Case Studies

Meet volunteer driver, Ray...
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Ray Brooke, 67, is a volunteer driver at Ferncliffe Road, a CIC supported living service in Leeds. Ray tells us more about he found himself lending a much needed helping hand through volunteering
“I’ve worked all my life as a warehouse man, driving all over the country. During those long days I’d looked forward to my retirement, but no sooner had it arrived, the novelty wore off! I hated having nothing to get up for in the mornings and soon found myself at a loose end. That’s when I started to think about what skills I could offer through volunteering.
“Lynda, the Manager at Ferncliffe Road, has been a friend for many years and so she suggested that I use my experience and volunteer to drive their mini-bus. I thought it was a great idea and I now volunteer five days a week, taking the guys out to whatever activities they have on; whether it be a few hours at their day centre, an afternoon shopping or even horse-riding lessons!
“Lots of people ask me why I’m not using my retirement to sit back and relax but that would leave me bored and restless. I love volunteering, it keeps me busy and I’ve made great friends with the staff at the service who all treat me like one of their team. I’ve got a lot of respect for what the support staff do;  it’s a hard job and if I can make it a little bit easier by freeing up some of their time helping out with driving, then I’m quite happy!”

Meet volunteer be-frienders, Beryl & Mary
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Beryl Hamel and Mary Davies each volunteer two days a week at Amberleigh House, a specialist dementia care home in Fazakerley, Liverpool. Between them they have notched up almost twenty years of volunteering at the home...
“My husband and Mary’s elderly friend were both cared for at Amberleigh House,” explains Beryl. “The way the staff here looked after our loved ones will stay with us forever and that’s why we both volunteer now, to try, in our own little way, to say thanks.”
“We help with activities like bingo, reminiscence sessions and sing-a-longs,” says Mary. “Dementia can be a very sad illness, but our role means that we can make our residents lives happier.”
And it’s not just the residents who Beryl and Mary help, residents’ families also benefit from their personal experiences. “We know how it feels to place a loved one in a home, so we are able to empathise with families, offering them support and reassurance,” says Beryl.
Mary agrees, “I think it is important when you retire that you do something of real purpose and value. That is why it is such a pleasure volunteering at Amberleigh House, where our work is both valued and valuable.”

Meet Laura Wiltshire, volunteer Marketing Assistant...
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Laura Wiltshire, 25, from Widnes, is a recent graduate of John Moore’s University, Liverpool, where she studied Media, Cultural Studies and Sociology. Laura spent several weeks working alongside CIC’s Marketing and Communications team to help her get that all important first step on the career ladder. She tells us more...
“I enjoyed my degree course, but after I graduated, I was still unsure about what to do next. The media side of my degree was my real passion, but I had also enjoyed learning more about community care issues”, explains Laura. “Gaining a placement at CIC meant that I could pursue my passion for media and marketing, but in the social care sector,”
“The marketing team encouraged me to get involved in some really exciting projects; I helped write and design an edition of You First magazine, wrote news stories for the website and also attended an awards conference to help promote CIC,” says Laura. “Having the opportunity to work in the marketing department of a big national organisation helped me decide that this was definitely where I wanted to take my career.”
Laura believes that volunteering adds value to the CV of new graduates in this difficult job market. “Shortly after the placement, I got my dream job, working in marketing.  The practical experience I gained during my placement was a huge factor in helping me secure my new role, as I was able to show employers that I could put into practice what I learned on my degree.”

Meet Jill Lucock, CIC Assistant Director...
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Jill Lucock oversees CIC’s Independent Living Services in North West England and is one of our longest serving employees. She says that Community Integrated Care has a special ethos that makes it a great place to work.
“When I joined CIC in 1990, our charity had only been in existence for two years and we were really just starting out, but even then, I knew it had something special.
“I was fired up to be working for an organisation that offered people with support and care needs the opportunity to live normal, happy lives in the community. At this time, many people with disabilities lived in institutional services which didn’t allow them to exercise a lot of choice or independence, but CIC had a then radical mission: to support them to live independently and pursue the things that made them happy.
“Of course, over the years there have been many changes in the care sector and immeasurable progress has been made to give people greater inclusion and independence, and CIC has really played its part in this.
“The reason I have worked here for so long is this: when you work for CIC – no matter what your job role, you are focussed on the same thing, the people we support. There is a fundamental respect across our organisation for our service users and a shared goal to offer them fuller, better lives. From 1990 to now, I am proud to say that CIC has always held high aspirations for the people we support and has always challenged the conventional view of what is possible.”
Image: Jill (pictured left) with service users, David Tomlinson (centre) and Arlene Earle (right) at the National Care Awards in London, where Jill was a finalist in the Outstanding Contribution to Social Care catagory.

Meet Caroline Wilcock, HR Officer...
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Caroline Wilcock is Human Resources Officer at CIC’s Support Services. Caroline provides HR advice and support to CIC’s Senior Care operational teams across the country…
“I joined CIC back in 2009 looking for a new challenge,” says Caroline. “I had spent eight years working in the private sector, primarily in the financial services industry, and I really wanted to try something new.”
“When I came across the job at CIC I was really attracted to the charity’s ethos, and was inspired by the thought of a role which had a wider social impact. Although moving from the finance industry to the social care sector was a big change, it definitely turned out to be the right move and I’ve not looked back since.”
Indeed, Caroline quickly settled into her role, instantly becoming a well-respected and much-valued member of the team. So much so that in November 2009, only seven months after coming into post, Caroline won a top customer services award at our charity’s annual awards ceremony, in recognition of her exceptional approach to customer relations.
Joanne Warren, the manager who nominated Caroline for the accolade, says: “As a manager, I really rely on the support of my colleagues in HR. As soon as Caroline joined CIC, she was quick to build trust and respect with all of her new colleagues, fostering a great working relationship with us. She was always there whenever we needed her and I was over the moon when I found out that she’d won the award! ”
Image: Caroline pictured collecting her award at the CIC 'Putting Individuals First Awards' 2009.
 
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