Two months on – how Friends of Right at Home are making a difference

An overwhelming need to do something useful during the coronavirus pandemic is what led Farnham woman Billy McCulloch to volunteer to help with a new shopping and friendship service.

Two months after the service was launched by home care provider Right at Home GF, Billy is now one of 150+ volunteers. The Right at Home Friends have all volunteered to shop or provide a telephone buddy service for people confined to their home by the government restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Commenting on what motivated her to volunteer, Billy McCulloch says: “I’ve always been the type of person to get involved and have regularly volunteered at my children’s various school and sporting activities and had recently started volunteering at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. When I became aware of the devastating impact COVID-19 was having on people, I felt compelled to do something proactive. I signed up to be an NHS volunteer and then when I heard that my good friend Kate Shanks was setting up the Right at Home Friends service, it enabled me to start helping locally straight away.”

As well as shopping for two local people, Billy, who has 26 years’ experience in retail management and leadership, also helped with the initial recruiting and interviewing of other volunteers.

Billy says: “Volunteering as a Right at Home Friend has quickly enabled me and the other volunteers to play a part in making a small but useful difference to people’s lives. The service is very personal – I shop for the same two people every week and feel I’ve got to know them quite well. It’s clear from the smile on their faces that they really appreciate and value the service. Being a Right at Home Friend is tremendously fulfilling and has opened my eyes to how many people are on their own. Looking to the future, I hope people will continue to volunteer and help people who live in their community.”

Right at Home Friends shop regularly for over 100 people and over a dozen more are making use of the ‘Friends Listen’ service. Kate Shanks from Right at Home says: “As well as providing a regular service to older members of the community we have also been able to help out people who have had to socially isolate. I know from the feedback I’ve received that our wonderful volunteers are going the extra mile and have really got on board with providing the best possible experience they can for people who are unable to leave their homes.”

Anybody who is unable to shop or who would like telephone companionship can register to use the Right at Home Friends service. All volunteers have been interviewed, DBS and identity-checked and trained by video. The services are run entirely not for profit and there is no exchange of money between clients and volunteers for the shopping service. Payment is made through Right at Home’s secure finance system.

Find out more about Friends Listen and Friends Shop or call 01252 950665.