Day centres are an important community resource, providing older people with places to socialise, build friendships and maintain their independence.

The Saxon Day Centre in Orpington (run by Age Concern Orpington & District) is one of two mainstream day centres operating in the borough. It caters for elderly clients, including those with early-stage dementia who are in need of a break from their home environment, or whose carers need a day of respite. The centre is open on weekdays and currently has capacity for sixty clients per day. It also offers a wide range of creative and physical activities, all aimed at supporting the mental and physical well-being of its clients.

The successful running of the centre relies on the dedication of its team of volunteers who work across various roles, from catering, to leading activities. And, as Nicole Shilling - Saxon Day Centre Manager explained, the charity is always keen to attract new volunteers with diverse skill sets:

“We’re looking for people who might be interested in helping with things like marketing and promoting the day centre and the other services. And we’re looking for somebody or several volunteers who might be interested perhaps in helping us with fundraising. Because we’re a charity, obviously we do a lot of fundraising, we’ve lost a huge amount of money over the last couple of years with COVID and the closures. Our income is purely generated from clients attending the Day Centre, so all the time we were closed we didn’t have an income and obviously when we reopened with fifteen clients, we only had funding from fifteen people attending. Our break even point is probably thirty five people a day.”

Volunteering for the Saxon Day Centre would suit someone who is outgoing, adaptable and, more importantly, shares a commitment to the charity’s mission to provide high quality, dignified care to elderly clients. So, what kind of experience can volunteers expect? Nicole had this to say:

“It really depends on what they want to do in a volunteering capacity but most people find it extremely rewarding. Whether that’s working on a one to one basis with a particular client with specific needs, or whether that’s doing an activity? The staff are very welcoming, it’s quite a social environment. It’s not clinical or anything like that . . . very often it’s very raucous and loud because people are laughing, they’re playing games, they’ll have sing along's, they do exercises and obviously the volunteers join in all of those things.”

John Li is a volunteer at the Saxon Day Centre and told us what he enjoys most about it:

“I enjoy meeting and chatting with the clients and other volunteers. Knowing that I have contributed in some way to a necessary service in the community also gives me much happiness.”

As for advice to the would-be volunteer, John had this to say:

“I would tell them not to hesitate and join the team. I can’t think of a better charity to help. We are all getting older, elderly and dementia care services are severely lacking in the community and more media exposure is needed to tell the public how we need additional support for the elderly.

Everyday, volunteers across the borough are making a positive difference within our communities and transforming lives.  Saxon Day Centre has a number of volunteering opportunities that you could get involved in.  Click on the links to read the full role description, and how you can apply - Activities Volunteer, Fundraising Volunteer, Kitchen Assistant, Marketing Volunteer, and One to One Companions.