Daniel is 34 and lives in Chorley. He used to work in hotels, one of which is owned by his employer, Alfa Travel, which earlier this year chose Re-engage as their charity for 2024. Daniel was inspired to sign up to become a volunteer call companion after a career move meant he was spending less time with customers and he missed that element of his role.

Daniel explained: “I’d worked in hotels all my life and I always really enjoyed helping the guests and talking to them. Recently I moved roles and I’m no longer as directly involved with customers. For me, the best part of the job was talking to people, so being a Re-engage call companion fills that gap.”

Daniel enjoyed the volunteer onboarding process and was impressed by the training offered, which he felt was in-depth and helped him prepare for the role. He said: “When I first spoke to my call companion, I introduced myself and reminded her that she’s signed up for a Re-engage call companion, to reassure her. She has two sons who do visit her, and she meets a friend for coffee once a week, but she had been feeling lonely.

“She used to work in a brewery when she was younger and we talk about that, because when I was working in the hotels, we served the same beer to customers, so we have that in common.”

When asked what qualities Daniel thinks make a great Re-engage call companion, he said being willing to simply listen is a great starting point. Daniel continued: “You’ve got to be able to listen and to put the time in to make the calls. I tend to phone my call companion while I’m walking the 20 minutes home from work, then when I get in, we make a brew at the same time and carry on chatting.

“I was really pleased to be matched, I felt excited! My Nan used to run a retirement home and she’d run coffee mornings, so I grew up in that kind of environment. I’m thinking of volunteering to help in a  Re-engage tea party group too, in the future!”

Daniel added: “My call companion always says thanks for calling. I feel a sense of achievement and it reminds me of the times I spent with my Nan.”