About Bagshot Care

Bagshot Care is a local charity run by volunteers dedicated to helping Bagshot residents. It was started with the encouragement of local health care professionals. The charity's purpose is to provide assistance such as transport to and from the doctor's surgery or hospital, and other help with shopping or trips to the supermarket, to anyone of any age living in Bagshot. It matches people who have a need with volunteers who can help them – whether on a one off or recurring basis. Established in 1998, Bagshot Care has helped over 800 residents and carried out over 10,000 jobs. It is our proud boast that, on average, Bagshot Care has provided help to a Bagshot resident every day since we started. Bagshot Care is a Registered Charity with the number 1069729.

Contact Us

Telephone any weekday between 10 am and Noon on 07973 560216. You may leave a voicemail message if you call at any other time, and it will be picked up at 10 am on the next weekday. Alternatively, if you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you may email us on info@bagshotcare.org

Do You Need A Helping Hand?

If you are a Bagshot resident, Bagshot Care can give a helping hand to:
  • Provide transport to hospital, doctors, dentists, hairdressers etc;
  • Accompany shopping;
  • Collect prescriptions;
  • Visit for a chat, to read or write letters;
  • Carry out simple DIY, house or garden maintenance.
No formal charge is made but we do ask for donations to cover our running costs. If you need a hand, just call 07973 560216. between 10 am and 12 noon Monday to Friday (not Bank Holidays).
(At all other times a message may be left and we will get back to you after 10.00 am on the next working day). We try to accommodate all requests, even at 24 hours' notice, but we are more likely to be able to help if about a week's notice can be given.

Can You Help?

Bagshot Care always needs more volunteers to continue its valuable service for Bagshot residents. Our volunteers perform either one or both of two roles in the organisation:

General Volunteer

General Volunteers carry out the tasks performed by Bagshot Care, be it driving, shopping and the like. They can say when they are, or might be, available and what type of task they would be willing to do, and they always have the option to decline any particular job that they are offered. Provided that we have sufficient volunteers available, our policy is to ask our volunteers to carry out no more than one job per week.

Duty Officer

Duty Officers man our mobile phone from 10 am to noon each weekday in order to accept incoming requests for help. They then telephone around our General Volunteers until all such requests have been fulfilled. Duty Officers are organised on a rota basis. Provided that we have sufficient volunteers available, it is our aim that Duty Officers perform this role no more than once every four weeks.
Volunteers are able to claim agreed expenses, for example for telephone calls, parking fees and a mileage allowance for drivers. All volunteers receive a periodic Newsletter, and are invited to attend an AGM in July each year where they can meet their fellow volunteers, hear reports from the officers, and partake of the free refreshments. If you would like to discuss becoming a volunteer, please contact us by email on info@bagshotcare.org or call the Duty Officer on 07973 560216. between 10 am and noon Monday to Friday.

FAQS - Clients

Will it cost me anything to use Bagshot Care?

There is no formal charge for using the services of Bagshot Care. At the end of each job, our volunteer will pass you an envelope into which you may put any amount of money that you feel appropriate for the service you have been given. You may seal the envelope and pass it back to the volunteer without disclosing the amount that you have given. Such voluntary donations will be used to cover the running costs of the charity.

Will I know in advance which member of Bagshot Care is going to turn up?

Once you have requested the services of Bagshot Care, the duty officer will contact the volunteers in order to find out who is available. Once the job has been allocated, the duty officer will call you back to confirm that we can help and to tell you the name of the volunteer. All of our volunteers carry a photo identity card should you wish to verify their identity.

FAQs - Volunteers

How many hours per week would I be committing to Bagshot Care if I were to become a volunteer?

You may accept as many or as few jobs as you wish as a volunteer. Our most active volunteers will carry out three or four jobs per month on average. Of course, there will be weeks when you have family or work commitments elsewhere, including holidays, when you would not be available at all. As you will not normally have to commit to a job more than a few days in advance, it is very easy to control your level of involvement. Having said that, it is not always easy to know in advance how long an individual job will last. Our most frequent task is to take a client to a hospital appointment, most often at Frimley Park Hospital. The client can be at the hospital for anything from a few minutes to a few hours. After talking to the client about the nature of the appointment, the volunteer can decide whether to wait for the client, or arrange for them to call the volunteer when they are ready to be picked up.

