Knowing firsthand the joy and purpose dogs bring to our lives, former magazine editor Delphine ideated a solution to help solve social isolation and loneliness in older people while creating new volunteering opportunities for dog owners.
I always knew I wanted to be a storyteller. I studied anthropology at university in hopes of landing a job in cultural journalism upon graduation. After lots of grinding and interning, I started circulating the women’s magazine circuit, learning quickly that to move up in the media industry, you often have to move out and take on new challenges and roles.
Around 10 years into my journalism career, I started longing for a passion project of my own that would contribute to social good. I’d always loved dogs and appreciated the science that shows how stroking animals lowers our stress levels and releases relaxing hormones like serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin.
My original idea was to help older people adopt older dogs, being a support service for them to overcome any technological barriers as most application forms are online. Without any experience or network in the charity sector, I started from the ground up, emailing people from assistants to CEOs of charities to ask anyone and everyone for a coffee to discuss the idea and its potential viability. I was incredibly touched by people’s generosity with their time and knowledge and convicted to keep asking for help – the worse they can say is no.
Gaining some contacts and confidence, I pushed forward with registering the charity officially and building up a board of directors (Trustees) who had different skill sets from me. I searched LinkedIn, social media and recruitment websites to find a board with expertise in HR, law, accounting, marketing, corporate partnerships, charity and fundraising.
The process was grueling and allowed me to really dig deep into logistical questions which were difficult for me to answer at the time since the service was just an idea at this point. With no tangible evidence to offer anyone I was trying to recruit for these voluntary positions, I had to rely on building up a dream that people would buy into, and most importantly, feel passionate about.
I wanted to launch our adoption service after a year of administration (on the side of my full-time job) but the pandemic had other ideas. This was a time for us to reflect and see our challenges. It transpired that our adoption service was not the most effective way to reach those most lonely and isolated so we pivoted to create the CareDogs’ befriending service.
We now pair together older people who may be struggling with loneliness, social isolation or living with dementia with friendly volunteers – and their dogs – in their local area. Our pairs meet once a week for a dog walk or home visit where the dog is always the centre of attention. We are very bespoke in matching our clients and our volunteers as we want to build genuine community friendships which are beneficial to all involved. We’ve been so happy to see the difference it’s made in people’s lives already, encouraging some to get out more and know their local area and neighbours better.
We currently operate in five South London boroughs in England and hope to expand as we grow. For now, we are still completely volunteer-run and recently launched a successful pilot of six pairings this spring.
Colin, 80, speaking about the difference our service has made, has said:
‘I used to drive everywhere before, but meeting Fiona and Ellie every week has been so good for me, to have a walk and a talk. I was lost after my wife Jo died unexpectedly last year… Having these walks every week has helped me regain structure – and I remember my love of walking! I now walk a lot more and feel so much better for it.’
It’s still an uphill climb while we apply for funding to be able to contract positions to really move us ahead to grow, but in the meantime, running a volunteer-run charity completely remotely using operational volunteers has taught me so many lessons about keeping up morale, working smart and utilising technology in the best way possible. And, I’m now getting to tell our client’s stories in innovative ways, utilising my journalism skills for good!
~Contributed by Dephine Chui
—————————————————————————————————
For more information on CareDogs, please visit- caredogs.org.uk
To donate to CareDogs, please visit – https://www.caredogs.org.uk/donate