At Gig Buddies and Sports Buddies we match up people with learning disabilities, and/or autistic people, with a volunteer buddy who shares the same interests.
Through this you can help support people out of loneliness and make a new friend at the same time, whilst also doing the things you already love doing.
Talk about a win, win!
The simple idea behind Gig Buddies and Sports Buddies is matching you up with someone with a learning disability, or an autistic person, who shares the same interests as you do.
You then used that shared interest to enjoy mainstream events and activities together and build a new friendship as you go.
The difference between Gig Buddies and Sports Buddies:
Gig Buddies
Going out at least once a month with your buddy to gigs, shows, clubs, events or whatever takes your fancy.
And if you’ve got time why not meet up for a coffee and plan your next gig too?
Sports Buddies
Going out to join in physical activity such as parkruns, nature walks, badminton, or whatever you feel like doing together.
Volunteering is more frequent as it’s about getting active and healthier.

It’s all about friendships and community
Being one of our Gig or Sports Buddies volunteers is all about being matched with a person with a learning disability who shares the same passions and interests.
You’ll make a new friend and enable someone to be part of their community and create lasting memories together.
Loneliness is a massive problem for many people with learning disabilities.
But we’ve found a fun way to end that. You can be part of that too.
We’re here to help you make a new good friend
Don’t worry if you’ve never spent time with people with learning disabilities before. You’ll find you have an awful lot in common.
Plus, we’re here to help you all along the way to make sure you get the most out of being a buddy.
But there is also a lot of cross-over and we are not going to stop you if you fancy going to a gig or for a walk.
It’s all about promoting free choice, building experiences and creating new friendships.

Training
We’ll give you training on all the things you need to know.

Matching
One of our team will match you with someone who seems like a good fit with you.

Buddying
Getting out there with your buddy and having great times together
Think this all sounds like too much fun to be true?
It’s true that everyone is having a lot of fun but evidence from independent research shows it is having a serious impact on the people we work with
86%said they see their Gig Buddy as their friend
82%said they felt really able to make decisions about what they wanted to do with their buddy
76%said they’re more aware of other ways they can now spend their spare time
79%said they now go out more in the evenings as a result of Gig Buddies (not just with their buddy)
90%said that having a Gig Buddy makes them feel less lonely
78%said they’d made new friends in addition to their Gig Buddy volunteer