We were shocked and saddened when our wonderful volunteer John recently died so suddenly.
He was the most amazing volunteer and he had been a wonderful Older Friend for C for the last 5 and a half years. He was such a gentle, kind man who was very well respected in The Friendship Project.
John just quietly got on with his role as an Older Friend to C. He always turned up and joined in with our events and he was always smiling. He was just what C needed, a great male role model who was non judgmental, calm and kind, there to listen and gently give advice when needed.
C always looked forward to seeing John, who was forever on time and sometimes even early to pick him up! He enjoyed going to football, cricket, tennis and golf. The cycling was quite eventful when John fell into the canal! C really enjoyed going over to John’s house and cooking curry. If C was having a bad day he said it was always good to see John. He found him funny and thought he was a “good guy.” As C is a Chelsea football supporter, he said “I suppose John supports an ok football team” (Nottingham Forest)! John had a calming effect on C which Mum noticed and was so grateful for. She said that John was like a grandfather to C and he loved going out with him. He was such a consistency in C’s life that he is going to miss him greatly. Only this summer John said to us that he felt the relationship with C was a long and enduring friendship.
We are all so sad that he is no longer with us but will forever be grateful for the time that he gave to The Friendship Project.
Thank you to the many family, previous colleagues, and friends of John who kindly donated to Friendship Project for Children in his memory, it is greatly appreciated, in what was extremely sad circumstances. This will go to help fund other children in need that we support in Warwickshire, which is a fitting legacy of John’s dedicated volunteering service and support of the charity.
