Alison, who is 57 years old and lives in Whitley Bay in the North East of England, is a call companion and a call companion interviewer for Re-engage.   Alison trained to be a nurse in the 1980s and, after becoming a Registered General Nurse, she moved into mental health and qualified as a Registered Mental Nurse. Alison was born with Spina Bifida and unfortunately, in 2009 she had to retire early as deterioration of her spine severely restricted her mobility.

We spoke to Alison about her role as a call companion and what makes her tick.

Why did you decide to become a Re-engage volunteer? 

I am restricted in what I can do because of my mobility issues. Since retiring I have always wanted to volunteer in some way, so telephone befriending made sense.   I am so glad I have found Re-engage as at last I feel useful again - something I've sorely missed since retiring. 

What does your role involve?

I ring a lovely lady once a week. She is 94 years young, and I think she’s fantastic. She talks mostly about her family, and she always asks after my dog and cat.  She says she looks forward to my calls. I gave her a couple of extra calls when I thought she was feeling a bit down - she was absolutely delighted to get a surprise call and it really cheered her up.

I was amazed to learn she had a pen pal for 78 years - I found out that the world record is 78 years and 160 days. Her original pen pal was from Australia and her best friend still writes to her, as does her son.  She’s had 8 pen pals in Australia thanks to her first friendship. They’ve all been to Wales to visit her, and she’s been to visit them too.

As a call companion interviewer, I contact people who have applied to become volunteers with Re-engage and I conduct an informal interview to progress their application. I enjoy the interviewing as I get to speak to some lovely and very interesting people.

I'm also considering taking on the role of call companion coordinator at some point in the future.

 What's the best thing about being a volunteer for Re-engage?

I really look forward to ringing the lady I have been matched with and hearing about her family. We’ve also discovered we both like talking about food so it’s a subject that's always on the agenda.

What makes you get out of bed every morning? 

I get up very early to give my little dog Poppy medication, as she has epilepsy, and I feed my cat at the same time. I can only walk Poppy when I first get up, using my walking aid. 

 Do you have a favourite saying or quote that you live by? 

 ‘Treat others as you would like to be treated’ and ‘It costs nothing to be nice’, which comes from my Dad.

 What would you say to anyone who was thinking about becoming a volunteer? 

I would advise anyone to find a voluntary role that fits in with their life. I look upon volunteering as a win, win situation. The person or animal you help gains and as a volunteer, it’s good to know you have helped someone in some small way.  You often find out about something you didn’t know at the same time.