Winter wildflowers in Powys

Lucy Taylor - Community Wellbeing Officer Children and Young People

New Year Plant Hunt

My family and I will be volunteering for the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland on their annual New Year Plant Survey which takes place from Saturday 30 December 2023 to Tuesday 2 January 2024.

The plant survey helps build a picture of biodiversity and decline so that decline in species, and how species are reacting to climate change, can be recorded and then these issues can be addressed / mitigated. As the survey has been done for 30 odd years it is building a great picture of our wildflowers. Citizen research projects are so interesting to take part in, to feel part of that wider community.

I love to walk and always look at the flowers and plants around, so to do so with a purpose and effect will be really nice. It makes you feel useful and that is always good. A walk at Christmas / New Year time with the family is always great so with this in mind everyone can join in. Done year on year you build up your own image of how plants are faring in your local area.

My top tip for anyone wishing to volunteer for the first time at Christmas & New Year is - think about it in advance and plan your time so it does not become a panic in the hustle and bustle of the season. Why not volunteer with friends and family?

Trish Varley - Finance Officer

Knitting for Young Farmers’ Clubs supporting homeless people

I was asked if I'd like to knit some bobble hats for the local Young Farmers’ club as they were going to be distributed to the homeless as part of one of the YFC projects. The YFC regularly have projects that involve their members collecting, or creating items for competitions, that then get distributed for the benefit of various good causes. This time it was a request for members to come up with colourful bobble hats which would then be donated to homeless people.

As I have a passion for knitting and crocheting, I am always glad of any opportunity to make something that might help an individual or group and this was perfect. Throughout the last year I have been crocheting colourful blankets for dementia patients in NHS hospitals which was very satisfying.

I have enjoyed making these hats so much that I have continued to knit more in the hope that they can be donated wherever they might be needed and I am currently on the 6th hat since I started 2 weeks ago.

My tip for volunteering is to look for opportunities that might involve something that you enjoy doing, that way it feels even more beneficial to use your skills doing something you love to benefit another person.

Jen Hawkins - Senior Officer Community Wellbeing

Volunteering with the Montgomery Brownies

I'll be volunteering and supporting the 1st Montgomery Brownies. We have approximately 20 girls ranging from 7-10 years old. We have three older girls leaving us at Christmas to join the Guides and they're working on finishing off their brownie badges in time to move up. We'll also be going climbing and going to the cinema with the girls, whilst finishing off our Castle badges, perfect to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Montgomery Castle. There'll be an end of term party to celebrate our achievements this term with some fun and games and probably chocolate !

The girls benefit from learning new skills and working together as a team, helping them to grow in confidence, developing interests that they might not have considered before and making friends for life. The age range encourages the girls to work together and support each other with the older girls taking more responsibilities as sixers and seconders, helping and supporting the younger girls.

I have a lot of fun supporting the girls. Sometimes the activities take me out of my comfort zone and can stretch me in new ways too, making origami toadstools was not easy! It's good to learn with the girls and to recognise that in life we are constantly learning and it's OK to make mistakes, learn and move on. Working with young people is also rewarding, watching them grow in confidence and have fun. I think it helps me to feel young at heart and embrace the fun side of life too.

My top tip for anyone wishing to volunteer for the first time at Christmas & New Year is: Jump in and have a go, you never know what new skills you might learn or what you might discover about yourself, you'll have fun too.

Louise Hardwick - Development Officer

Cooking & delivering Christmas meals in Knighton

Over previous years I have volunteered my time in cooking and delivering hot Christmas dinners and puds on Christmas Day for 44 people in and around Knighton. My family all helped out, with everything from washing up, putting together a little gift for each recipient, and I sourced donations to cover all of the costs. I recruited a band of volunteers who helped me with serving and delivering the meals. This year my youngest daughter, age 10, and myself are going to be volunteering for a morning at our local Foodbank and helping with packaging up Christmas parcels ready to be delivered to families. My daughter Zara loves to support the foodbank and has already dropped off a recent order of groceries and supplies which she picked out and paid for herself.

Having gone through difficult times myself it is nice to be able to pay it forward and support others who may find times challenging. Also giving a helping hand to Helen, our wonderful foodbank manager in her busiest season, by helping her prepare parcels.

Some of the benefits to me include: continuing to teach my children to always be grateful for what we have, but to be compassionate and empathetic towards others, and be able and willing to help in any way we can. The 'feel-good' factor of helping others is like no other feeling. It's not about getting something physical or financial, knowing that the tiny amount of help we give will help put a little smile on someone else's face is priceless.

