North Tyneside VODA’s Good Neighbours Project has been active across North Tyneside for the last ten years. We support volunteers to carry out tasks typical of a ‘good neighbour’ for residents who need support/a helping hand at no cost.
The Good Neighbours project focuses on practical support with shopping, picking up prescriptions and other tasks such DIY and gardening. We offer one-off volunteering opportunities and more medium-term commitments, like buddy support. This makes Good Neighbours a great opportunity to help out and support your local community. A little bit of help can go a long way.
What we do
Our team of Good Neighbour volunteers can assist with tasks such as:
- Shopping on behalf of someone
- Prescription drop-offs
- Being a buddy/helping someone get out into the community by being a buddy
- DIY tasks / odd jobs
- Gardening tasks (April – September)
- Moving furniture
- Helping with a Happy to Chat or Sing along session
Volunteers can assist with a variety of tasks typical of a ‘good neighbour’. Good Neighbours volunteers cannot assist with anything that requires specialist knowledge, tools or is a health and social care need.
Volunteering Roles
Could you be a Good Neighbour?
If you’re looking for a friendly and flexible volunteering opportunity then look no further. The Good Neighbours project has a number of roles available, so finding one that suits your interests and location is easy. You don’t need any particular skills or experience, just the desire and willingness to help people in the community who need it.
Here at the Good Neighbours project, we list opportunities on the Volunteero app. As one of our volunteers you’ll be given exclusive use of the app, meaning that you can choose from a range of volunteering opportunities that suit your lifestyle. See more on how the app works here.
How we support our Volunteers
Good Neighbours volunteers will be able to access the following support from VODA:
- Telephone and email support at all times during your volunteering.
- Reimbursement of any travel expenses and hand sanitiser costs incurred whilst volunteering.
- Access to guidance on Safeguarding and Lone Working
- All volunteers will be covered by VODA’s policies and procedures
- A certificate of thanks
- The opportunity to meet other volunteers and share your volunteering experience
- Monthly roundup of feedback, opportunities for training, socials and useful services
- A closed Facebook group where you can connect with your fellow volunteers
If you want to volunteer close to home and on a flexible basis, we’d love to hear from you. Email one of the Good Neighbours team or fill in this form.
How can I refer into Good Neighbours for help?
The scheme is open to anyone aged 18+ who is a resident of North Tyneside and unable to complete the task themselves due to health, age or disability and has no one else they can call on for help.
Once a referral is made, our team of volunteer co-ordinators will match one of our helpful volunteers to complete the task.
Happy to Chat
‘Happy to Chat’ sessions provide an opportunity for residents to share a cuppa and chat with someone new whilst finding information on local services, activities and support happening.
These sessions run from Dreamshine’s Well-bee-ing Hub in Wallsend every Friday 13:00 till 15:00. Contact emma.bradwell@voda.org.uk / 07596806378 for more information, or if you are interested in becoming a future Happy to Chat volunteer. Click here for the volunteer role description.
More locations are coming soon…
Meet the Good Neighbours Team
Emma Bradwell
Partnership and Funding
Our work at Good Neighbours is made possible by funding from North Tyneside Council and The Community Fund.
Case studies
Good Neighbours Case Study: Hannah
Hannah has always worked in Health and Social Care related roles including speech therapy, supporting asylum seekers and refugees and now in systems training for the social care sector. Hannah has always done bits of volunteering alongside her work, which started at university when she volunteered in a charity shop. Over the years, Hannah has […]
Good Neighbours Case Study: Penny
Penny has volunteered for Good Neighbours for almost two years. She is married with three grown-up children and recently retired from running her own business. Penny began volunteering before she retired and needed voluntary work that was flexible. She came across the Good Neighbours project while researching local volunteer opportunities. In Penny’s words: “The way […]
Good Neighbours Case Study: Pam
Pam, a retired secretary who has lived in her home in North Tyneside for 56 years, faced many challenges after being diagnosed with cancer in March 2022. Pam, who has lived on her own since the passing of her husband, has limited mobility and multiple health conditions, and while her neighbours have been a big […]
Good Neighbours Case Study: Hazel
When I broke my hip in November, it was a huge shock to me and very unexpected. I was living on my own and the weather was really bad. We were going through a cold snap with snow and ice. I didn’t feel confident at all stepping outside of my front door. I felt stuck, […]
Good Neighbours Case Study – John & Carlos
Good Neighbours beneficiary John and Good Neighbours volunteer Carlos, who take part in both our Buddy and Social Shopping Scheme, have a chat to explain how the Good Neighbours project has made a difference to them… VODA’s Good Neighbours project is one of several organisations that are a part of the Endling Loneliness project (ELP), […]
Good Neighbours Case Study: Katie and Carol
Katie and Carol have been meeting up together since before Christmas. Carol had lost her confidence following a stroke and was left with mobility problems down her left side. She was wanting help to get out a bit more to get back some of her independence. Katie is a student studying at Newcastle University. She […]
Mike Turner: Good Neighbours Volunteer
VODA’s Good Neighbours project coordinates a host of friendly volunteers who are keen to support their local community. During these difficult times, we have worked hard to help as many people with grocery shopping, collecting prescriptions, odd DIY jobs and community buddy support. Spotlight Mike has volunteered in North Tyneside for many years. He has begun […]
Good Neighbours Case Study: Sherrill Bacchus
Sherrill moved to the North East from Cambridge four years ago. She had worked in recruitment for many years, but decided it was time for a change, as she didn’t feel like she was really living life. So, one day she decided that there had to be more to life than working too many hours […]
Volunteers’ Week: Good Neighbour Charlie Fernandez
Charlie got involved with volunteering as he doesn’t like sitting around. He has worked all his life, starting off as a merchant navy engineer and then became a mechanical engineer. Charlie’s wife passed away four years ago and the company he was working for asked if he wanted to take retirement but advised him to […]
Andy Burtenshaw: Good Neighbours Volunteer
Andy is an ‘ex Southerner’ who has lived in the North East for more than 20 years. He has more than 30 plus years’ experience of working in HR, most recently at Teesside University and Gateshead Council. Lockdown came and Andy wanted to do something to help and keep busy. He didn’t feel he knew […]
Kerry: Good Neighbours Beneficiary & Volunteer
Kerry is one of our amazing Good Neighbours walking buddies, who has been working hard to help her fellow North Tynesiders during the pandemic. However, she did not start out as a volunteer, but instead she herself was on the receiving end of support from another of the Good Neighbours’ team. Her experiences of receiving […]
Leigh Culyer: Good Neighbours Volunteer
After seeing a number of posts on social media about supporting the most vulnerable residents of North Tyneside during the COVID-19 lockdown, retired Head Teacher Leigh Culyer from North Shields enlisted to help by joining VODA’s Good Neighbours and the national Good Sam scheme. Leigh, who is currently studying to be a counsellor at Newcastle […]
