The graph below shows that the rate at which the calculated number of infected people in Bucks is increasing seems to be slowing down – the calculated increase for week ending 10 January was only 5%. However, the more reliable ONS Infection Survey data, available to 27 December 2021, has always shown a higher total than figures derived from reported test data and so far continues to indicate a continuing high rate of increase.
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BuDS’ Analysis of the Prime Minister’s Briefing about the Response to Omicron
The Prime Minister yesterday (4 January) held another Covid-19 press conference. While acknowledging the seriousness of the Omicron emergency and announcing plans to put the NHS and essential services on a ‘war footing’, the PM also said that the Government would NOT be introducing any further precautions to slow the spread of Omicron and instead would ‘ride the wave’. Read on for more…
Read MoreBack in the Saddle – Update 19
I am now in the beautiful Peak District National Park and 49% of the way through my virtual journey. I still can’t quite believe how far I’ve managed to cycle each day for the last few weeks. I’ve even managed 1 day were I hit the heady heights of 5km on my trusty exercise bike! That was what I was thinking I’d be achieving everyday, the whole way through this challenge You never know, at this rate I might make it to John o’Groats by the 1.5 anniversary (24 July 2022) of when I started, rather than my original predicated end date (24 January 2022). However, whenever I get there is fine with me. It’s not like someone’s going to come along and move the finishing post.
Read MoreCovid-19 Risk Assessment Week Ending 3rd January 2022
As Bucks goes back to work and school, sadly Omicron infections remain incredibly high, with 1 in every 25 people now infected. This means it is almost inevitable that you and your family WILL catch Omicron in your normal life unless you take strict precautions. The cautiously good news is that the number of people going into local hospitals with Covid has only increased by a small amount so far – but it is still early days.
Our key message remains that everyone needs to take action to keep themselves safe from Omicron. Read on for more…
Read MoreEvent Volunteers
Pre-Covid, BuDS helped make big public events like Armed Forces Day, town fairs and music festivals more accessible and inclusive for all disabled people. We expect to be resuming this work, in a Covid-safe way, in 2022.
A lot of BuDS’ work is done before the event is held, during the planning phase, but often BuDS volunteers also attend the event itself to help disabled visitors and their families. Typically, BuDS will provide accessible games and activities for disabled adults and children, provide an information point and ‘breakout’ quiet space for autistic people, help staff disabled parking and police viewing areas and wheelchair platforms for disabled people. As an event volunteer, you’ll work on the day of the event as part of the organised and professional BuDS team, doing a range of practical tasks and activities. Full PPE and training are provided. You can do one or more events as suits your availability.
Express an Interest in Volunteering as an Event Volunteer
BuDDies
BuDDies are volunteers who befriend lonely or isolated disabled people and support them with regular contact by phone, videocall or social media messaging (possibly by face-to-face contact too when Covid-19 permits). Working within our professional and fully safeguarded team, and with support from both staff and other volunteers, this role would suit empathic, understanding and caring people who can help others in a non-judgemental way and have the time for a regular contact. You may have counselling or mental health experience. Full training provided.
To read more about the BuDDies project, click here.
Express an Interest in Volunteering as a BuDDy or BuDDies Support Volunteer
Support Volunteers
Support volunteers work directly with disabled people to help them with their individual needs and remove barriers which prevent them from moving forward. This work suits empathic, caring and committed people who want to help others in a professional way.
We are currently recruiting the following Support Volunteer roles:
Volunteer Team Enablers
Working inside BuDS as part of the wider ‘HR’ team, you would support BuDS volunteers to help them move forward in their volunteering and personal journey. This could include mentoring young people in their first working environment, supporting people who are anxious or insecure, and encouraging team work and peer support. This role would suit patient and caring people with life and working experience who are keen to share their skills and help others to move forward.
Reach4Work Mentors
Many BuDS volunteers are disabled people looking to get a job or move closer to work. Some are young people finding their way forward, others are people who have acquired a disability recently and having to rethink their future. As a Reach4Work mentor, you will be paired with one or two of our jobseeker volunteers to support them through regular mentoring sessions. This role would suit caring people with experience of the world of work who are keen to support others to move forward in their careers and work journeys.
