Family Support Volunteers Volunteer Roles

Home-Start Camden & Islington (HSC&I) offers free, confidential support and practical help to parents of children under five in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington who are struggling.

We are looking for volunteers with parenting or child caring experience to support families for 2-3 hours per week, for a minimum of one year upon completing the preparation course.

We provide a preparation course for all volunteers before they start to visit families, which covers all the essential training and information you will require.

The main task of a volunteer is to visit families in their own homes on a regular basis, to offer a combination of the following: Friendship / Practical Help / A listening ear / To accompany to appointments, or help access local amenities / The opportunity to share ideas of skills, leading to increased parental confidence / Links to community resources and support systems

The Family Works is an exciting trauma-informed, early intervention family support programme working across South Yorkshire. It equips workers and local volunteers to support families in their communities, families who may be isolated, lonely, vulnerable, or struggling to cope, across the whole of South Yorkshire. We provide support though relation-based services working to see the tide of family breakdown turn, to see children who are loved and cared for prosper and family relationships that are constructive instead of destructive and damaging.

We are now recruiting for Family Mentors to join our dedicated team. Family Mentors are trained volunteers who can work with the family by listening to them in a non-judgemental way and helping them gain the support they need to make changes, find solutions to their challenges and bring new hope into their lives.

The role involves working closely with a Link Worker, offering one to one listening support for a family, for one hour per week and supervision for one hour, over a period of 12 months.

If you are passionate about helping families to help themselves we’d love to hear from you. 

Family Lives was formed over forty years ago by volunteers with the aim of ensuring that all parents had somewhere to turn before they reach crisis point.

Remote Family Support Volunteer – Live Chat

We know that the right support at the right time makes all the difference. Family Lives provides targeted early intervention and crisis support to families who are struggling.

Organisational values:

Mission: We build better family lives together.

Vision: Families should have access to active support and understanding. 

Values: Trustworthy, Compassionate and Collaborative

Purpose of the role: To be part of a flexible team providing empathic, caring and informed support to families, carers and others who use our services.

Live chat: is a free confidential service that is accessed via our website. Service users are offered emotional support, information and advice and guidance on a broad range of family issues.

Supervised by: The Shift Supervisor

 Activities: The volunteer will be fully supervised, supported and trained to provide the following activities:

·Provide emotional support to family members via our live chat service

·Use the Family Lives support model and tools to provide an empathic responses

·Ensure that all service users receive a high quality experience

·Sign post users to other agencies for information and additional support

·Complete conversation data records

·Alert the shift supervisor to any difficult situations

 

General: Volunteers should be willing to:

·Attend the relevant volunteer training

·Maintain confidentiality and adhere to the other policies and procedures of the organisation

·Participate in regular support, supervision meetings and learning sessions as agreed

For home based volunteers only:

·Volunteers will need a Laptop/PC, plug in headset with microphone, fast broadband and a private place to work from home

·Volunteers need to be IT/PC literate and confident troubleshooting should they have technical difficulties

 Time: We would be looking for volunteers to commit to one four-hour shift per week, plus attending training and supervision.

Location: working remotely from home

 You need to be a UK resident

Supervision and Support:

·Supervision during shifts

·Debrief after every shift

·1 to 1 supervision every 6 months

·Staff available outside of shift within office hours

·Annual review

 

The Benefits of Volunteering:

·Satisfaction in making a real and lasting difference to families who are struggling

·An opportunity to develop experience for CV and references. Family Lives is committed to helping volunteers develop their own learning and development, gaining new skills, knowledge or work experience

·Being part of a team of Family Lives volunteers and staff

·Personal development

·Opportunities to meet and interact with a wide range of people

·Out of pocket expenses reimbursed to a maximum of £10 per session if working from a centre

·Flexible hours

 

Volunteer Person Specification. We are looking for individuals who:

·Have experience of parenting/being in a parenting role or demonstrable experience of working with parents or children e.g. in their work, previous volunteering or a previous role

·Have an ability to respond empathically to emotional content

·Good written and verbal communication

·Have good keyboard skills and IT skills, with a minimum of 50 wpm

·Can demonstrate a willingness to question their own attitudes e.g. toward different forms of parenting

·Have a fluent, descriptive and expressive use of English

·Can remain open minded and non-judgemental

·Willing to commit to work within Family Lives’ policies, in particular our Confidentiality Policy and Risk of Harm Procedures

·Willing to commit to attending regular supervision and support sessions

·Willing to work as part of a team

·Willing to commit to a mutually agreed period or ideally a 12 months commitment to the organisation.

