Graham's story

A bit about me

I first discovered Arthritis Care back in 1997. After spending a long time in hospital, one of the patients I knew asked if I would be interested in joining about 18 other people who all have arthritis, to form Arthritis Care West Bromwich.

After moving home, Sandwell Hospital (where the group meets) was on my doorstep and I was comfortable making that short journey. I needed something to occupy the long daytime hours. One of the founder members of the group was a friend of someone that knew of my past organisational skills. I was invited to organise days out for the branch members. That was ten years ago.

Great satisfaction and rewards

Arranging the social activities for the branch gives me great satisfaction. Seeing the enjoyment that the branch members get from the events that I’ve planned is a great reward for me. Loneliness is now a thing of the past, both for me and for the branch members who get involved in the outings. The branch averages one outing every seven weeks and our membership stands at 160.

The thing that I like most about volunteering is seeing members coming on the outings, leaving their homes and enjoying doing something different. Some of our members comment that they wouldn’t be going anywhere if it weren’t for the outings.

Volunteering has made a difference to my life and also to the lives of our group members. I find that it’s difficult to convince other people to volunteer, but maybe reading my story will encourage you to think about the difference you could make.