“WHAT we desperately want is the outside world to come in and be our friend,” says Linda Pattie of The Woodlarks Centre in Farnham, as she makes an appeal for volunteers to join the centre’s loving family.

Founded in 1949, The Woodlarks Centre located in a rural location on the outskirts of Farnham, aims to provide the highest quality of care and support for people with a range of disabilities, in a warm and stimulating environment.

Already home to an array of dedicated staff and volunteers, new faces are always welcome. Linda Pattie, business manager at Woodlarks and member of Farnham Weyside Rotary Club, added: “We are always in need of more, because we are a charity we have to watch how much we are spending and where. One lady comes in and reads poetry, so anything, there is no limit to a volunteer – and we couldn’t fault our volunteer drivers, but we could always do with more.

“And we have a wonderful board of trustees, we have eight on the board at the moment. They are all voluntary, putting in a lot of time and effort for us.

“Our priority is that residents have a roof over their head and food in their bellies, everything else around that we will work out.

“It is nice to have extra help. We are one of the forgotten charities in Farnham because we are tucked away in The Bourne.

“We don’t get the recognition that others get, we can only rely on people here talking about us out there.

“We have 20 year olds up to 80 year olds and our people stay a long time, so we can’t say that everyone in Farnham will be touched by us because they won’t be.

“What we desperately want is the outside world to come in and be our friend, and support us when we do different things like Christmas fairs or the summer fair this year.”

Every second Saturday of the month the centre opens its doors to the public to come in and just simply, chat to the residents and staff.

Linda speaks fondly of the centre which she doesn’t see as a work setting but as a very rewarding and loving place:

“All the profits that we make have to go back to do something for the residents. It’s the kind of job that you don’t dread getting up for in the morning, I look forward to coming in.

“It’s not like a job at all, it’s somewhere you come every day and you work hard – everyone works really hard. It is so rewarding, it’s almost like a pleasure.

“I find the young generation of today accept disabilities far more than my generation did, and that the young school kids want to help. They don’t look at them and think they are disabled they are just people and ignore all the disabilities.”

Starting out as a day visitor and later becoming a full-time resident, Lucy Clayton, now 41, has known Woodlarks since she was 18. “I became a full-time resident because I liked it so much – it was my decision to move in.

“I enjoy virtually everything here, we go on trips, and I make rugs but I confess I haven’t done a lot of it lately. I am making a heart and a teddy-bear.

“I cross-stitch and we go ice-skating in the cold - you just hold on to the back of the wheelchair and hope you don’t fall over.”

For more information about the centre see the website www.thewoodlarkscentre.co.uk, or call the team on 01252 714041.