Savannah’s
Sightline Story
I have been volunteering with Sightline since November last year. I decided to volunteer as a telephone befriender as I am no longer working due to ill health and I was missing giving something back.
I also chose to volunteer as I spent a lot of time on my own and I thought that it would be nice to strike up conversations with people.
I speak with two lovely ladies on a Tuesday and Friday. My first lady is such an inspiration; we share conversations about lots of different things including her love of her faith. We also speak about the past and the war times. My second lady I speak with is lovely; I have only just recently started to speak with her and it feels like we’ve hit it off from the start. This lady has an interest in the paranormal and watching different programmes about this; she also has a love of animals.
I would like to think that the phone calls I’m having with my lovely ladies are giving them a little bit of hope and making them feel less lonely as well as being supported in the best possible way.
Volunteering with Sightline has massively impacted my life for the better. I lost my job due to illness and needed to continue giving back so that’s when I decided to volunteer as a telephone befriender. It has given me hope back that I had lost. I look forward to my phone calls and organise things around when they take place; I hate to miss them!
My favourite memory is when one of my ladies was speaking to me about her experiences in life and gave me this quote regarding relationships. When I asked her the infamous question of “What’s the key to a happy marriage?” Her answer was “Grow together and not apart.” I feel like this is really important and is one of my favourite moments of my befriending calls.
Name has been changed to protect identities.
We currently have a number of volunteering opportunities available. Please get in touch if you can spare as little as 1 hour a week.
Your call can really make a difference to someone in the sight loss community.
Call 0800 587 2252 or email us at info@sightline.org.uk to find out more.
To find out more, please contact us:
(*0800 numbers are free to call from BT landlines and most mobile networks)