VOLUNTEERS are desperately needed to help out at Tyddyn Bach Trust HIV/AIDS respite centre.
Tyddyn Bach Trust in Penmaenmawr needs six new volunteers to keep up with the demand for their services as numbers attending respite breaks at the centre steps up to hundreds per year.
Tyddyn Bach provides care and respite for those affected by HIV and Aids, both sufferers and carers, and in the past was awarded the group prize in the Wales Volunteers of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action.
Centre manager Philip Kearton Smith was keen to point out the centre is not somewhere people come to die, nor we a ‘care home’. Philip says: “Those that visit us need space and time to recuperate and rest, as well as often needing gentle emotional support, just as anyone who is affected by a life-debilitating illness would do; our present team of dedicated volunteers are here as simply friends.
“However, we just simply don’t have enough volunteers to go round, over past months many have gained enough confidence to return to full-time work and unfortunately don’t have the time to come up and help out as they used to.”
Volunteers are needed to help not only with befriending but equally house maintenance, sleepovers, fundraising as well as assistance keeping its one and a half acre garden under control. Anything from a few hours a week to one day a week would be ideal.
Anyone that is retired or unemployed would be very welcome and they don’t need any previous experience as Tyddyn Bach will carry out any training needed.
Tyddyn Bach receives no statutory funding and relies totally on grants and donations for its upkeep. If you would like to find out more about the work they do, or would like to make a donation visit tyddynbachtrust.co.uk
For more information about volunteering at the centre call 01492 623322.
