TWO senior citizens who have volunteered almost 270 hours of their time at Slough’s vaccination centres are urging others to “give it a go” this New Year.   

Angela Kirk, 66, and Ray Mills, 65, are ‘#OneSlough High-Viz Heroes’ who took on stewarding duties at Langley Health Centre and Salt Hill Activity Centre. 

Starting in 2021, the pair are ranked as the vaccination centres’ most regular volunteers.

Fully retired Ms Kirk, of Langley, said: “I’d say give it a go.

“You can choose your shifts and how often you do them.

“It’s not physically demanding and it’s good fun, too.”  

She added there’s also a good camaraderie around the place.

“I took early retirement a few years ago and am still physically capable of giving something back,” she said.

She accumulated 133 hours of volunteering last year.

And Mr Mills, 65, of Wokingham, dedicated 135 volunteer hours at Salt Hill Activity Centre last year.     

He said: “Lockdown was doing my head in, but volunteering got me out of the house and I was able to meet people again.

“Of course, there’s more freedom now, yet I’ve still made some really good friends here, and they come from all walks of life."

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Mr Mills added he also enjoys giving people reassurance when they’re waiting for their jabs.   

The vaccination centres currently have around 100 volunteers.

But the numbers have dropped since last July.

And, most recently, people have returned to their everyday lives after the Christmas holidays.

Slough Council for Voluntary Service (Slough CVS) manages the ‘#OneSlough High Viz Heroes’.

Anyone over the age of 16 can volunteer, at both Salt Hill Activity Centre and Langley Health Centre.   

Both centres are now in need of more volunteers for weekday morning and afternoon shifts.

These can be as short as two, four or six hours long.

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Volunteer co-ordinator of #OneSlough, Qudsia Rahim, said: “Our volunteers have been fantastic over the last year, and we’ll need more of them to keep things running smoothly.

“They know how our sites work, the staff and can build rapport with the public too.”   

To sign up, visit: https://oneslough.org.uk/volunteer/