Celebrating and Saying Goodbye

The launch of a new monthly event - Farewell to Friends

One of the things we love most about volunteering with Link Visiting is the wonderful friendships that are formed between our volunteers and Link Friends. It's a special kind of relationship too. Each week, our volunteers carve out quality time to spend with people who need some extra company. Our volunteers are skilled listeners and hear so many wonderful stories of days gone by and we are aware that often great friendships are formed.

So it's especially difficult when the time comes to say goodbye when our Link Friends pass. Some of our volunteers have been visiting for months or even years.

With this in mind, we wanted to create a space to honour our Link friends, to remember them and for volunteers to share a fond memory or two if they want to. We want to ensure that we are supporting our volunteers in the best way we can and we know that saying goodbye well is a healthy first step as we grieve.

Each month, on the first Thursday of the month, we will hold our 'Farewell to Friends' online meeting. This meeting is for any volunteer who is experiencing the loss of a Link Friend, whether that is a recent event or some time ago.

It may be the anniversary of their passing or their birthday and volunteers may like to take a moment to remember them. As we know, there are no right or wrongs to grief and loss and no set timelines.

During the session, there will be space to pause, reflect and remember, acknowledging the special friendships we have had. Each meeting will be led by a member of the Link Team and volunteers will be encouraged to contribute if they would like to.

We hope, if the time comes, that volunteers will find this helpful and welcome the opportunity to honour the life and friendship of their Link Friend.

Val said:

'I just wanted to praise the ladies last night for the very thoughtful memorial service for both Leslie and Alan.

The zoom was very tasteful and I feel both lovely men would have been very honoured. You and your team are amazing'