Gillian’s husband was very ill and he could no longer speak. With that and being restricted to the home to care for her husband, Gillian was becoming more isolated. Our volunteer started weekly visits to feed the birds. It took a while to get to know each other but gradually trust was built and Gillian started to open up and enjoy the visits. She described the volunteer visits as a “breath of fresh air”. Four years on the two still meet regularly.

Anne is nearly 90 and started to feel isolated when she wasn’t able to get out and take part in her usual activities. She also had to give up driving and found parting with her beloved car difficult to adjust to. When Sarah first started to visit Anne she was very much housebound. But as trust between them grew, Anne started to feel more confident and eventually was able to venture outside in her garden knowing that Sarah was on hand should she need her. Soon, as well as helping to fill her newly installed bird feeders Anne progressed onto completing more small tasks like a bit of weeding or harvesting her tomato plants.