Here at Friends of the Family Winchester, our aim is to help families face their futures with confidence. We do this through three core services – befriending for children aged 5 to 13, a therapy group for mums with young children, and counselling for both mums and dads. Through these services, we aim to give hope to families and children when times are tough.
Our Befriending Service for 5- to 13-year-olds trains adult volunteers to be paired with children who need support, committing to spend two hours a week with them over the course of a year. This simple gift of friendship has the power to transform young lives.
Sharon is one such volunteer who started her befriending journey with 11-year-old Rosie back in November. Rosie’s Mum suffers from mental health issues and her little brother is autistic, forcing her Dad to stop working to care for them at home. Rosie has grown increasingly anxious, becoming reluctant to leave the house and wary of new experiences. Sharon says she’s already seeing fantastic results. “We quickly built a good friendship and a genuine respect for each other. Rosie is in Year 6 and is approaching the transition from Primary to Secondary school. I hope I can help her to grow in confidence as she approaches this milestone. The aim of the Befriending Service is simple: to let children be children. As Rosie says, “Me and Sharon have already done some fun things like arts and crafts. We decided to both learn something new together, so we are learning how to crochet at the same time! The charity supports over 30 children like Rosie each year, and it’s not only the children who benefit. As Befriending Manager Sam Hunt says, “The gift of friendship goes both ways. Many of our volunteers comment on the happiness it brings to their lives too.”
Our volunteers mean the world to us and the beauty of being a small local charity is that we can really get to know each volunteer and support them individually through their volunteer journey. They get to know each other too and really enjoy a sense of purpose and community. However, with so many children being referred to us, we really need more volunteers to join us. We are very worried that children who desperately need help will miss out. You don’t need any special skills or qualifications, all you need is empathy, kindness, a willingness to help, and a love of spending time with children. You can do it!
Rosie says, “I really like having Sharon as my befriender, she’s a keeper!” Why not see if you can be a ‘keeper’ for a child in Winchester this year?
Anyone interested in finding out more about Friends of the Family or becoming a Befriender please contact 01962 864466, email volunteer@fotfwinchester.org or head to
fotfwinchester.org now.
