FISH Volunteer Centre

03/10/2026

As Sonning Common and its surrounding villages continue to grow, it is becoming even more important that we look after those who are feeling isolated and lonely.

FISH Volunteer Centre has had a Home Visiting service for many years, run by lead co-ordinator Rita Hadgkiss. People who request this service are paired up with like-minded volunteers, who carry out weekly home visits or trips to local cafes etc.This befriending service is really important and volunteers who give up a little of their time find it immensely rewarding.

One such volunteer is Jacqui, who has been paired with Stuart for some time. She says: "A friend who is a driver for FISH suggested I volunteer as a Home Visitor as they thought I would enjoy it. Obviously a lot of thought was put into matching Stuart and me up, taking into account our personalities and interests. It never ceases to amaze me just how interesting and surprising people are, which is why I love visiting and how much I get out of it too. I look forward to seeing Stuart every week and having our discussions, visits and really look upon it as having coffee with a friend."

To continue to meet the needs of people who would love this service, we need more volunteers. Please look at our website to find out more and see if you could spare a little of your time to help the people of our villages.

https://fishvolunteers.org
0118 972 3986
[email protected]

20/09/2026

Bus trips for October. Please call the office to book

08/09/2026

The FISH Volunteer Centre is well known today to most residents of Sonning Common and the surrounding villages, but perhaps less well known is how it all began.

There is a new piece about this on our website, which makes very interesting reading. You can find it in the ‘About Us’ section and, of course, there is also plenty of information about everything FISH does for the community and how you could help.

https://fishvolunteers.org

02/09/2026

There is a terrific article on the FISH Volunteer Centre Home Visiting Scheme in this week’s Henley Standard.

Rita Hadgkiss, who runs the scheme, talks about what a lifeline it is for lonely and isolated people in Sonning Common and surrounding villages and how rewarding the volunteers who befriend these people find it. We are actively seeking more volunteers to make sure that we can fulfill every request for home visits.

The article, by Melissa Paulden, is well worth a read. It’s in the Sonning Common section of the newspaper.

You can also find more information about the scheme on our website at https://fishvolunteers.org/

17/08/2026

FISH VOLUNTEER CENTRE

VOLUNTEER CASHIER WANTED
A flexible role, requiring a few hours a week that you can do mainly from home.
Are you organised, trustworthy and comfortable with numbers and spreadsheets? FISH is looking for a volunteer cashier to help support our local community.
The role includes:
• Check and verify driver job sheets
• Count, reconcile and bank money
• Update spreadsheets with transaction details

Work in your own time, with guidance from our Treasurer.

INTERESTED?
Please phone or email for more details or to apply.
0118 972 3986
[email protected]
FISH Volunteer Centre • 82 Lea Road, Sonning Common, RG4 9LJ

Free volunteer-run transport, driver service, and home visiting for residents of Sonning Common and surrounding villages.

11/08/2026

No one went home hungry at the FISH Volunteer Centre August Tea Party yesterday. A fabulous array of sweet and savoury cakes, tarts and scones were provided, all baked by our very talented volunteers. There was much conversation and laughter as everyone enjoyed meeting up with their friends and neighbours.

Local author Tom Fort gave a very interesting talk about what makes Sonning Common Village so special and also how Heath & Watkins became such a vital part of the community. Like most of us, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

Our tea parties are held in the village hall on the second Monday of every month between 2pm and 4pm. Everybody is welcome and transport can be provided. There is no charge, though donations are welcome.
Please visit our website on https://fishvolunteers.org/ or call our office on 0118 972 3986, Monday to Friday between 9.30 and 12.00 if you would like to find out more about what we do or how you can help us.

05/08/2026

Big thanks to the lovely Joe and SecureHeat for your support 😁

02/08/2026

At the FISH Volunteer Centre AGM this week, we reflected on a very busy year supporting Sonning Common and surrounding communities. Here are some of the highlights of the past year:

• We have helped nearly 300 clients over the last 18 months, driving them to and from appointments.
• In 2025, we fulfilled 941 driver jobs by 44 drivers for 163 clients.
• This year to mid July, we have fulfilled 572 driver jobs by 45 drivers for 120 clients
• We have 113 volunteers but we need more in order to support these clients and fulfill all the booking requests.
• We have 21 clients (and one on the waiting list) who have regular home visits.
• We have 20 volunteers who are paired with those who want home visits.
• The minibus made 218 return journeys, covering 6,501 miles and taking 1,656 passengers on shopping and leisure trips.

We could not achieve all this without our team of wonderful volunteers and we would like to thank each and every one of them. If you would like to find out more about what we do and how you could help, please look at our website on https://fishvolunteers.org

Full minutes from the AGM will be available on the website in the coming days.

30/07/2026

At a lively AGM this week, FISH Volunteer Centre celebrated the contribution of Richard McQuillan, who is standing down as Chairman after seven very successful years in the position. Richard has overseen many changes during his tenure including a new minibus, a new office and a new shed for wheelchairs, whilst co-ordinating all the different departments in the charity. He has also attended meetings with numerous charitable organisations and brought back a lot of very useful information. Richard was presented with two beautiful w**e glasses, engraved with the FISH logo, and a very good bottle of red w**e to go in them. We thank him for everything he has done for FISH over the past seven years.

Our new Chairman is David Whitehead. David brings to his new role his wide experience of finance, marketing and managing teams, gained running IT businesses for most of his working life. For six years he has been the FISH cashier, a responsibility he will continue until a replacement is found. He has also been instrumental in developing and launching the new website. We wish David every success in his new role.

25/07/2026

A very enjoyable day was spent at Millets Farm Centre this week. Our FISH clients visited some of the many attractions there, which include a farm shop, other independent retailers, a garden centre, animal enclosures, the maize maze plus a restaurant and snack shack.
FISH organises shopping and leisure trips every month with transport provided by the FISH minibus. There is also a special trip every month with the next one going to Kew Gardens in August. Full details are posted on Facebook and on our website https://fishvolunteers.org/ Trips can be booked by phoning our office on 0118 972 3986 Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 12.00.