The Honeypot Children’s Charity is the only charity in the UK that provides continuous support for young carers aged 5-12 and locally is based at Honeypot House, just outside Exbury. Their mission is to build brighter futures and create happy childhood memories for young carers. Honeypot’s Wrap-Round service aims to alleviate social isolation, support young carers’ emotional wellbeing, and help them build the confidence and skills they need to succeed in education. Their services include residential respite breaks, learning breaks, creative virtual workshops, memorable days out and a Wellbeing Fund. They support over 2500 young carers age 5-12 a year.
A very exciting and popular volunteering opportunity they offer is knitting or crocheting bees to raise funds for their young carers. They then take these bees to events, they are very popular and they receive donations for them. Just a £1 donation is enough to send a birthday card to a young carer. And this is exactly what Anne did and here’s her story:
“I’m Anne, I’m 69 and I live in Cornwall. In September 2023, I found myself with a lot more time on my hands. Having always been a busy person, I began to explore the internet for opportunities to volunteer my time. I wanted the work to be flexible and I preferred to work from home. I came across the Community First Volunteer Service website.
I searched the opportunities available and finally made further enquiries into Knitting or Crocheting Bees for The Honeypot Children’s Charity.
Applying to this charity to become a volunteer was easy. I received responses to my enquiry quickly from the charity with information about their work and all the instructions and patterns to get myself started. Whenever I needed more information or support, I emailed them and received answers very quickly. Honeypot have been so friendly and helpful. They made me feel like I was one of a team and not just a lone ‘home worker’. They went above and beyond to make sure I had all the answers to my questions.
I sent off my first batch of crocheted ‘bees’ (around 40 – 50!). The Honeypot charity supports ‘Young Carers’.
I’m then went away for a couple of weeks, so took a short break and then started again when I got back. That’s the beauty of these projects – they fit in with my life. There’s no pressure to make so many bees, which is great for me.
It was very helpful using the Volunteer First website and I would recommend them to others wishing to find a purposeful volunteering role! Whatever your interest and availability, there is something for you.”