Foresight

Foresight has given over 80 young people the chance to volunteer assisting blind and visually impaired people, over the past two years.

Young people volunteer for two hours a week for ten weeks, giving blind and partially sighted people the chance to do things they may not otherwise be able to do.

Lisa Johnson is 25 and is a volunteer for Foresight. She has found her experience working there fulfilling and fun. She has developed some great relationships with the people she volunteers with and has had the chance to get involved in a whole range of activities through the organisation, for example she works with someone at the moment who she regularly takes to play golf. She also helps people with more practical tasks such as filling out forms and getting through some of their household chores that they may find difficult otherwise.

Foresight recruits volunteers through the local YMCA foyers, Connexions, local sixth forms and colleges. All volunteers are given visual impairment awareness training and go through a full induction process when they start volunteering. They are fully supported by staff and other volunteers. Volunteers are all allocated a mentor who they can talk to any time and they are all given monthly appraisals.

Foresight volunteers have plenty of opportunity to learn new skills through their experiences – they can improve their people and communications skills and learn about social care through working with clients. They are given the same training opportunities as staff and can learn to use audio recording equipment, take courses in first aid, risk assessment and health and safety.

Foresight is always working on ways to improve the volunteer experience. The organisation is about to invest in talking book software to create materials in an mp3 format, which volunteers will be trained to use. New activities including gliding and archery will soon also be supported by volunteers, giving them plenty of opportunity to get involved in new activities.