Volunteer eNewsletter

This email was sent to Volunteer Responders in December 2024.

In this edition we focus on:

• The NHS needs your help this winter!
• We want to hear from you
• Expenses over the festive period
• Concur update
• Recorded webinar series available
• Help spread the word
• Stay safe when volunteering
• “I think the Check In And Chat service is a very good thing”
• Festive Spread events
• No one should feel alone this Christmas
• An update to Community Response
• Volunteer Disability Awareness
• Hanukkah 2024
• Your questions answered

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

The NHS is facing pressures this winter and we are calling on Volunteer Responders to help.

A key indicator for such pressures within the NHS and its trusts is a system known as OPEL (Operational Pressure Escalation levels). OPEL has 4 levels, ranging from Normal Operations (OPEL 1) to Extreme Pressure (OPEL 4). Many NHS trusts are moving from OPEL 3 to OPEL 4. Visit the NHS England website^[1] to find out more.

As a Volunteer Responder, you can help support the NHS by accepting and completing volunteering tasks. This helps to relieve pressure ahead of a busy winter period.

To support the NHS, please check the ‘Activities’ tab on the GoodSAM app and accept a task if you can.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

If you’re considering submitting a DBS check, you will need to send in your request before 31 December.

Beyond this date, there will be a pause on any new DBS requests submitted as part of the programme.

To begin your check, log in to the GoodSAM website^[2]. Once logged in, go to the ‘Manage my roles’ tab, then click the green button ‘Complete your Enhanced DBS Check with Adult Barred’.

View more instructions^[3]. If you need assistance completing the process, please contact our Support Team on 0808 196 3382^[4].

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

As we look ahead to 2025, we want to know what you’d like to see from our webinars moving forward.

Whether you’ve attended any webinars, such as our Learn More sessions, Welcome Webinars or Virtual Coffee Catch-ups, or not, we’d be very grateful to hear from you.

Please click the button below to complete the survey and give your thoughts. This should only take a few minutes of your time.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

There will be a delay in processing volunteer expenses claims from Friday 20 December – Thursday 2 January. This is due to staff annual leave and Bank Holidays over the festive period.

Any claims submitted after 5pm on 19 December will not be processed until 2 January, and payments will begin from Monday 6 January. Claims submitted before 5pm on 19 December will processed as normal.

If you need support with claiming your expenses, please watch this helpful video^[6] or see our FAQs^[7]. You can also call our Support Team on 0808 196 3382^[4] (9am to 6pm, 7 days a week).

We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

We have recently made some updates to the Quick Start Guide^[8] on the Concur expenses system.

There is new information available on how you can access support on the Concur website if you have any technical queries. This is available on page 16.

If you have any questions regarding expenses with the Volunteer Responders programme (and not the Concur website) then please email [email protected]^[9]

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Our Learn More webinars are now available as recordings on our website in the Skills Bank^[10].

These sessions include support on roles and activities, such as Community Response and Shopping, or topics that support your everyday volunteering, such as claiming expenses.

Click the button below to browse the full series.

Browse webinars^[11] (button)

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

If you would like to support us growing and continuing to help more people and the NHS across the country, you could make a difference by putting up posters in your neighbourhood or sharing our message on social media.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

As we step into the winter season, we would please ask all volunteers to consider the weather, their personal safety, and to only volunteer if it’s safe to do so.

If you have accepted a volunteering task and do not feel you can travel or complete this activity safely, please cancel or rearrange it. If you need assistance rescheduling an activity, contact our Support Team on 0808 196 3382^[4].

Royal Voluntary Service’s Stay Safe, Warm and Well campaign, delivered with long-term partner Yakult and with Stay Warm partner Cadent Gas, offers people up-to-date wellbeing advice and support throughout the winter.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Louisa lives with her husband and 3 children in London. She has been supported by Volunteer Responders through the Check In and Chat activity as a result of mental health issues.

Louisa explained how she sometimes felt like crying, but didn’t feel like she could because she had to be ‘strong for my boys’. Telephone Support^[14] offered her a beacon of hope.

Louisa said: “I would like to say thank you to the volunteers for making me feel less lonely and helping me realise I'm not the only one going through what I go through.”

“I think the Check In and Chat service is a very good thing that will help a lot of people with mental health issues who don’t want to go out and speak to people about their problems or are on their own at home.”

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Last year it was estimated that around 500,000 over 65-year-olds spent Christmas alone.

That’s why, we’ll be hosting more in-person festive events than ever before for this year’s Festive Spread. 
 
Most of our events are free to attend, although numbers are limited and so pre-booking is essential. To secure a place for you or someone you know. 

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

This festive season, over a million older adults will spend Christmas Day without company, according to research from Royal Voluntary Service.

Through our Check In and Chat^[16] service, you can bring comfort and connection to those who need it most. Chief Nursing Officer for England, Duncan Burton, says:

"While Christmas is a time for celebrations with family and friends for many, we know for some people it can be a lonely and difficult time, especially for those who live alone. If you can spare some time this Christmas, please do sign up. It is the best gift you can give."

Make this holiday season brighter for someone. To make a Check In and Chat call, make sure you have Telephone Support selected on the GoodSAM website^[2] and then accept a call in the GoodSAM app.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Following a review, we wanted to let you know we are pausing requests for Community Response in certain Local Authorities.

We will do this from time to time to ensure we balance the support offered with providing a positive experience for our volunteers. All volunteers with the Community Response role in the areas that have been paused were notified of this by email last week.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

We have made 2 short videos on disability awareness available to you. This covers key elements of understanding disability, including some helpful tips.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Hanukkah (pronounced HAA-NUH-KUH) is the Jewish festival of light. The dates of Hanukkah change every year, but it always falls in November or December and lasts for 8 days.

This year, it begins on the evening of Wednesday 25 December 2024 and ends on Thursday 2 January 2025.

Families and friends commemorate the occasion by lighting menorah, eating traditional foods and spending time with loved ones. To find out more about how  Hannukah is celebrated^[18] by watching this short video created by BBC.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024

Questions this week include volunteering in a new location, how far in advance you book your shifts and why you are seeing certain tasks from across the country.

I’m travelling over the festive period, can I volunteer in a new location?

Yes, tasks will be shown to you based on your mobile phone's physical location. No matter where you are in England, you can always help people who need some extra support this winter.

I’d like to plan my shifts ahead, how far in advance can I book a volunteer activity?

Currently the app allows you to search 28 days in advance for shifts in the activities tab.

Why am I seeing ‘national’ tasks in the Activities tab on the GoodSAM app?

These will be Telephone Support tasks. This activity involves speaking to people on the phone and offering friendly conversation. Because these tasks do not require any travel and can be done from anywhere, you can talk to people from all across England.

Page last reviewed: 13 December 2024