Gig Buddies webinar – 4th June ’24 online

An overview of how you can get Gig Buddies started in your area.

Gig Buddies is our volunteer befriending project for people with learning disabilities, which we’ve been running for 11 years and have shared with organisations around the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

The concept is very simple – we match up a person with a learning disability with a volunteer who shares the same interests, and they go to mainstream cultural events together and develop a friendship around that shared interest. A total win/win for all involved.

In a time when social care cuts mean people with learning disabilities are finding it harder to have good social lives and stay up late, our approach offers an innovative and straightforward answer.

In this webinar, we’ll outline how the project works and how you can start it in your area.

Outline of the Gig Buddies session

• How Gig Buddies works
• The 4 core principles that makes the project unique, wherever it takes place
• The key outcomes we work towards
• Our track record
• The support we provide
• Joining the Gig Buddies community of organisations
• How to get Gig Buddies going in your area

There will also be a time to ask questions.

Is it a project just for people with learning disabilities?

No! We have supported people to set up Gig Buddies projects for people with mental health problems, physical disabilities and older people.

Our approach means that, with a bit of adjustment, it can be used to support any group of marginalised or lonely people.

It uses the power of community to transform peoples’ lives and we can show you how.

Find out more

To find out more about how we share Gig Buddies and the support that we provide there’s more on this page – Gig Buddies in a Box

When you join us, though, we don’t just send you a box; we provide training, all our resources and ongoing support. Not only that, but you’ll join our incredible community of organisations who provide fantastic peer support based on their experiences of running their projects in large cities, rural counties and towns. Some are in cultural hotspots, and others require more ingenuity.

Date: Tue June 4th 2024

Time: 14:30 GMT+0100 (British Summer Time)