VOLUNTEERS at Age Concern Banstead are celebrating after being awarded additional funding to help them continue their work.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has given the group an extra £3,500 this year, bringing their total grant to £18,500.
The news comes after the authority deducted the same amount last year over concerns about the charity's new board of trustees, who were installed just prior to the funding review.
A report presented to the council executive this month said these concerns no longer existed, and praised the work of the new board.
And, following a successful and stable year during which the number of new board members has risen from 23 to 85, the council's executive agreed to reinstall the additional funding.
Reacting to the news Sally Pulsford, secretary and trustee responsible for the office at The Horseshoe in Banstead, said everyone involved in the new venture had been working hard to gain the council's trust.
"It's been very busy," said Mrs Pulsford, who was a volunteer at Age Concern for five years before becoming a trustee. "We've been doing a lot of fundraising and all of the new trustees have been doing a fantastic job.
"We've got lots of people either being referred to us or just popping in. Any question that they have we either help them ourselves, or if we don't know the answer we can find out for them."
One of the big issues the trustees are trying to extend is home visits, ensuring their clients get to stay in their homes for as long as possible rather than ending up in a care facility.
Ann Doyle is the charity's domiciliary manager, and has worked for Age Concern Banstead for the past three years.
She said: "If we've got people who need our services but can't get in to see us then we can go and assist them and help them with their needs – whether that's help filling out forms or even if it's just to chat.
"If they're lonely we try to introduce them to our volunteers, who visit them once a week for tea and chat."
The new board is eager to expand its services even further into the community now it has earned the trust of the council.
