Media and telecommunications organisation Virgin Media O2 has launched a 12-month volunteering programme to assist deal with persistent loneliness skilled by disabled individuals.
Via a partnership with incapacity charity Sense, Virgin Media O2’s 15,000 workers have been invited to participate in a digital buddying service to assist those that are vulnerable to isolation and loneliness. The service matches a volunteer with a disabled particular person, primarily based on their shared pursuits, to hold out activities collectively on-line, similar to video calls, common catch-ups, digital drinks or dinner collectively, on-line gaming or TV watch-alongs.
Virgin Media O2 workers can use their 5 annual paid volunteering days to participate within the service and commit a minimum of one hour per week for six months to keep up a correspondence with somebody who’s disabled.
The initiative types a part of the organisation’s sustainability technique, which is named the Higher Connections Plan. Additionally it is a part of its purpose to assist a million individuals in communities throughout the UK by the top of 2025 by its Take 5 worker volunteering programme. Since 2022, greater than 225,000 individuals have been supported by its workers by voluntary initiatives.
Dana Haidan, chief sustainability officer at Virgin Media O2, stated: “We all know how very important connections and conversations are, particularly for disabled people who find themselves experiencing isolation and loneliness. That’s why we’re proudly becoming a member of forces with Sense and are extending our Take 5 programme to incorporate the charity’s Digital Buddying Service, so our workers can use their paid volunteering time to create significant and lasting friendships with disabled individuals.”