Strengthening communities through volunteering: Rhianna’s story
Volunteers are essential in strengthening communities. We know the positive impact they have in all sorts of areas; everything from improving public services like the NHS to making people feel better. Rhianna is one such volunteer who last autumn got involved at the St James Medical Practice in West Norfolk.
She said: “Volunteering allows me to meet with people outside of my family unit, as well as keeping me in a stable weekly routine which helps to maintain my mental and physical health.”
Her efforts have impressed her colleagues. Sophie, who acts as Rhianna’s Volunteer Champion, supporting her during her volunteering sessions, said: “Having Rhianna at St James has been lovely, and she has fitted in quickly. Rhianna does wonderful work with helping to prepare leaflets for the patient packs which our nurses take to patients in the community.” This sort of work allows clinical staff to spend more time seeing to patients.
Rhianna said: “I would recommend volunteering at NCH&C (the Norfolk Community Health and Care (NCHC) NHS Trust) to anyone because the wonderful staff and other volunteers have made the experience so great for me!”
Voluntary Norfolk is always looking for more volunteers to help our NHS. If you have some free time and would like to make a real difference in your community as well as learn new skills and make new acquaintances, please get in touch.
To find out more about the work we do with NCH&C please click here. You can find a list of all the ways our volunteers are strengthening communities across Norfolk here.
