A POUNDBURY based charity supporting local families is celebrating the latest wave of new recruits.

Home-Start West Dorset has seen 17 new home visiting volunteers completed two Volunteer Preparation Courses.

They are now looking forward to meeting their allocated families and putting their skills into practice.

They will be there to offer a helping hand, a listening ear, and caring friendship that can make all the difference to families when things get tough.

Home-Start West Dorset senior organiser Helen Horsley said all the families supported by the charity have at least one child under the age of five, but the challenges they face vary from family to family.

They may be coping with twins or triplets, or be new to the area and far away from friends and family, or they may have problems with housing, employment or illness.

Whatever the circumstances, Home-Start’s role is to match a home visiting volunteer to a family, and to give them over-arching support while they work together to turn things around.

Just two or three hours a week of home-visiting can translate into quality time for the family.

One mother said: “I’ve made friends with my volunteer. I really enjoyed her company and my daughter loved to play with her very much."

Home-Start West Dorset is always looking for more volunteers and is keen to hear from anyone who is a parent themselves, has a little spare time to give and wants to do something positive to help families and children in their local area.

Home-visiting volunteers are as varied as the families they support, and they join up for many different reasons,

Young mother-of-three Emily from West Dorset says she feels blessed, and would like to share her good fortune with others.

Alice, now enjoying a busy retirement in Dorchester, says she loves children, homemaking and having a chat, and she hopes to put her life’s experience to good use.

Anna, who travelled the world and worked in a Romanian orphanage before settling in Sherborne and having her own children, says she’s keen to make a difference closer to home.

If you don’t feel that home-visiting is for you, Home-Start West Dorset also welcomes volunteers to help with vital fundraising, admin, or community engagement.

New Weymouth-based ‘behind the scenes’ volunteer Kit says: "It’s only too easy when there’s so much doom and gloom in the media to feel powerless, especially when thinking about the many difficulties parents and children have to face.

"But making the decision to volunteer is a really positive step; and becoming part of a caring and well-run organisation like Home-Start West Dorset makes you feel good too.

"Everyone’s a winner! I can really recommend it!"

For more information about Home-Start West Dorset, including volunteering, the next training course or seeking family support, visit homestartwestdorset.co.uk or call 01305 265072.

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