Welcome Letter

Dear Resident,
Thank you for contacting Houghton Regis Helpers. Our volunteers are here to help if you need occasional assistance such as with shopping, writing letters or form-filling, light DIY in the home (indoors or outdoors), gardening, having a cup of tea and a chat if you are lonely, or giving you a lift to a doctor, hospital appointment or social event if no other transport is available.

We are a voluntary organisation and most of our services are free – the only exceptions are:
  • for our drivers, who should charge a nominal amount for petrol (approx. 45p per mile)
  • if you require follow-up visits for gardening we ask for a donation – ask to see our Gardening Policy
Receipts will be given for any charges and donations to the organisation.

When calling our help line 07587 004514 (between 10a.m. and 4p.m. weekdays) a volunteer will take your details and call you back. If the phone is busy or if you call out of hours please leave a message.
  • Please give us as much notice as possible when requesting help so that we can contact an available volunteer
  • Please be ready if a driver is collecting you for an appointment
  • Please let us know promptly if you wish to cancel an arrangement
  • We ask you to please give respect to our volunteers and maintain their confidentiality.
We do not tolerate abusive or discriminatory behaviour or comments and will take action if a client acts inappropriately towards a volunteer. A copy of our Equality & Diversity Policy is available on request.

Our volunteers are happy to help and do not seek reward, however we do appreciate your feedback and comments on our good neighbour scheme services by contacting the helpline, by letter or by email.

We treat all information you give us as confidential and only share with others with your permission or in an emergency – please read the Privacy Notice on the reverse of this letter. When our volunteers visit you initially they will ask you to sign a consent/permission form and the following disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER regarding DIY jobs, including gardening
When requesting a DIY job or gardening our volunteers retain the right to agree to low risk work only. The consent of the resident to proceed with the job requested by him/her will be subject to their acceptance of risk and agreement that no claims against the organisation, or its representatives, will be made for any unintentional or accidental damage to property that may occur during work carried out by volunteers. Advice on professional services will be given when DIY or gardening work is deemed too high risk.

Thank you

Volunteer Drivers

  • While Houghton Regis Helpers provide a free service for local residents we do ask for clients to donate towards the fuel costs for our volunteer drivers, subject to the clients’ ability to pay.
  • If the driver waits for, or with, the client at the venue we do ask that any parking charges incurred are paid by the client.
Transport of Pets / Assistance Dogs
Requests for the transport of residents with their pets to the vet will be limited to small caged pets and animals in suitable enclosed pet boxes and subject to the agreement of the volunteer driver to give the lift.

Requests for the transport of residents with their pets for other purposes, e.g. dog grooming, will be considered on an individual basis and subject to the agreement of the volunteer driver to give the lift.

Dogs will not be transported on the rear seat of cars, except for Assistance dogs. Assistance dogs may be securely harnessed in the rear seat of a car, subject to the agreement of the volunteer driver.