Key Worker Volunteer Roles in Leeds

The world bank survey in Kakuma on April 12, 2021 states, “We found that 68% of Kakuma refugees and 65% of Kalobeyei refugees live below the poverty line of $1.90 per day. Strikingly, the immediate surrounding host community in Turkana County is even more impoverished with 72% living in poverty”. Action for Refugee Life (AREL) aims to tackle this poverty through training, employment and promoted economic activity and inclusion.

The focus of AREL is to equip, empower and impact individual refugees, refugee households, and refugee communities, to have an economic and social ability to meet essential needs in a sustainable and dignified manner. Action for Refugee Life's purposes are to identify talented skilled refugees, train refugees with no skills and get them connected to remote job opportunities so that they become self-sufficient actors in an economically and socially sustainable life.

MARKETING MENTORING

• Mentor our students on the key digital marketing skills to evolve their current understanding, demonstrate real-world examples, and help build their employability.

• Volunteer 1-2 hours per student - remotely

Young Humanists are the voice for non-religious young people. Two-thirds of young people are non-religious. We provide them with the community and platform that their voices deserve. We think young people have a right to be heard and that more should be done to ensure policy reflects their views.

Young Humanists is led by a committee that drives national and regional events throughout the year. They are supported by a team of local Ambassadors, who are the ‘on the ground’ representatives, working as part of local humanist or other community groups. We also have a team of volunteers specialising in areas like social media, design and research, who support the committee and individual Ambassadors.

We are seeking a dedicated and driven Northern Ireland-based individual to join our network of Ambassadors, to assist the committee by:

• Sitting on the Northern Ireland Humanists committee, providing a formal link to Young Humanists by championing issues that are particularly relevant to young people in Northern Ireland.
• Putting on events with a view to getting younger people involved (e.g. pub quizzes, campaign work, family-friendly events like coffee mornings or Sunday brunches, litter picks or picnics)
• Be a contact point for other Young Humanists who want to attend nearby groups/events and an ambassador for Young Humanists at regional events.
• Provide local knowledge to make sure we promote relevant local opportunities to our members and, equally, promote Humanists UK and Young Humanist events or campaigns locally.

Please read the full Application Pack for more information.

While there are no set hours we expect that up to three hours per week on average may be spent on the role, with this possibly increasing in the run-up to Young Humanists’ events.

All Young Humanists volunteers should be aged 18 to 35 (with eligibility ending the day before the applicant’s 36th birthday). Much of the work can be done remotely, but it is required that the post holder be based in Northern Ireland. 

If this sounds like you send your CV and cover letter, with the subject ‘Young Humanists Ambassador for Northern Ireland’ 

We are looking for volunteer drivers to join our hospice team and assist patients with getting to and from appointments.  By collecting patients from their homes and bringing them to the hospice and then ensuring them get home safely, you will have a key role in the team.

Our amazing Community Volunteers play a key role in connecting blind and partially sighted people, awareness-raising, tackling barriers to independence and fundraising for our work.

Depending on your availability, training and interests, you will have the chance to take part in some or all of the following:

• help run events and regular groups

• give talks about sight loss, eye health, the work of RNIB and partners

• help with local campaigns

• organise fundraising events like store collections

• attend information stalls and cheque presentations, and

• make wellbeing calls to community members.

Faith to Faithless are launching a brand new helpline for apostates in the summer of 2023, for people leaving high-control religions, and we’re looking for committed, compassionate volunteers to join us. 

You will be a motivated, dedicated, and organised person with great communication skills, who is enthusiastic about volunteering your time and skills to support individuals leaving high-control religions (also known as apostates). You will have lived experience or understanding of the issues apostates face, and a kind and empathic approach to working with others.

We’ll train you to handle calls with confidence, and you’ll be getting valuable experience in supporting service users with multifaceted needs. This is a volunteering role where you can develop your interpersonal skills, help members of our community that need it most, and make a real difference in their lives by helping them to get back on track to living happy, purposeful lives without religion.

