A CHARITY offering friendship and support to older people is looking to recruit new volunteers in towns and villages within 15 miles of its head office in Bordon.

Volunteers are continuously required as the waiting lists for TLC’s help are expanding and spreading throughout the Hampshire and Surrey border.

Waiting lists for help cover areas from Farnham and Alton through to Bordon, Headley, Hindhead, Haslemere, Liphook, Liss, Petersfield, stretching further towards Aldershot, Cowplain, Rowlands Castle and Havant.

People in those communities with dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, COPD, stroke and other life-limiting conditions, benefit from TLC volunteers giving up to three hours a week to support and befriend them.

Many of TLC’s clients are either isolated with a paid carer who can only give them about 15 minutes twice a day for personal care, or those who are being cared for by a family member who has no time to themselves and are in desperate need of some “breathing space”.

A visit from one of TLC’s volunteers can make a huge difference to not only those who are in need but also their family, who look forward to a friendly face and someone to listen and help.

Everyone volunteers for a different reason, so TLC volunteers are carefully matched with the right person and provided with an induction workshop and on-going workshops, if they wish.

All volunteers are supported along the way by the TLC team. There are also opportunities to meet other volunteers to exchange experiences.

For information about volunteering or the work TLC does, call the charity on 01420 477231 or email volunteer@hospiceser

vices.org.uk.

Alternatively visit the website www.hospiceservices.org.uk.