June 2011 - Maelor Voluntary Service

The BBC Wales Charity Message for June 2011 was on behalf of Maelor Voluntary Service. Several items were be scheduled on Radio Wales in English and Radio Cymru in Welsh, the first of which was broadcast on Radio Cymru on 9 June 2011.

About the Charity

The Maelor Voluntary Service, with dedicated volunteers and staff, provides a service for everyone at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Anyone using one of our five cafes knows they are helping patients and staff. This year we donated over £150,000 from our proceeds to help buy medical equipment for the hospital.

Our 130 volunteers do at least one shift per month serving refreshments to patients, visitors and staff. The youngest volunteer is working towards her Duke of Edinburgh Award - the oldest swears she is 21 again! Our volunteers also include people with learning difficulties who benefit from a sense of achievement, along with the ability to forge lifelong friendships. As many of our customers are Welsh speaking, we would welcome more bilingual volunteers. We employ 10 paid staff to support our volunteers.

Patients view a visit to the Maelor Voluntary Service café as a visible sign of recovery. Sometimes people come to us for time to consider medical news before facing the world. Our happiest times are often when new fathers describe their joy, celebrating with tea and toast whilst waiting for the new grandparents to arrive!

Listen to the broadcast