Typing Task Prior to Application for Live Chat

Prior to you submitting your application for a Live Chat Volunteer, we will require you to do a speed test, we ask for a minimum speed of 50 words per minute. 

Please take a screen shot and send it across with your application

You can have up to 3 attempts and decide which result you would like to forward as part of your application

Typing task

Go to the website typingtest

You are required to take the one minute typing test recording all of the results (speed, number of errors and adjusted speed).

We have remote voluntary call taker training groups the dates are below are you would need to be able to attend all 5 Modules from the training group.

Our next training groups are:

April training dates:

Module 1 - Monday 22nd April

Module 2 - Wednesday 24th April

Module 3 - Monday 29th April

Module 4 - Wednesday 1st May

Module 5 - Wednesday 8th May

10am to 2pm

We are also running Saturday remote call taker training in June over 5 Saturday's the dates are to be confirmed.

Please note that all roles offered are subject to a satisfactory DBS being obtained, you will receive details of documentation required prior to your training and this must all be in no later than the second session of your training.

As the Head of Family and Youth, you will oversee the planning, coordination, and delivery of activities for children, youth and families at Pride Cymru events. You will be an essential part of creating a welcoming and safe space for families to participate in Pride Cymru.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with community organisations, schools, youth groups, and family support networks to enhance collaboration and outreach efforts.

• Develop new partnership opportunities and support positive partnership working

• Oversee the planning and execution of family-friendly activities and youth-focused events during Pride Cymru festivals and other community gatherings.

• Ensure that events are accessible, inclusive, and engaging for participants of all ages.

Skills and experience

Due to the nature of this role, the successful candidate must hold a valid DBS with the DBS Update Service before conducting any work with Pride Cymru.

• Enthusiasm for creating a family-friendly environment within the LGBTQ+ community.

• Previous experience working with children, youth, and families in a community-based or nonprofit setting, with a focus on LGBTQ+ issues and advocacy.

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate staff, volunteers, and community members.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.

About you

• A genuine desire to support the LGBTQ+ community in Wales

• Commitment to upholding and promoting values of equality, diversity and inclusion

• Ensure work is completed to a high professional standard and in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.

• Attend appropriate meetings/events

• Represent the organisational ethos and values

• Carry out any other reasonable duties as the role develops and as may be requested by the management/trustees

Family Lives operate a free confidential helpline for anyone experiencing difficulties in their family or relationship.

Our volunteers take calls from parents and carers on a wide range of subjects, whether that might be issues around separation and divorce, isolation, depression, bullying and abuse, dealing with behavioural problems, etc. You can find out more about our services on our website.

We are a national service with home-based call takers county wide and we also have a call centre in Old Hatfield Hertfordshire. Once trained volunteers sign up for a weekly 4-hour shift comprising 3 hours ‘online’ followed by a debrief session with your supervisor which can lasts around half to one hour. 

We recruit volunteers with a range of backgrounds and experiences though we ask that volunteers have experience of parenting or working with children and young people, are good listeners and have a willingness to learn. Being remote it will be very important that you have a PC/laptop, plug in headset with microphone, good Wi-Fi and a private place to work from home. 

You need to be a UK resident.

Our training programme is excellent and will give you the opportunity to develop the skills needed to offer empathic support and guidance to callers whatever their circumstances; all shifts are overseen by a regular shift supervisor who provides ongoing remote support. We ask our volunteers to make a commitment of 1 year (with time off for holidays), obviously we understand that circumstances sometimes make that an impossibility but can be helpful to know at the outset that is the general expectation. 

We have call taker training sessions that run over five sessions and is done remotely connecting you via a Microsoft Teams link.

You would need to be able to attend all five sessions from one of these remote training groups and be available on four occasions to listen into calls, this can be organised remotely.

Remote Call Taker Training Dates:

April training dates:

Module 1 - Monday 22nd April

Module 2 - Wednesday 24th April

Module 3 - Monday 29th April

Module 4 - Wednesday 1st May

Module 5 - Wednesday 8th May

10am to 2pm

We are also running Saturday remote call taker training in June over 5 Saturday's the dates are to be confirmed.

