To celebrate Student Volunteering Week 2020, we talked to three students who have recently volunteered their time for Guild Care.

Daisy from Durrington High School completed her work experience last week at the Guild Care Centre, working with our Friendship Club and GOLD.

She said: “I chose Guild Care because my great aunt has been working here for a couple of years and she’s told me all about it. I really like the older generation.

“I’ve learned that there’s so many more opportunities in smaller places than you’d realise. So, I’d love to come back and so some more. The best thing has been the communication with all the different people, the members that come in. You get to hear about everyone’s life.

“I’d definitely recommend doing your work experience or volunteering at Guild Care.”

Hayden also attends Durrington High School. Last week he completed his work experience with our Maintenance Team.

“I chose Guild Care because they’re not just stuck on one thing. I want to go into an apprenticeship when I’m older. I’ve got a rough idea of what I want to do.

“A couple of days ago we took down a fire door, so I learned how they worked and what to do. We also gutted a bathroom and learned all about the piping. It’s been really varied.

“The best thing has been gutting the bathroom, smashing up all the tiles. That was fun!”

Leo, who attends Chichester College, volunteered at our Guild Care Centre for his work experience just before Christmas. We talked to him to find out what the experience was like.

“I would do coffees or tea, or I would play a game with them, or chat with them about what they’ve experienced and what their job used to be and stuff. Just find out information about the people.

“I learnt how to speak to elderly people, how to make them feel better, and how it works in Guild Care, how the system works and what to do there. It really helped.”

Asked what the most memorable part of his volunteering was, Leo said: “The Christmas party: dancing with all the people, having food with them in the afternoon. It was a very good atmosphere!”

If you’d be interested in volunteering for Guild Care, please visit our volunteering page.