Key Tasks and Activities

• To respond quickly and efficiently to calls requesting help, providing a listening service, signposting and information to people who have experienced victimisation due to leaving their religion.
• To deliver work which adheres to high service standards, ensuring compliance with all policies and procedures.
• To keep and maintain accurate and confidential records of all work undertaken.
• To identify and maintain appropriate boundaries for all callers and recognise when and where to signpost callers for further help/information as appropriate with appropriate support from the apostate services manager
• To proactively continue to develop appropriate knowledge, attitudes and skills through regular reading of information and attending training courses.
• To support the training of helpline volunteers as required.
• To attend supervision, meetings and appraisals.
• To undertake any other appropriate duties as requested by the ASM
• To work at all times within the policies and procedures of Humanists UK.

Download and read the full application pack for more information. To apply, please complete the application form telling us why you’re interested in the role and detailing how you match the person specification on page 4 of the application pack. Then return the completed form with the subject ‘Helpline Volunteer’ to volunteer[at]humanists[dot]UK.

This is an exciting ans interesting volunteer role. You will receive excellent training and you will have the chance to be mentored in police custody before you go it alone.

There are 7 custody suites Margate, Folkestone, Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, North Kent (Gravesend) and Maidstone. You can choose which custody suite you want to support, however in an emergency you can always of course say no, you are a volunteer.

You will be supporting young peeople and older vulnerable people while they are in police custody, it is always interesting, sometimes it is sometimes sad, but as a volunteer you will always bring some light and support into, what can be, a very dark time for the detainee.

If this appeals to you, we look forward to hearing from you.

Our challenge
Our Support and Information team offer a wide range of inclusive and accessible services to support those diagnosed with a brain tumour and their families.

One of our most critical services is our Support and Information Line, which is open between 9am-5pm, Monday—Friday. This service offers a place for people affected by a brain tumour diagnosis, to ask questions or raise concerns about a diagnosis, and how to support a loved one. We continue to see an increase in people accessing these services, and strive to work in smarter ways to manage this increase.

How can you help?
We are looking for volunteers to help us to run the Support Line more efficiently, by answering calls and asking some key questions to ensure the caller is transferred/triaged to the most appropriate support for them. This is an opportunity to be on the frontline of our support services and to play a vital role, in ensuring those that we support get the best service possible.

• Answer incoming calls to the Support Line with empathy and understanding
• Ask specific questions to understand the caller’s support needs and transfer to the appropriate teams
•  Accurately record information about the call onto our secure database
• Assist the support team in specific project areas where appropriate
• Engage in peer supervision to ensure your wellbeing needs are met

We’re looking for...

• Experience or confidence in answering calls and speaking on the phone
• Strong IT and computer skills, ideally experience of using databases
• Ability to demonstrate a high degree of empathy and resilience
• Active listening and strong communication skills
• Ability to separate own experiences from others, offering support and signposting in a non judgemental way
• Confidence to work autonomously and as part of a team
• Organisation and reliability
• Demonstrable understanding of confidential working

How much of my time would you like?
To ensure we have volunteer cover for the full Support Line opening hours, we are looking for volunteers to commit to a minimum of one 4-hour morning or afternoon shift.

Due to the continuous training involved, we would ask that volunteers commit to a minimum of six months spent volunteering with us.

How will I be trained and supported?

• You will receive a full online induction to The Brain Tumour Charity and your role here, as well as in-house training on the use of our database and phone system.
• You will receive weekly supervision after each shift and ongoing support through online webinars, emails and telephone calls, from a dedicated staff contact.
• You’ll have the opportunity to keep in touch and gain support from other volunteers in the same role.
• You can also receive regular updates, if you’d like them ,through our Volunteers E-Newsletter.

What can I gain from volunteering with you?

• Developing your existing skills as well as learning new ones
• Experience of working within a busy charity Support team
• The satisfaction of knowing that you’re making a valuable contribution to the lives of those affected by brain tumours
• The opportunity to expand the role in future, by taking on additional training
   

Candlelighters provides practical, emotional, and financial support to every family affected by childhood cancer in Yorkshire. We support around 150 new families each year and our work ensure the whole family unit is supported in these extraordinary circumstances. 

We support children and their families from diagnosis and throughout their journey, including financial support, practical help in hospital, much needed breaks, as well as emotional and well-being support for the whole family at The Square (our family support centre) and in local communities across Yorkshire.

We are looking for an experienced gardener or handy person to help plan and maintain the gardens and ensure they provide a relaxing and peaceful environment for families to enjoy all year round.​

Purpose of the Role and Key Activities 

• Planting, weeding, and pruning as needed 
• Clearing and maintaining paths 
• Other practical tasks to keep the gardens looking there best 
• Looking after garden equipment
• Planning what plants or equipment is needed 
• Occasionally overseeing volunteers helping with ‘one-off’ gardening activities or projects. 
• Supporting our Facilities Officer in general duties around our other buildings. 