Will driving for Bagshot Care affect my motor insurance?

Most insurance companies take a relaxed view about the insured vehicle being used for volunteer driving from time to time, provided no fare is charged. Who knows, perhaps they see it as a sign that their client is a good and caring character! If your insurance company is a member of the Association of British Insurers, it is easy to find out what approach it takes by visiting the website www.abi.org.uk and entering “Volunteer Driving” in the search box. Sometimes, it is necessary to obtain written acknowledgement from your insurance company, and we have a special form for this. If you decide to become a volunteer, a member of the committee will take you through this as part of your induction process.

Quotes from our Volunteers

I joined Bagshot Care over 2 years ago. I was looking for something useful to do on certain days of the week. It was my daughter who suggested Bagshot Care . Since joining I have met lots of interesting and lovely people , and have enjoyed all the help I have given. Pat

Ray has been a resident of Bagshot for many years and was one of our first clients.

Donations

From time to time, Bagshot Care makes small donations from which the residents of Bagshot may benefit. Here are some pictures of items bought with our donations.


Equipment for Bagshot First School's Nurture Room.

Replacement bench on the A30 near the junction with Higgs Lane.

A pair of chairs bought for the church hall.

Trustees of Bagshot Care

Here are the Trustees of Bagshot Care, who meet as a committee at least three times a year to make decisions about the running of the charity. The Executive Committee members meet more frequently to discuss any day to day matters, to organise the AGM and to produce a Newsletter at least three times per year.

Mike Barrett

Chairman

I have lived in Bagshot since 1969. I was a volunteer minibus driver for day centres for over 20 years, and I have been a volunteer musical entertainer at day centres and for Alzheimer centres since 1996. I am a member of the Bagshot Society and previously 10 years as a committee member, 5 of those as Chairman. I have been a volunteer driver for Bagshot Care since 2004 and Chairman since 2012.


Bob Attwood

Vice Chairman

I have lived in Bagshot since 1975. After nearly 40 years of commuting daily up to the City of London, I retired in 2007 and was immediately recruited by the Barretts to become a volunteer driver for Bagshot Care. I joined the committee in 2015, and am currently responsible for inducting new volunteers.


Kerry Pye

Treasurer

Kerry has been resident in Bagshot since 1974. She has been with Bagshot Care since its inception.


Lindy East

Secretary and Executive Committee Member

I moved to Bagshot in 2008 and joined Bagshot Care as a driver in 2012. I meet some lovely people whilst driving them to different places. Bagshot Care does really good work and I am proud to be a part of it. I am now the Secretary and I am also Hon Secretary to The Arts Society, Windlebrook. I have always done secretarial work so these two jobs help me keep up with my shorthand and typing!


Gaye Barrett

Executive Committee Member

I have lived in Bagshot since 1969. I have been:- Previously a voluntary helper at both Bagshot schools I was involved with the running of the Crowthorne Stroke & Disabled Club as well as being treasurer for 8 years. Voluntary Duty officer for Bagshot care since 2004 and on the committee since 2012. I am currently responsible for the rostering and the induction of new Duty Officers.


Linda Stallan

Executive Committee Member

Our family settled in Bagshot in 1979 following many years moving around as my husband was in the R.A.F. I worked as a legal secretary in the village until I retired in 2000, after which I wanted to do some charity work but did not want to be tied to certain days each week. Bagshot Care seemed the perfect fit as I could do days and times to suit my schedule and I have now volunteered with them for over 15 years. My husband is also a volunteer. Linda organises the rotas for those jobs which are done on a recurring basis.


Joce Buxton

Committee Member

I am a relative newcomer to Bagshot, having moved here in 2018, although I have had family locally since the late 1990s. I became a volunteer driver and duty officer for Bagshot Care in 2021 and also joined the committee. I am self-employed and work full time but I have found it easy to fit Bagshot Care around my other commitments and I am glad to be able to do something useful for my local community and to meet some very interesting people in the process.