23/07/2026
Meet our volunteers…
Liz (on the left) and Jan both live in the Rochford district and volunteer for the ‘Friends and Memories Café’ held every Monday.
The Café is a safe, judgement-free environment, welcoming people from the community who are living with dementia along with their carers, as well as people who may have a loved one with dementia who is in care or who has passed away.
Liz started volunteering about 18 months ago after seeing an advert online that caught her eye. Liz said, ‘I have a background in nursing and caring for people and it seemed a great idea to be able to support carers as well as people with the condition as I know it can be a really difficult diagnosis.’
‘The group is a great place for people to get advice, share experiences from other people in the same boat especially if they are struggling or it’s a new condition to them,’ she added.
Liz, who also volunteers at a Havens Hospice shop one afternoon a week and is active at her church said, ‘Since I retired and have more time on my hands, volunteering has helped give structure to my week and allowed me to keep meeting and spending time with new people. I spend about three hours a week with the group helping set up the room, making drinks and sometimes we just chat or if people want to play games and even sing – I’m up for that!’
Jan started volunteering with the group from its first week and has experience of being a carer for her husband herself. She finds being able to share her knowledge of helping a loved one with dementia is helpful to many people.
‘I’ve been through it and thought I could be of some support with my first-hand experience,’ Jan said. ‘Helping out for three hours a week isn’t a big commitment for me. Some weeks it can be a bit tiring, but I also know that when you’ve done something good for someone else and helped them, it makes you feel good so it’s worth it.’
Jan said ‘I wanted to work as a physiotherapist when I was younger, but my Mum wanted me to get a steady office job, so I part of me felt I’d missed my chance to work in a caring profession. Now I keep busy with lots of clubs and get to help people through my volunteering and it really suits me.’
Jan added, ‘You don’t need any special skills to help with so many volunteering roles, you just need to be a caring and kind person. I really enjoy helping people and I’d recommend anyone to give it a go – it just makes you feel good!’
Liz added ‘If anyone is thinking about volunteering - I’d say you absolutely should. Giving back is such a great thing and sadly there is such a lot of need. If you have any spare time, it’s one of the best things you can do. Just make the initial step, it really is worth it.’
It’s easy to find out what volunteering opportunities are on offer that might suit you – just visit www.volunteeressex.org
The Friends and Memories Café is held most Mondays from 10am at Holy Trinity Church, Rayleigh (first Monday of the month meet at Rayleigh Library). For more information: please contact Councillor Elizabeth Brewer who runs the group on [email protected] or call 07368 657397.