We are looking for a volunteer who: 

• Is an experienced gardener (professional experience preferred but not essential)
• Has a knowledge of plant and flower care 
• Has a good level of fitness and is able to meet the physically demanding aspects of the role
• Has a good understanding of relevant health and safety issues 
• Is prepared to work outside in various weather 
• Can manage own emotions and interact professionally and unobtrusively with children and families using the gardens
• Is comfortable visiting the hospital
• Is able to oversee ‘one-off’ volunteers assisting with gardening projects/activities 
• Can follow Candlelighters and hospital policies and procedures, including health and safety, confidentiality, professional boundaries and safeguarding. 

This role is subject to a criminal record check. 

This role is not suitable for family members whose child is currently receiving treatment for childhood cancer.  This is to ensure they are given the best possible care and support without any potential conflict of interest. Other volunteering opportunities can be found on our website. 

Support and Benefits 

• Thorough induction & training to give you the confidence to perform your role well and to the best of your ability 
• Opportunity to develop new and existing skills to help you beyond your involvement with Candlelighters 
• Ongoing support from the Family Support and HR teams 
• The opportunity to meet lots of new, friendly people 
• The opportunity to expose yourself to new experiences 
• Certain expenses to be reimbursed as agreed with your Volunteer Supervisor, in accordance with our Expenses policy 
• Regular reviews with your Volunteer Supervisor to help you develop in your role 
• Satisfaction in knowing you are making a valuable contribution to supporting children and families affected by childhood cancer 
• We can be a reference once you’ve volunteered for three months 
• Access to the mental health hotline 
• Charity Worker Discount card 
• Access to The Company Shop 

Will you share your counselling or psychotherapy skills as a child & young person's (CYP) counsellor or therapist to join an online counselling service for young patients with a pain condition (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)? We’re supporting patients, relatives, partners and carers affected by a debilitating condition; Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

We're looking for qualified or student paediatric/child & young person counsellors, psychotherapists or psychologists ideally with some experience of working with chronic pain patients, who may want to volunteer their skills supporting our young service users and help develop a psychological support service. 

As a Volunteer Child/Young Person's Counsellor you’ll be providing remote online/telephone counselling/therapy support services to young people aged 5 to 18 who are vulnerable, many of whom are isolated and in need of mental health services. You’ll be providing one-to-one counselling sessions online or by phone. With your recognised counselling qualifications and experience you will be an asset to our small charity and to our young services users. We will also consider therapists who are in need of a placement.

Depending on your qualifications, skills and experience, volunteer child counsellors / therapists provide person centred counselling (general talking counselling) or specialist services such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), ACT and EMDR for young CRPS patients.

We are needing to expand this service to support our young clients as it has rapidly received a high number of referrals. People can be referred both by health or legal professionals as well as having parents/guardians referring them to the service.

In this role you’ll be able to develop your paediatric counselling skills, organisation, communication and team working skills. If you have experience in younger children please do get in touch.

Most importantly you’ll be providing essential services that help make sure no one has to face CRPS alone. Be the hope for CRPS.

What the role involves

This role may vary depending on needs, but is likely to include:

• Undertake a child client assessments, followed by person-centred counselling (via Zoom or phone) to our clients, offering up to 20 one hour (or 45 mins ate dependant) sessions for each client plus 4 assessments

• Providing one-to-one counselling sessions to young patients aged 5-18 (we will consider therapists who can only support primary or secondary school age)

• Update our database with the client’s basic information and session attendance

• Maintain succinct, relevant session notes and store these securely

• Attending and participating in meetings
• Project monitoring, creating, reporting and outcomes evaluation procedures

• Attend CPD training to ensure your knowledge stays current

• Participating in regular meetings with the Chair
• Maintaining client confidentiality, upholding data protection and equal opportunities principle

• Attend monthly Supervision to ensure safe working practices

We can support you to develop the skills you need for this role, including an induction. You will have a chance to discuss your role and any additional needs with us. We can offer you a supervisor.