Please note that all roles offered are subject to a satisfactory DBS being obtained, you will receive details of documentation required prior to your training and this must all be in no later than the second session of your training.

Our Trustees are a team of volunteers who use their diverse skills, experience, and perspectives to set the strategic direction of the charity and make sure it’s doing what it was set up to do in the best possible way. 

For families facing tough times, a holiday is a much-needed break from the day to day, as well as giving space and time to breathe, think differently. A holiday is essential for building wellbeing and hope for the future, especially when the present is challenging.

About you

You'll have the energy, integrity, passion, and skills to work with the Board of Trustees, our CEO and staff team, and our community, to drive forward a successful and dynamic future for our charity and the families we support.

We’re particularly looking to add the following professional skills and experiences to our team.

• Developing digital products, tools and/or services.
• Directly supporting children and/or families on an ongoing professional basis.
• Fundraising in a charity through voluntary donations or commercial income.

You don’t need to have been a Trustee before, but you do need to be willing to do some training to help you understand the role and the responsibilities that come with it.

We actively encourage applications from under-represented, marginalised and racialised groups, and those with lived experience of any of the barriers families face to having time away together. That’s things like mental or physical ill health, disability, domestic abuse, being a young carer or living on a low income.

We will make adjustments to our schedule and processes to ensure new trustees can be included and supported in the role.

More diverse perspectives on our Board help us make better decisions for families.

What we offer you

The biggest thing we have to offer is the chance to put your skills and experience to good use making the lives of families who are having a tough time better.

You’ll join a team who really care about making a difference and approach it with real openness and drive. Right off the bat we’ll connect you with the other Trustees and staff so you can get to know everyone, and we’ll buddy you up with another Trustee, so you’ve got someone to help you navigate it all as you settle in.

Expenses

You won’t get paid for your time, but we’ll make sure you aren’t out of pocket by covering the cost of your travel to meetings, childcare or other care if you need it, and a range of other expenses you might have while doing the role. We’ll book and/or pay for these in advance if you prefer.

How to apply

When you click 'Quick Apply' you'll find a link to upload your CV and answer a couple of screening questions.

We will make adjustments to the recruitment process wherever possible to ensure that no applicant is disadvantaged for any reason. 

• Monday 20th May - Applications close at 9am
• w/c 3rd June and w/c 10th June  -  First interviews with a panel of current trustees 
• w/c 17th June - Second interviews with Jackie our Vice Chair of Trustees

After the interviews we’ll contact anyone we’d like to join the Board with an offer subject to references and checks.

If you accept, we’ll take up your references, do a DBS check and confirm your eligibility to act as a Trustee. If that’s all ok, you’re in! We’ll introduce you to the rest of the Trustees and get started with your induction.

Formal appointment happens at the next Board meeting which is on Thursday 5th August.

Family Friends carefully recruit, train, and match volunteers with families in Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and Brent.  Volunteers offer practical and emotional support based on each family's unique needs and potential. We offer two volunteer opportunities - Big Buddies and Family Befriending. 

Our Family Befrienders support parents and families; volunteers will aim to help families/single parents to discover their strengths, build confidence, and resolve difficulties. Volunteers meet with their family weekly or fortnightly for a period of 6 to 12 months.

Activities might include:

• Supporting a parent to take their children on days out.
• Helping to strengthen family relationships.
• Providing a listening ear.
• Helping family members build confidence in themselves.

Essential Criteria:

• Level of commitment mentioned above
• 18+
• Must have lived in the UK for the last 2 years

What we provide in return:

• Full induction training and ongoing training
• Weekly supervision and support
• The chance to learn new skills
• References provided after 6 months' commitment
• Reimbursement of travel and session expenses

We are an equal opportunities charity and value the principles of diversity and inclusion, which is central in providing successful support to our families. We welcome and encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, including people from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTQI+ and individuals from different socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

Are you passionate about young people and ensuring everyone has equitable access to opportunities? Do you have a vibrant energy and experience to bring to our families and children? Then we could be looking for you to join our team of volunteers supportung families and young people in the North Kensington community.

As we ease out of lockdown, we are looking for volunteers to help on day trips in and around London to support families in getting back to normality again.

Trips will include anything from horse riding through to the beach, farms and Kew Gardens. This is an opportunity to help families in our community while gaining experience of working with a small, friendly and supportive charity.

