volunteer week 2026; celebrating the IV role
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
It's Volunteer Week! Over the years, asphaleia's service delivery has been supported and strengthened by the work of volunteers. This Volunteer Week we want to celebrate the volunteers that make a specific service we offer possible.
asphaleia currently delivers the Independent Visiting (IV) and Advocacy services for East Sussex County Council. The IV service is a befriending service for children and young people in care, and relies on volunteers to fulfil the role of IV. The volunteer will be matched to a young person, who has requested an IV, and will visit their young person once a month and take them out to do things like play football, go for a stroll, or have a coffee.
IV's can have a hugely positive impact on the young people they spend time with. As an independent person from social care, young people can enjoy the company of someone who is there simply to be their friend, whilst also being a positive influence. We ask for a 12-month minimum commitment from our IV's so they can form a friendship and be a consistent presence in their young person's life. Some IV's befriend their young person for several years and continue the contact once the young person has left care.
asphaleia's care director, Jodie, said: 'It is an incredible gift to dedicate a few hours each month to a young person in care and we appreciate all our volunteers for the impact they have had, and continue to have on young people.'
IV stories
A few of our IV's shared why they love being an IV:
"I had been looking for an opportunity to volunteer in my local community and when I heard about independent visiting it felt like a great opportunity to explore. We all know the pressures young people are under these days, and it feels good to support a young person in care who faces even more challenges. I look forward to the visits with my young person and it doesn’t take up that much of my time."
"Independent visiting is the perfect volunteering role for me, as I would like to become a foster carer at some point in the future so it's ideal experience, and also a good way to be able to help in some small way right now, even if I'm not currently able to commit to full time fostering. I'm also much more of a one-on-one than group person, so it really suits my personality to build one individual relationship over time, whereas I found a lot of general volunteering roles would often involve large groups and new people."
We are so grateful for everything our volunteers do. Thank you!