Louise and her son Owen serving up meals for delivery

My top tip for volunteering at this time of year: Just do it! It doesn't matter how much time you can give, even just a one off hour is so very helpful. There are so many volunteer opportunities around - it could even be helping a neighbour with that bit of festive shopping they can't quite manage to get, or assisting them in wrapping presents for their family members. Go in with open arms and an open mind and you won't be disappointed. Volunteering at any age is such a rewarding thing to do.

A BIG thanks to colleagues for telling us about their seasonal volunteering experiences. If you would like to discuss the volunteering opportunities that are available in your area in Powys then do get in touch with the Powys Volunteer Centre.

A peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers near and far

Active Monitoring - Mind working with Powys GPs

Just last month at the PAVO Conference, which focused on Prevention and Early Intervention, we found out more about a new initiative at Brecon and District Mind when Service Director Val Walker spoke at the Mental Health Conversation. Active Monitoring provides support to people who visit their GP with symptoms of common emotional health needs including stress, anxiety and depression. The service aims to increase wellbeing, self-esteem and confidence, and reduce the likelihood of needing to access further support relating to a person's emotional wellbeing.

The mental health charity Mind describes Active Monitoring as: "a psycho-educational programme designed to provide early intervention provision within the Primary Care arena. With growing demands on Therapeutic Services resulting in increasing waiting lists it is getting more difficult for people to access the help they need in time. This role involves working directly from a GP surgery delivering the Active Monitoring programme. The service complements/replaces the ‘watchful waiting function’ and proactively works with individuals on agreed pathways to support early intervention via a facilitated self-help model."

Elizabeth Bogunovic

Brecon & District Mind works closely with the GP cluster in South Powys and Red Kite Health Solutions CIC (Community Interest Company) to deliver the Active Monitoring service.

Elizabeth Bogunovic is the Mind Active Monitoring Practitioner delivering the service for Brecon & District Mind, and she tells us more about this innovative way of working:

It was when I began volunteering for Merthyr and the Valleys Mind that I became aware of a service called Active Monitoring. The more I heard about it, the more intrigued I became so I sat down with Nicola, one of their practitioners, who explained to me the ethos behind the product so to speak. From that point on I was passionate about the possibilities an early intervention, self help service could offer people and considered the time a few years ago I found myself stuck in my own ‘mental health mess’, and how it may have changed the course I took at that time. I am convinced it would have helped me to recover a lot quicker than I eventually did.

Now I am delighted to be the Wellness Practitioner delivering the service for Brecon and District Mind, based at the Haygarth Surgeries which cover the areas of Hay-on-Wye, Talgarth and rural villages around here. I have been part of the Brecon Team since August 16th where I began by getting to know the area, the people and the surgery set-up, before heading off to Oldham to have some excellent training from Mind which fully prepared me to begin working with patients on September 8th.

The Active Monitoring Service consists of an initial ‘drop-in’ session where I meet the patient referred to me by the clinical team for a brief fifteen minutes and then, a further five more sessions. During the time they spend with me, they complete the GAD7, PHQ9 and Warwick Edinburgh Wellness evaluations at the beginning, middle and end, and choose one of six workbooks or pathways to engage with. These workbooks focus on Managing Anger, Anxiety & Panic Attacks, Stress, Low Self Esteem, Depression and Feeling Alone. To complement these workbooks, I have at my disposal a selection of exercise sheets they can work with and some smaller booklets to help them. The initial feedback I am receiving is on the whole excellent and very positive.

The last few months seem to have flown by and I was surprised to notice today how many of my first patients have had their last sessions with me over recent weeks! It only seems like yesterday I sat with them, full of anticipation both for them and me, describing the service and inviting them to engage in it. I was delighted for one patient at our third session when she completed the same evaluations she did at her first drop in session to see a slight improvement, I remember feeling her pleasure almost as my own!

So far I have worked with 48 people -  all at different points of their journey through the service - many of whom tell me how much more aware of their feelings and emotions they are since starting work with me. This not only gives me some validation that Active Monitoring ‘works’ but an immense sense of achievement when someone starts to notice a change in themselves.

I have amazing support from the staff here at Haygarth, it feels almost like being part of a big extended family which makes it a pleasure to come to what is called work but what I prefer to call ‘doing something I love with financial reward’. Even more than that I am lucky to be part of the team at Brecon & District Mind who also feel passionately that Active Monitoring has the potential to offer people an alternative approach to mental health matters, one that really can make a difference in a person's life.

Brecon & District Mind believes that early Interventions are far more effective than waiting, and that prevention is better than allowing things to linger. "We want people to get help immediately rather than wait to get help, or for things to get worse". 

You can find out more about the Active Monitoring project on the Brecon and District Mind website. Contact Elizabeth by ringing 01874 611529 or email: activemonitoring@breconmind.org.uk