Enquiries and Advocacy Volunteers
Disabled people contact BuDS with a wide variety of issues, and we try to help them with information, advice, guidance and where necessary advocating on their behalf with service-providers, employers and public bodies. As an enquiry and advocacy volunteer, working within our professional and organised service, you will be able to choose the enquiries or people you can best support. This role would suit determined and compassionate people who know how the world works, who want to support others and remove barriers which prevent people moving forward.
Welfare Rights Volunteers
Disabled people must fight for the support they are entitled to from the DWP, housing providers, councils and the NHS. BuDS wants to support disabled people with the difficult problems which other agencies like CAB cannot easily help with. This role would suit people with a good knowledge of one or more aspects of the welfare rights system who want to support others and help people get the help they are entitled to.
Express an Interest in Volunteering as a Support Volunteer
Professional Volunteers
BuDS aims to be an expert and professional charity in its field, and we rely on the support of our professional volunteers. Professional volunteers provide confidential, independent, and expert advice and insight to our Trustees and project teams. This can be done either as an active member of a project team or as an occasional informal consultant on an ‘as-needed’ basis. Our professional volunteers are both retired and currently practicing people.
We are currently seeking professional volunteers with the following background and experience:
Covid-19-related
e.g. clinical, public health, virology, epidemiology and similar areas
Welfare Rights
e.g. benefits, housing, debt, social care, council services
Mental Health
e.g. mental capacity, mental health, psychology, psychiatry
Planning & Architecture
e.g. local authority or private planners, architects, designers
Criminal Justice
e.g. lawyers, prosecutors, victim support, police
Events
e.g. event organisational professionals, local authority licencing officers
Communications
e.g. PR practitioners, designers, website professionals, editors, and proof-readers
Express an Interest in Volunteering as a Professional Volunteer
Project Volunteers
BuDS has more than 20 different projects and each project is run by a team of volunteers, supported by staff. As a project volunteer, you help BuDS’ work move forward and support people across Bucks and beyond. Being a project volunteer is like having an unpaid job but working with lovely friendly supportive people and for an organisation which really cares about you.
Project teams work in an organised way and every project volunteer has their own specific role within the team. This could be keeping in touch with other organisations like Bucks Council or the NHS, doing research, writing e-mails or articles, working with statistics, helping process applications or keeping databases up to date. Our ‘housekeeping’ projects do things like fundraising, accounts, HR and safeguarding and there are opportunities to get involved in this work too. Your volunteering role is arranged to suit your availability, interests, skills and experience and we provide all the induction, support and training you will need.
Here are the project volunteer roles currently open:
Fair4All Attitudes & Disability Hate Crime
Are you interested in the public’s attitude to disabled people and how people can be better informed and educated about disability? Or would you like to work with Thames Valley Police and others to combat disability hate crime? Maybe you have a background in this area? Then this new project is for you – we have opportunities for researchers, analysts, communications and liaison volunteers.
Fair4All Services
Are you interested in the social care, health, housing, and other support services provided for disabled people? Would you like to work to find out how good these services are and how they could be improved? Maybe you have worked in the NHS or council or for a housing association? Maybe you would like to be part of a team focusing on learning disability issues. This project needs researchers, analysts, communications and liaison volunteers.
Fair4All Public Spaces
Are you passionate about making places inclusive and accessible for disabled people? Would you like to influence the design of new buildings and places and get involved with making parks and green spaces more open for disabled people? Maybe you have worked in accessibility or in planning or design? This project needs researchers, analysts, communications and liaison volunteers.
Fair4All Events
Would you like public events and venues to be inclusive and accessible for disabled people? Would you like to work with event organisers to help them make their events and functions more open for disabled people? Maybe you have worked in event organising or planning? This project needs researchers, analysts, communications and liaison volunteers.
Fundraising
Would you like to help BuDS raise much needed funds by organising fundraising events and functions or encouraging people to donate? We are looking for community and event fundraisers to join our small fundraising team.
Express an Interest in Volunteering as a Project Volunteer
Current Volunteer Opportunities
BuDS has a number of current volunteering roles available, across all parts of the charity. Read on for more about these, and how to apply. If you don’t know what sort of role might suit you best, please e-mail us to express a general interest and we will arrange a no-strings informal chat.
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