GREAT news has been received by Barnardo’s Worcestershire Short Breaks (WSB) service from Worcestershire County Council. 

WSB has successfully secured funding until March 2015 to recruit 18 volunteers to support families who have children with disabilities. This new work will extend the current services delivered by the WSB service. 

The new volunteers will offer support to families who will be able to refer themselves to the service. 

Having a volunteer will allow families the opportunity to access a range of positive community activities to best suit their needs and wishes. 

This support could include the volunteer going out with the whole family and acting as an extra pair of hands where activities would be difficult to undertake without practical support. Or the volunteer could take the child with the disability out to undertake an activity, or take a sibling out to activities thus enabling the parent or parents and child with a disability to spend more quality time together.

The service aims to support families through a change in circumstances or short term crisis and therefore will be time limited, though can last between six-12 months for each family. 

A spokesman said: “From the outset a plan will be developed with the family and volunteer to ensure a smooth service and ending is achieved. 

“In addition to the community volunteers we will also be looking for two volunteers to assist as part of ‘stay and play’ sessions at two Children’s Centre within Worcestershire which are run by Barnardo's.  These sessions will be for families who have children with disabilities and run probably on a monthly basis.

“WSB is very excited at being able to offer this additional service and the opportunity to support a new group of families.”

For more details about the volunteering service, contact Angela Ayliffe on 01905 778275 or email angela.ayliffe@barnardos.org.uk .