Celebrating our volunteers by saying thank you

‘I feel like I am part of the team. Every day is a highlight.’

Kevin Salter has been a volunteer at Tonbridge Cottage Hospital for more than 10 years and is showing no sign of giving it up any time soon.

The former BT network engineer took early retirement and was encouraged by his wife to ‘get some purpose in my life’. Volunteering for the NHS was his choice.

Patients receiving treatment at the hospital are instantly won over by Kevin’s friendly smile, love for old music (played from his famous Spotify playlists) and his ability to perform magic card tricks.

He says: “I collect menus and food orders, organise activities in the day room. Sometimes we might have a game of bingo. I put music on, chat and reminisce.

“It’s really nice when people greet you, or you see a patient you might have met years ago and they remember you.”

Watch: Kevin talk about why he loves being a volunteer at one of our community hospitals.

Breastfeeding Assistant Practitioner Rachel, 42, from Maidstone, started working at KCHFT as a volunteer.

After experiencing the isolation of lockdown with a young child, she saw an advertisement for a voluntary breastfeeding peer support worker position, and applied.

She says: “I was a stay-at-home mum after leaving a career in visual merchandising. I had two small children, one of whom I was breastfeeding.

I’d always had really great support and found it a positive, enjoyable experience. I’d also volunteered supporting people to feed, in the past.

“I thought about all the new mums facing things alone, in the pandemic. I knew this was the time to offer my help.

“After some training, I worked as part of virtual support appointments with mums who needed help, offering empathy and a listening ear, as well as tips and advice.

“Once things started to open up again, a paid for position as a breastfeeding assistant practitioner with the infant feeding team came up.

“All of the knowledge gathered from being a breastfeeding volunteer was valuable in the interview. I was offered the job in March 2022.

“Breastfeeding wasn’t something I considered to be a career path, before volunteering opened my eyes.

“It is an extraordinary feeling, when you successfully help someone to breastfeed. It can be a much more difficult process than people anticipate. Seeing that lightbulb moment, when someone gets feeding right, is incredible.

“I feel very lucky to work in a such a rewarding career.”

‘KCHFT was the best of the NHS that I experienced. I wanted to give something back.’

Carol Coleman is one of our public governors. She sits on our Council of Governors and works with us to improve the care we provide by providing a voice to our communities.

Carol started volunteering many years ago after being a long-term carer for her loved one and has never stopped helping out.

She says: “I got a lot more back than I put in. There was care, consideration and it gave me an outlet.

“I don’t just volunteer as a governor, I am also a gardener at Deal Hospital, which has been so enriching.”

Watch: Carol talks about the impact volunteering has had on her life.

‘As a peer mentor it is the lived experience and the confidence to use that lived experience to support other people that is so important.’

As a volunteer peer supporter, Steve Bamford gives up his time to help other people living with HIV across Kent and Medway in regular online support sessions.

He says: “I was diagnosed with HIV in 2018. At the time of my diagnosis, I had no knowledge of HIV medication or that I could lead a normal life.

“There is still a stigma about the virus. There are pros and cons about telling people or not telling people. One thing about keeping it to yourself though, is that you don’t have a support network.”

Watch: Steve talks about the role of a peer support volunteer.

‘Walking fills the human connection gap.’

Andrea Olver is a One You Kent Walk and Talk Coordinator but spends her spare time volunteering as a walk leader in Dover and the surrounding area. 

She says: “While my day-to-day role involves coordinating our walk and talk volunteers, it was becoming a volunteer walk leader myself that changed everything.

“Walking fills that human connection gap. Working from home can be isolating, becoming a walk leader forced me out of the house (in a good way) and meant I got away from screens, out into nature and had some much-needed exercise. I also made many new friends. 

“Did you know all of the NHS’s five-ways to wellbeing are ticked off by becoming a Walk and Talk leader? Connecting with people, being mindful (especially in nature), physical activity, learning and giving back to others.

Some of my favourite walks are the ones around Sandwich – where we go across beautiful scenery and countryside, then down to the beach. I also love Canterbury and Tenterden, where you see so much history and culture. But to be honest, I love all of our walks as they provide so much variety, whether that’s walking in countryside, in the towns or by the sea.

“The walks aren’t just a bit of exercise. They can be transformative. We’ve even had budding romances and life-lasting friendships.

Some of our walkers have moved from elsewhere in the UK and even from overseas. Often, they don’t know anyone until they attend one of our walks, but now have a big group of friends who have been able to introduce them to other activities and provide a support network.

“We now work with partner services who prescribe our walking groups for mental wellbeing and health.

“With that in mind, we have a walk for every ‘walk’ of life, from 30-minute strolls up to 90-minute walks. There is something for everyone.”

Sue Ward and Amanda Moore have life-limiting injuries and chronic pain. They both attended our Expert Patients Programme (EPP), a free six-week course to help people manage long term conditions. They found the experience ‘magical’.

The now firm friends were approached to volunteer as a facilitator, to help others by leading one of the groups. They are due to start later this year.

Sue says: “I knew straight away, this is what I wanted to do. I want to help others that suffer chronic conditions. I have met some wonderful people.”

Amanda adds: “To be with people who need a little bit of light, in dark times, I can’t cure it, but if we can add a little bit of sparkle to their day that would be enough.”

Watch: Amanda and Sue talk about the difference they can make volunteering for KCHFT