1:1 Activity Buddy

The Central Otago Friendship Network (COFN) recognises the importance of providing quality services that enrich people’s lives through friendships, which are in line with their chosen dreams and goals. COFN supports individuals to find their own social communities or friendship circle, and expand their contribution to communities of their choice. COFN is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to allowing dignity of risk when trying new activities and making friends.

Their 1:1 Friendship Service supports individuals to connect with a like minded community volunteer who shares similar interests for a 1:1 friendship. This free and confidential service is designed to give people more social contact with a special volunteer to spend quality time with on a regular basis. This service is available across Central Otago including Roxburgh, the Maniototo, Alexandra, Clyde and Cromwell. You would be matched with a friend in your preferred location.

Your friend could be of any age from young adults through to 65+ and may include those experiencing disability or age-related conditions that make it harder for them to access social connection opportunities in the community.

As a buddy, you would:

• Arrange regular times to catch up with your 1:1 friend.
• Choose activities based on shared interests and the friend’s personal circumstances.
• For some it might mean visiting them in their home for a cuppa and a chat while other volunteers may meet their friend for a visit to a local cafe, participate in a shared hobby, go for a scenic drive or head out for a walk.
• Put a smile on your buddy's face by providing valuable companionship and the opportunity to have fun.
• Build a lasting connection that enriches both your buddy's and your own personal wellbeing.

Full training for this role and ongoing support provided by the COFN coordinator.

Requirements

Buddies are people who:

• Have friendly approachable manner
• Are comfortable initiating conversation
• Are confident in actively building friendships with new people
• Is willing to undergo a police check and reference checks

You may also have previous experience with:

• connecting with people who are isolated
• supporting people experiencing disability
• older people/in aged care
  This is helpful but not essential as long as you have a willingness to learn.

Having your own transport is useful but this should not be seen as a barrier to volunteering with COFN as there may be someone looking for a friend in your neighbourhood within walking distance.

A Police background check is required for this role.

Time commitment

• You can choose your level of time commitment.
• Part of COFN's matching process is determining the availability of the volunteer and what the friend is looking for in a friendship

Overall, it can really vary as some 1:1 friends need predictable routines meet every week or fortnight at exactly the same time for 2 - 3 hours while others simply catch up for a coffee on a much more flexible basis once a month or so.

Getting started

The first step is to express your interest by filling out the form below. We will then put you in touch directly with the organisation for more information on the role and how to proceed.

---

Enquire about this role:

First name:

Last name:

Address:

AucklandNorthlandWaikatoBay of PlentyGisborneHawke's BayTaranakiManawatu-WanganuiWellingtonTasmanNelsonMarlboroughWest CoastCanterburyOtagoSouthland

City:

Country: New ZealandAfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Phone number:

Email address:

Keep me updated with the latest roles and events

Demographic information:

Used anonymously for statistics to demonstrate our impact to funders.

Gender: Please select...MaleFemaleGender diverseRather not say

Age group: Please select...Under 1515-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970+Rather not say

Ethnicity: Please select...AfricanAsian (other)AustralianBritishCentral AmericanChineseEuropeanIndianJapaneseKoreanMaoriMiddle EasternNew ZealanderNorth AmericanNZ EuropeanOtherPacific IslesPakistaniRussianSouth AfricanSouth AmericanSri LankanRather not say

Labour status: Please select...Full-time employedPart-time employedNot in paid employment by choiceSeeking employmentRetiredStudentSelf employedVisitorOtherRather not say

Other information (optional):