THE Royal Voluntary Service is calling on people in Dorset to volunteer for an ‘hour per week’ or more, to see their local community through the difficult winter ahead.

The charity’s Hour of Need campaign (hourofneed.org.uk), which is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is calling for a repeat of the groundswell of generosity and positivity it saw back in March when people stepped forward to volunteer, to help see the NHS and the most vulnerable people through lockdown safely.

Requests for help from the vulnerable and the NHS are rapidly increasing and volunteers are needed in Dorset to support with a range of valuable services, whether flexible or regular volunteering. There are a variety of roles available from helping vulnerable people recover after a hospital stay and transporting them to or from hospital, serving refreshments to NHS staff and patients in our retail estate, to supporting as an NHS Volunteer Responder with shopping, friendly phone calls or Stewarding at vaccination centres.

Michael Gardner, Commissioned Service Operations Manager for Royal Voluntary Service in Dorset said: “It’s already been an incredibly tough year for both our clients and the NHS, and the new lockdown presents even more challenges. The truth is that the more volunteers we have on board, the faster our communities will recover. If you can spare even just an hour a week you’ll be doing an amazing thing for Dorset.”