volunteers

Homeless eye clinic opens in Exeter

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sat, 05/13/2017 - 1:29pm

A new eye clinic for homeless people has opened in Exeter.

The clinic, which is led by a team of volunteers, is located at Clock Tower Surgery in Wat Tyler House which brings together some 25 services for homeless and vulnerable people.

Set up by the charity, Vision Care for Homeless People, it has been made possible by support from the Local Optical Committee, a team of volunteer optometrists, donations from Specsavers and Bills Opticians which will provide the glazing of spectacles. It joins a small group of similar clinics in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Brighton...

Second Sunday volunteering on Dartmoor: Repairing the track to Haytor Rocks

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 04/06/2017 - 11:31am

Take part in our Haytor conservation days! Join Simon Lee, National Park Ranger, on his monthly volunteer outings to assist in the important restoration and maintenance of the Haytor area. This month we will be repairing major erosion on the track from Haytor Visitor Centre to Haytor Rocks. The work will take place on Sunday 9th April, starting at 10:30 and finishing at 3:30.

If you are interested in coming along, please get in touch by emailing slee@dartmoor.gov.uk or call 07711 104541. Booking is essential as tools and equipment need to be organised.

Haytor’s stunning...

Cathedral to be represented in national bellringing competition

On Saturday 25th March members of the Exeter Cathedral Society of Ringers will be making the trip to Sheffield Cathedral to ring in the annual National 12 Bell Striking Competition. This year, three qualifiers will take place at St Margaret’s Leicester, Birmingham Cathedral and Sheffield Cathedral - with only the top three teams in each qualifying for the prestigious final at Southwark Cathedral on the 24th June.

The ringing is judged on the quality, accuracy and rhythm that is achieved, with each band ringing a set piece which lasts around 12mins.

The Exeter Cathedral band...

Volunteers needed to help Exeter blind community

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 03/14/2017 - 8:47pm

A national charity is appealing for volunteers to come forward and help the blind people it supports in the Exeter area.

British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF) provides specially adapted audio equipment to visually impaired people across the UK.

The charity is looking for radio support volunteers, whose role would be to visit people with sight loss in their homes throughout Exeter, install their new radio and teach them how to use it as well as provide on-going support where needed.

The role involves a small amount of admin and there would be one to two visits a...

Cranbrook volunteers learn where to find safe health advice

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 03/09/2017 - 5:12pm

False news is not restricted to politics, it can also affect people looking for health advice online.

With so much information available on the internet, it is often hard for people to establish what is published by a reliable source – just because it is on the internet does not mean it is necessarily correct.

Helping to create Cranbrook Healthy Town, Cranbrook’s team of library volunteers and some members of Cranbrook Medical Centre’s Patient Participation Group (PPG) enjoyed finding out about reliable and safe online health information recently.

Part of a pilot...

Second Sunday volunteering: Past, present and future

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 01/09/2017 - 9:21am

Conservation volunteers who help maintain one of Dartmoor’s top beauty spots have rounded off their year with an expert guided tour and mince pies.

The Second Sunday group meets every second Sunday of the month at Haytor under the guidance of National Park Authority Ranger Simon Lee.

In the past 12 months they have repaired an ancient leat to prevent flooding on the road near the Visitor Centre and restored wetland by the Becka Brook to safeguard the feeding grounds of the rare marsh fritillary butterfly.

Perhaps the volunteers’ most obvious work has been on the 200...

Citizens Advice Exeter volunteers celebrate national award

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 10/14/2016 - 3:09pm

Citizens Advice Exeter celebrated its Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service at an official reception hosted by The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor Councillor Cynthia Thompson on Wednesday 12th October at the historic Exeter Guildhall.

Attended by volunteers and staff of the charity, the reception was an opportunity to recognise the invaluable contribution that the volunteers of Citizens Advice Exeter make to their community.

The award is the most prestigious available to voluntary organisations and is the equivalent of an MBE for an individual. Exeter is the first Citizens...

Recruitment drive for city advice charity

Leading local advice charity, Citizens Advice Exeter, is appealing for volunteers.

The advice charity, which is based in Dix’s Field, is recruiting for information guides and gateway assessors.

Information guides meet clients and visitors upon arrival at the local office and assist with self-help resources. Gateway assessors help to identify issues and help clients with the next steps.

Steve Barriball, Citizens Advice Exeter Chief Executive, said: "We are looking for volunteers who enjoy working with people and can spare between three to eight hours a week depending...

Samaritans appeal for people to SHUSH!

Samaritans have an unusual message for the people of Exeter, Mid and East Devon this month - Shush and Listen.

But it’s not a rude warning - instead, Shush is an easy way of remembering how the 100 Samaritan volunteers who work from the charity’s Exeter base can help everyone in the public develop vital listening skills.

S is for Show you care: focus just on the other person, make eye contact, put away your phone...

H means Have patience: it may take time and several attempts before a person is ready to open up...

U is for Use open questions: that need more...

Exeter couple show how #ToiletsSaveLives

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sun, 06/19/2016 - 10:39pm

Neil and Alison Heard will head to the Glastonbury Festival with WaterAid this week to rally support for the charity’s #ToiletsSaveLives campaign that calls on world leaders to reach everyone, everywhere with taps and toilets.

The couple have supported WaterAid for many years, and this will be the third year they have volunteered at Glastonbury the charity. They will be working alongside an army of 470 dedicated WaterAid volunteers making a splash at Worthy Farm this year.

They said "We're really proud to have been selected again to represent WaterAid at Glastonbury. We're...

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