Achieving a healthy lifestyle through Let’s Care Together
The Let’s Care Together programme, a collaboration between Simplyhealth, a leading healthcare provider and Business in the Community (BITC), encourages businesses to support the wellbeing of unpaid carers through employee volunteering.
The programme provides employees from BITC member organisations an opportunity to support carers via online and over the phone befriending support sessions, offering a listening ear, streamlining access to resources and providing practical guidance.
Read about Steve’s experience as a beneficiary of our Let’s Care Together programme and how he was supported by a volunteer befriender, Paul, to work towards his goals.
Steve’s story
Steve is currently working full-time, whilst being the sole carer for his elderly mother and two teenage children. He recently suffered a health scare which made him realise that if he fell ill, his family would not be able to cope. As a result, he felt it was important to seek out additional support to empower him to make positive changes to his lifestyle and ensure that he is in the best position to care for his family.
Steve saw an advert for the Let’s Care Together programme on his employers’ intranet and thought it could be a good fit for him. He liked having the ability to see the profiles of the volunteers available and was able to select a befriender he felt he was compatible with.
He chose Paul, a User Acceptance Tester at Simplyhealth, with a background in social care and a passion for volunteering. Paul found BITC’s volunteer training content for this programme to be helpful and was reassured that there would be support throughout his volunteering.
Steve found it beneficial that the programme and his volunteer befriender Paul were both very flexible, allowing him to fit sessions around his demanding job and caring responsibilities. Both Paul and Steve found the online platform helpful and particularly liked the messaging and meeting functions, which they utilised for their sessions.
The main priority for Steve was improving his physical health. Paul has a keen interest in healthy eating and a good knowledge of ingredients and additives which he was able to share, supporting Steve on his journey. Therefore, their conversations focused on diet, nutrition and working towards healthier eating habits. They also discussed employment, finances and lifestyle in general. Steve felt that Paul’s knowledge inspired him to change his mindset, resulting in him making positive changes to his lifestyle, such as paying more attention to nutritional labels when he went food shopping, which enabled him to cook healthier meals.
Reflecting on the programme, Steve said:
“If it was not for the Let’s Care Together programme I would have carried on the same and not thought about making changes to my way of life”.
When Paul was asked what he would say to colleagues considering volunteering he responded with, “Just do it”. “The programme is not overwhelming or too time consuming. It’s an easy process with a great platform, which means you’re in control of your volunteering. It’s easy to manage alongside your job and other commitments. The infrastructure behind the Let’s Care Together Programme made it easy for me, easier than any other volunteering I have ever done before”.
Find out more about our Let’s Care Together programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
A carer is anyone, including children and adults, who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, mental health problems or addiction and cannot cope without their support. The care they give is unpaid1.
1 NHS England commissioning for carers
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The Let’s Care Together programme is a pilot programme and will accept referral organisations in Spring 2024.
In the meantime, you can complete the form below or contact the team for more information.
Complete this form to express your interest or contact the Let’s Care Together team.
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