The Link Visiting Scheme

0118 979 8019

Confronting Loneliness, Celebrating Friendship

The Link Visiting Scheme celebrates friendship and addresses the serious impact of loneliness. The main focus is on older people who need extra friendship and support. We match volunteers with those who would love to see a friendly face on a regular basis for a couple of hours each week either over the phone or face to face.

Why the community needs us
Loneliness and social isolation especially among older people can lead to a spiral of poor health and low mood which in turn leads to further isolation. Through our network of volunteers we aim to connect those most in need and offer everyone a range of social opportunities to enjoy and look forward to. Quality time and a friendly face can make all the difference. We enable older people to access small friendship groups too either online or in local cafes or garden centres.

Our impact on the community
We're so proud to have connected over 1000 older people with a volunteer, adding thousands' of hours of friendship, laughter and fun to people who had felt forgotten. Over the last year, working with Wokingham Borough Council, we have supported over 3000 people during lockdown to ensure everyone could access help and receive social support. We are part of a network of organisations in the borough called 'The Friendship Alliance' where together we can ensure Wokingham Borough is a friendlier, kinder place to live.

Volunteers needed

Primarily we connect older people with a volunteer for friendship and support. We therefore constantly need new volunteers to help us with our aim of promoting friendship. Anyone who likes to listen and chat can volunteer with us pending references and DBS check. We also run our 'Link Express' project which provided immediate telephone support before a longer term volunteer can be found. We run a number of small friendship groups which all depend on volunteers too. All our volunteers are given training and support while with us.

What your gift could provide

£10

Provide refreshments for a Friendship Group

£20

Enable us to buy seeds and bird feeders for an older person's garden

£50

Cover the cost of an assessment of a newly referred older person struggling with loneliness

Fundraise for us!

Charity Information

The Link Visiting Scheme

Telephone: 0118 979 8019

Address: The Charity and Community Hub, Waterford House, Erfstadt Court, Wokingham Berkshire RG40 2YF

Established in: 1998