I have finished my volunteer training with Guide Dogs and I have been matched with my first My Guide client. We are going to meet on Fridays just after lunch and mainly go out for walks to give her an opportunity to get out and about.
The service is pitched to volunteers as one that helps clients meet their goals. They might have toned it down a little bit now because I've noticed that most of the clients appear to want to use it as another means of getting out and about. This is a fine goal, and one that I am happy to help out with.
Thursday 1 February 2018
Tuesday 30 January 2018
Volunteer training for Guide Dogs
I've been getting ready to work as a volunteer for Guide Dogs UK, as a sighted guide. Although most people know Guide Dogs by their obvious association - guide dogs - they actually provide all manner of services to blind people, including many different types of mobility service.
One of these, My Guide, is the service for which I am in the process of getting ready to volunteer. It matches a blind person with a sighted guide (me) and we meet for 3 hours a week to get out and about and help the person meet certain pre-agreed goals.
I've completed the application, phone interview, reference check, DBS check, online training and the MyGuide training, I am just waiting to attend a half day Safeguarding training before I can be matched with someone and be their guide.
I have wanted to do some volunteering for a long time, and this is an organisation that is close to my heart. Being able to volunteer for just 3 hours a week is great, because I don't have a lot of time to give. I would like to do more, but at the moment, this is about what I can manage. I am planning on squeezing it in on a Friday afternoon.
I'm both nervous and excited about doing this. Nervous because I'll be working in a one on one situation with someone that I may not have much in common with, or may not even like very much. I'm hoping that it won't be the case that I would be matched with someone really grumpy, or depressed, or so elderly that they can barely walk anywhere. But, if I am, it will still be good to do it, and to help them out. People are people and I can work on my social skills as well as feeling good about doing someone a good turn.
One of these, My Guide, is the service for which I am in the process of getting ready to volunteer. It matches a blind person with a sighted guide (me) and we meet for 3 hours a week to get out and about and help the person meet certain pre-agreed goals.
I've completed the application, phone interview, reference check, DBS check, online training and the MyGuide training, I am just waiting to attend a half day Safeguarding training before I can be matched with someone and be their guide.
I have wanted to do some volunteering for a long time, and this is an organisation that is close to my heart. Being able to volunteer for just 3 hours a week is great, because I don't have a lot of time to give. I would like to do more, but at the moment, this is about what I can manage. I am planning on squeezing it in on a Friday afternoon.
I'm both nervous and excited about doing this. Nervous because I'll be working in a one on one situation with someone that I may not have much in common with, or may not even like very much. I'm hoping that it won't be the case that I would be matched with someone really grumpy, or depressed, or so elderly that they can barely walk anywhere. But, if I am, it will still be good to do it, and to help them out. People are people and I can work on my social skills as well as feeling good about doing someone a good turn.
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