Could you give one day a fortnight to help us provide a gardening service for older people in Reading?

Many people find as they get older, gardens they once lovingly cared for become too much to maintain. But finding regular help with mowing and weeding can be harder than you’d think!

There is a great need locally for a low-cost, basic and reliable service. Commercial companies often don’t want to bother with smaller gardens. Leaving many older people relying on small ads or notice boards, which have an element of risk and can be hit-or-miss.

Last year Age UK Reading launched a pilot project in the Southcote area. With minimal advertising and word of mouth, we quickly had more requests than we could accommodate. We currently have a waiting list of 40 older people in the Reading area, but are unable to help more people or extend the service beyond Southcote until we have more volunteers.

If you can give one day a fortnight, Monday or Tuesday, from 9.30 – 2.30 we’d love to hear from you. Don’t worry about having Green Fingers as experienced volunteers will help you identify the weeds.

The volunteering day can be busy as we drive between 1 hour appointments at closely located gardens. We work in pairs, with one person mowing and another weeding, which means we also have time for an all-important chat with the older person. 

What our clients say:

I look forward to the Age UK Team coming.  They are always kind and cheerful, and keep my garden under control, as it is very big.  It looks nice when it’s finished – Mrs Jerome