Glynis’
Sightline Story
I choose to volunteer with Sightline as I want to help others less fortunate than myself. I have close experience of sight loss with my late husband and daughter who lives with a visual impairment and has done from birth.
I first applied to volunteer with Sightline in 2018 and have enjoyed many phone calls along the way! I currently have 2 calls a week with 2 different service users and have been calling both individuals for just over a year now.
The Sightline telephone befriending service is a real lifeline for one gentleman. His wife sadly passed away and he lives alone with little contact from others, other than a son who comes in to make meals etc. It’s the little things he misses; the laughing and joking and general conversation to pass the time of day.
We talk about all sorts though make sure to avoid the subjects of football and rugby; I’m all for one sport – he’s for another and we can never agree!
“The lady I speak with also lives alone. She has had no physical
contact with her family for over 18 months now. Quite simply she
tells me “befriending calls with you are my lifeline, Glynis.”
Being a constant source of friendship throughout the COVID pandemic has been a comfort to both service users. Having the weekly phone call to look forward to at a given date and time has provided focus and purpose with something to look forward to. We agreed the best day and times for all parties and it was as easy as that.
My favourite befriending memory so far is being able to offer friendship to people; this has been and continues to be so rewarding. The jokes along the way have been good fun too!
Volunteering with Sightline is so worthwhile – I’d highly recommend it to anyone.
Without the help of our dedicated team of volunteers we couldn’t offer our unique telephone befriending service. If you would like to take your first steps volunteering with us, we’d love to hear from you.
To find out more, please contact us:
(*0800 numbers are free to call from BT landlines and most mobile networks)