22 years and counting: Star Volunteer Norma’s befriending experience

Norma came to the UK from Jamaica in 1963 to be a nurse. Eventually settling in Southwark, where she worked at King's College Hospital. She switched careers and worked in printing for 20 years. But once she retired in 2004, Norma returned to helping people. 

Her flat is filled with framed collages of her family, portraits of her children, her children’s children, and an embroidered pillow spelling out “MUM”. Norma is an award-winning volunteer – her walls and countertops displaying trophies and certificates for her dedication. The house is filled with symbols of her care for others.  

The September after she retired, Norma joined Southwark Churches Care (one of the organisations that merged to form Link Age Southwark). When she started befriending, the charity supplied her with a notebook and some rubber gloves – in case of any unkempt houses. She dropped the gloves but kept the notebooks. As Norma talks, she flips pages back and forth to make sure she is accurate.  

Since 2004, she has had 11 befriending matches. Her first was Bonnie*, a deeply glamorous woman. Norma recalls that Bonnie would often reapply her makeup while talking, frequently checking her handheld mirror. Norma became close to both Bonnie and her husband, Toby*, who had been married for over 60 years. She described them as “lovebirds.” When Bonnie passed away in 2021, Norma attended the funeral. Afterwards, she continued her involvement by becoming a befriender to Toby as well. 

*Names have been anonymised for privacy reasons. 

When Covid struck, Norma stopped visiting her befriendees in person, instead opting for weekly phone calls. She calls 3 older friends a week, Toby, Georgina and Vivien. Norma says her relationship with Vivien has been the most impactful to her and Vivien, in turn, has expressed deep gratitude for their telephone calls. Norma has been supporting her through some serious health issues; “it's nice to talk to someone about simpler, lighter things.”  When Vivien speaks about Norma, she lights up, discussing how she wanted a befriender of a similar age, talking about Norma’s brightly coloured hair – despite never having seen her. 

Vivien’s description made Norma instantly recognisable at the Annual General Meeting, where she received our Star Volunteer award, donning a blue coif. The award is only a small symbol of her years of dedication. As a former trustee – and one of the people who helped choose the name “Link Age Southwark” - Norma has shaped the charity as much as she has supported its members. After 21 years, dozens of notebooks and countless conversations, she remains one of the foundations of our community: steady, warm and unwavering.