Check in and Chat Volunteer
Our new Check in and Chat service provides retired railway employees and their families with the opportunity to have a weekly chat to feel connected and share the joy of a good conversation. Our research with railway pensioners has highlighted that retirement can often be isolating, especially with many community and railway groups closing down following the pandemic.
We are looking for volunteers to provide a regular check in and chat service to help alleviate these feelings of isolation and to aid wellbeing within our retired community.
Louise has been volunteering with the check in and chat service since it began over a year ago and has made lots of weekly calls to her befriender. She said:
I was keen to be able to give back to the rail community and saw the check in and chat scheme as an ideal way to do that. We talk very openly, and I feel that the fact we have never met or seen each other allows him to be very honest, sharing his worries without the feeling of being judged. I feel like the wellbeing of my befriendee has improved, I often set him small tasks such as going to the market or hairdressers, then we talk about these outings in our next call. He really enjoys talking about the day-to-day aspects of his life, small things that have happened that he perhaps feels would be too small to mention to his family in the limited time they have together.
What does the role involve?
We ask for a minimum commitment of 20 mins every week, with an advised maximum of 1 hour per week, to chat to the railway pensioner we will match you with.
You will initially need to set aside around 90 minutes for our induction process, which includes a quick virtual meeting, completing our application form, a basic DBS check (which we pay for) and an online induction. You will have a meeting with our Volunteer Coordinator after your first call, and then after 3 months. These should last less than half an hour and will be virtual. Your coordinator is always on hand if you have any questions or would like to chat, their job is to support you and you can reach out anytime.
You will also be asked to let us know how the calls are going with a quick update after each call, this can be by email, text, WhatsApp, Teams – whatever is easiest for you!
What do we look for in a volunteer?
No experience is necessary to volunteer, we just ask that you currently work in rail and enjoy a good conversation. You can be based anywhere in the country and the time you give us can be at your convenience. You will use your own phone and the cost of the calls will be reimbursed.
To register your interest, please email us or call us on
