Pembrokeshire County Council’s Armed Forces Champion, Jonathan Preston, is backing an appeal by the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) for caring people in the county to join its team of trained welfare volunteers.

“Having served in the RAF I know at first hand of the valuable work the RAFA does for serving and former RAF personnel” said Councillor Preston who represents Penally.

“The RAF celebrated its centenary year during 2018, and as we look to the future we must ensure we support those in need. To do this RAFA - the charity that supports the RAF family - requires more volunteers to join them.

“The Area Volunteer Co-ordinator Lucie Paddison of the RAFA Wales office, has sought my support in this latest drive to raise awareness of RAFA and to encourage more individuals to get involved.”

Primarily the role of a welfare volunteer involves making a visit to a beneficiary’s home to establish what kind of support they might need.

This could involve undertaking research and signposting sources of support, help with completing documentation or just being a friendly face to talk to.

Welfare volunteers need to be helpful and empathetic and have an ability to build a rapport with others through a friendly and sensitive approach.

Volunteering for the RAFA helps develop relationship building, research and teamwork skills as well as giving individuals a great sense of wellbeing from helping others.

You do not need to have an RAF or service connection or have had previous experience requirements as fully nationally accredited training will be provided.

However, applicants do need to be aged at least 18 years of age and be able to demonstrate the motivation and skills required for the role.

The ability to travel is important as volunteers will need to visit various locations, including the homes of beneficiaries.

There may occasionally be the need to work during evenings and weekends depending on the case. However hours are flexible with visits arranged to fit around the volunteer’s other commitments.

To find out more, search for ’caseworker’ roles on the RAF Association website at: www.rafa.org.uk/volunteer or call 0800 018 2361 or email: [email protected]