Volunteers will help the group leader to accompany groups of parents/guardians and their children on a variety of cultural/fun trips, helping to make them feel welcome. 

Suitable volunteers will be reliable and sociable and enjoy working with children. Volunteers must be available for day trips during school holidays, as this is when most of the trips take place.

Volunteers receive a full induction, and support from the Children and Young People Coordinator. Travel expenses on the outings and any entrance fees are covered, and some further expenses can also be claimed.

Marie Curie recognises that the best way to understand its services is by seeing it through the eyes of the people we support. Feedback from people we care for is critical in telling us what we are doing well and where we can improve. 

Through this exciting volunteer role, you will help us understand our services’ quality by listening to the people we support. You will help us by contacting people while they are receiving our services to make sure we are providing our patients and families with excellent care, and if there are issues, to help us nip things in the bud. Age 18+

We are looking for active individuals that will engage with parents/carers at our Little Love baby bank in Southend, Your role will support this wonderiful iniaitive available to all families that have a child aged under 4 or who are expecting a baby and reaches the most vulnerable. Duties may require setting up and packing away and sorting of donations, depending on how many hours you can offer on a Thursday, supporting the YourFamily programme which is funded by A Better Start Southend. 

City Family CIC will seek an Enhanced DBS check at no cost to the volunteer and will reimburse all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as public transport fares and car mileage. We ask that you reside no further than 10 miles from Southend. Full induction and training will be provided as well as ongoing support and development.

Your Family is a community-based programme combining peer volunteers and paid staff who provide support, connection and advice to early years families - connecting and enabling them to access local activities, support and clinical services.

We are looking for individuals with professional or lived experience of working with children. Our volunteer playworkers are passionate about play and providing a welcoming and safe space for all children.

About the Role

As a volunteer play worker, you will work in partnership with the Specialist Family Support Worker in the planning and delivery of play sessions. Most children will be between the ages of 2-5 years.

Play sessions will be child-centered and age-appropriate, and will include arts and crafts, sensory play and free play with toys/resources in the refuge. Working with the Specialist Family Support Worker, you will be able to respond to the individual needs of the children and adapt sessions as needed. You will record your observations on each child at the end of the session and reflect on how the sessions went with Specialist Family Support Worker.

You will be supported by the Specialist Family Support Worker in monthly supervisions. This is a space to discuss your volunteering role, what is going well for you and areas of support you need.

We are looking for volunteers to support one session per week, either:

• Wednesday 10am – 1pm (Islington)
• Friday 12pm – 3pm (Enfield)  

You will be expected to participate in setting up and in the evaluation of the session. You may also be asked your availability to attend additional sessions and trips to be held over school half terms.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking volunteers who have:

• Professional and/or lived experience of working with children
• Understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people
• A strengths-focused approach to working with challenging behaviour
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Procedures, or who are willing to learn
• Commitment to attend Safeguarding, Health and Safety, and Equality and Diversity training with Solace Women’s Aid
• Ability to communicate effectively with children aged 0-5, parents and staff
• Basic knowledge of child development
• Organisation and time management skills

Although not essential, we would welcome applications from volunteers who have a formal qualification in working with children, young people and families, or who have knowledge of trauma-informed approaches to working with children and young people.

What can you gain from this opportunity?

Volunteers will gain:

• Experience of facilitating play sessions for children in recovery from domestic abuse
• An insight into the experiences of children in recovery from domestic abuse.
• Experience in working in partnership with Specialist Family Support Workers in the planning, delivery and evaluation of play sessions in a refuge/community setting.
• Opportunity to attend training and social events with other Solace Women’s Aid volunteers.
• Trauma-Informed Practice training from the Specialist Family Support Worker team.
• Being part of a supportive team who aim to build on the strengths and skills of all our members.

We offer great volunteer induction training, where you will be fully supported to understand, and carry put every aspect of the role. Training includes CPD accredited courses, and the opportunity to apply to complete the level 3 Understanding Domestic Abuse Award (DAPA), which is recognized by the Home Office.

Can you spare up to 3 hours a week visiting a client in their home for a cup of tea and a chat, help them get to an appointment or run an errand, or just be there to listen to them when they need a friendly ear. Companion Volunteers, provide companionship, emotional and practical support, respite for carers and telephone support to those living with a terminal or life limited illness or their carers.

