COMMUNITY NEWS
YelverCare – could you help? The YelverCare good neighbour scheme will be celebrating its 24th birthday this year and looking back on its busiest period since it was set up in 1998. During the height of the pandemic the Yelverton based charity provided support for medical appointments, shopping, telephone befriending and delivery of prescriptions, with deliveries to over 600 people during the initial lockdown. YelverCare chair Mike Pike said: “It’s a service YelverCare has always provided to the residents of Buckland Monachorum and Burrator parishes, but obviously the need grew considerably during the pandemic, though we were lucky enough to have an existing team, plus new volunteers, willing to take on the challenge.” YelverCare is run entirely by volunteers and in 2012 it received The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Its aim has always been to provide the type of help a good neighbour would do, such as transport to medical appointments, shops, hairdressers etc. Volunteers offer extra services such as befriending, dog walking and other practical support too. They also run the Lunch Club at St Paul’s Church Hall on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, with transport if necessary. The Lunch Club organises a few trips during the year as well.
YelverCare operates using the charity’s own mobile phone which can be contacted for help on weekdays, 10am to 1pm - a volunteer will take relevant details and determine if and who can help. Volunteers choose dates on the rota to be on call, and when they are on duty, they receive the ‘Bag’ containing the phone and all the necessary volunteer contact information. Full training and support are provided for this role. Mike explained: “Most requests are for transport, so we always need a lot of volunteers to take people to and from various destinations using their own vehicles. Passengers pay fixed amounts for each journey and drivers can claim their milage costs. We also provide free parking permits for Derriford.” YelverCare is entirely dependent on its volunteers who give so generously
of their time and help and is always keen to recruit new people. It is a very rewarding activity, bringing you into contact with a lot of people in the community, who are always very appreciative and invariably keen to talk about their life and experiences; during the lockdown some volunteers became good friends with people they helped. If you might be interested in volunteering, please contact YelverCare on 07775 695864 (weekdays 10am1pm) with your details. One of the YelverCare team will be in contact to provide more information and discuss your possible involvement. As part of the recruitment process, we must conduct an enhanced DBS check, as volunteers can be involved in helping a vulnerable person. YelverCare is part of Yelverton Community Projects and further details can be found at yelvertoncommunityprojects.org
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