At Koala NW, our volunteer support is at the heart of what we do and we know how much our families appreciate the support our volunteers offer.

As a Koala North West volunteer, you will be given the training and support to make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work. You will make friends along the way and join other volunteers for peer support sessions and join in celebrations like National Volunteers week & Christmas events.

Once you have completed your 6 weeks training programme, you will be matched to a suitable family to offer emotional and practical support. You will be supported by a coordinator and given support and supervision regularly.

Every family we support is unique so the support that we offer is equally unique to that family and depends entirely on the circumstances and what they would like support with. We help parents identify what they are already doing well, and support them to build on this to improve their relationships with their children.

You will be visiting families in their own homes once a week for an hour or two, if you have availability to support more than one family just let us know and you can be matched to additional families. Or you may be offering virtual support. During the pandemic, we had to adjust our home visiting to virtual support, via zoom, telephone /What’s App video calls/ texts. It proved very successful as this was a regular contact for families during lockdown.

Due to the success of virtual support, if families prefer this type of support as an alternative to home visits, that’s okay.

Support in one or more of the following areas could be offered:

• Social isolation/loneliness, support families to get outdoors, walking with them to the park or accompanying to appointments etc
• Poor emotional and/or mental health wellbeing
• Managing children’s behaviours/sleep issues
• School readiness
• Family bereavement
• Disability/complex needs or ill health
• New baby/multiple births
• Difficulty with home management/routine
• Budgeting

All home visits by volunteers are carried out between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. (Flexible around family and work commitments)

What do Koala NW expected from you?

• You have parenting experience
• You have a non-judgemental attitude
• You are flexible and are able to commit to 2 hours minimum each week for a period of at least 12 months
• You are able to attend a 6 week training course. Training is held in Liverpool and runs 1 day a week for 6 consecutive weeks between 9.30am and 2.30pm
• You are willing to attend ongoing training to support you in your volunteering role.

We are proud that 43% of our current staff started as volunteers with Koala North West.

Since we started, we have supported in excess of 12,000 families and trained more than 1,500 volunteers.

Volunteering can change a family's life and 1-2 hours per week can make such a huge difference. Our volunteers are the difference.

Full training will be provided and paid travel expenses.

Job Type: Volunteer

Work Location: In person

At Koala NW, our volunteer support is at the heart of what we do and we know how much our families appreciate the support our volunteers offer.

As a Koala North West volunteer, you will be given the training and support to make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work. You will make friends along the way and join other volunteers for peer support sessions and join in celebrations like National Volunteers week & Christmas events.

Once you have completed your 6 session training programme, you will be matched to a suitable family to offer emotional and practical support. You will be supported by a coordinator and given support and supervision regularly.

Every family we support is unique so the support that we offer is equally unique to that family and depends entirely on the circumstances and what they would like support with. We help parents identify what they are already doing well, and support them to build on this to improve their relationships with their children.

You will be visiting families in their own homes once a week for an hour or two, if you have availability to support more than one family just let us know and you can be matched to additional families. Or you may be offering virtual support. During the pandemic, we had to adjust our home visiting to virtual support, via zoom, telephone /What’s App video calls/ texts. It proved very successful as this was a regular contact for families during lockdown.

Due to the success of virtual support, if families prefer this type of support as an alternative to home visits, that’s okay.

Support in one or more of the following areas could be offered:

• Social isolation/loneliness, support families to get outdoors, walking with them to the park or accompanying to appointments etc
• Poor emotional and/or mental health wellbeing
• Managing children’s behaviours/sleep issues
• School readiness
• Family bereavement
• Disability/complex needs or ill health
• New baby/multiple births
• Difficulty with home management/routine
• Budgeting

All home visits by volunteers are carried out between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday. (Flexible around family and work commitments)

What does Koala NW expect from you?

• You have parenting experience
• You have a non-judgemental attitude
• You are flexible and can commit to 2 hours minimum each week for a period of at least 12 months
• You are able to attend a 6 session training course. Training is held locally and runs 1 day a week for 6 consecutive weeks between 9.30am and 2.30pm
• You are willing to attend ongoing training to support you in your volunteering role.

We are proud that 43% of our current staff started as volunteers with Koala North West.

Since we started, we have supported in excess of 12,000 families and trained more than 1,500 volunteers.

Volunteering can change a family's life and 1-2 hours per week can make such a huge difference. Our volunteers are the difference.