What you need for this role

Essential

• Be a member (including student membership) of one of the recognised organisations (see below)
• Level 4 Diploma level qualifications as a minimum (or be studying towards one), Degree or Masters in Paediatric Counselling, Counselling/Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, Play Therapy or Art Therapy 
• Minimum of 100 hours supervised
• Proof of professional indemnity insurance annually - we may consider paying this as an expense but commitment to the charity is required
• A valid DBS certificate (enhanced version), which is less than three years old and renewed every three years (the charity can provide where necessary)
• Able to keep people’s personal data safe

• Willing and able to provide counselling via Zoom from a private location with a stable WiFi connection

• Able to support a minimum of 2 child or young clients a week, being two hours of your time for counselling sessions plus time for administration. We ideally hope you to offer the charity a commitment of six months.

Desirable

• Personal or professional Knowledge or experience of chronic pain or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Previous experience as a chronic pain or CRPS paediatric counsellor or psychologist 
• Committed to our values
• Willing to develop skills and experience
• Enjoy working as part of a team
• Effective administration skills, planning and organisation skills
• Approachable, presentable, enthusiastic

We also welcome trained (or those seeking placements) paediatric counsellors, child therapists and counselling/clinical psychologists who are willing to give their time to support our valuable work.

Once we’ve assessed your application, you may be invited for interview. If you are successful, we will arrange for you to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service DBS or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check.

Recognised Organisations

• British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP)
• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP)
• Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)
• General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR)
• British Society for Clinical Hypnotherapists (BSCH)
• National Council for Hypnotherapists (NCH)
• United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• The National Hypnotherapy Society (HS)
• National Counselling Society (NCS)
• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• The Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP)
• National Register of Hypnotherapists & Psychotherapists (NRHP)

Making a difference

What impact will the opportunity have?

You will join the charity during a critical and challenging period as the service is rapidly expanding and your expert knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our success. You will have a key role in not only developing a counselling service for younger clients but also ensure we provide counselling services and mental health support to our young child CRPS patients who are in need of our support and inclusion on a regular basis. With your help we will expand our support and mental health services to ensure our service users receive mental health support that they may not have been offered.

What's in it for you as the volunteer? 

You would be a part of our small, friendly, forward-thinking charity team, focused on reaching people affected by this rare, painful and debilitating chronic pain condition and to provide them with psychological support whether they are patients, their partner, relatives, friends or carers. As this service is continually developing, you would have a key role in developing a young person counselling programme and to complement our support services that we offer. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to make a real difference in a child's life which is already isolated and painful, who may not have received any psychological support.

Family Futures is seeking a dedicated Grants and Corporate Fundraising Volunteer to join our team.

Family Futures is a not for profit, independent adoption and fostering agency and a therapy centre in London, rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2022 for the fourth consecutive time. We have a reputation for innovation and providing a gold standard service to children and families. It is an exciting time for Family Futures as we celebrate our 25th anniversary of helping families heal this year and develop our new strategy to drive forward our pioneering work into the future.

Family Futures provides an integrated interdisciplinary, assessment, treatment and family-finding service for children who are traumatised or have attachment difficulties. Our groundbreaking Neuro-physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) model takes a body-based and neuro-sequential approach to healing developmentally traumatised children and supporting their families and network. Our services extend to adoptive, foster, special guardian, and at risk families.

What you will be doing.

This volunteer role is within our Marketing and Communications team, working closely with the Marketing and Communications Manager and other roles across Family Futures, to achieve our fundraising targets, objectives and values. Our therapy, adoption and fostering services for children and families depend on our financial resilience.

By volunteering as a Funding and Grants Volunteer you will be helping us develop our fundraising strategy to ensure we have funds for projects which will improve our therapy space and better serve the community through enhanced services.

This is a rewarding opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of Family Futures and to play an important role in helping generate income and build a pipeline of new funding opportunities to improve the mental health and outcomes of developmentally traumatised children.

Who is right for the role.

We are particularly looking for those who have some or all of the following qualities and experience:

• has a proven track record of successful trusts and foundations fundraising and knowledge of fundraising regulations.
• has effective communication and collaboration skills
• can build effective working relationships with others.
• is willing to keep proactively up to date with the external fundraising environment, identifying trends and opportunities.
• can understand the financial set up, budgets challenges and opportunities.

Please request an application pack to view full list of experience and skills desired for this role.

Duration commitment.

• Ideally committing to at least a year to provide consistency to the role and establish key relationships with funders and the local community.
• Commitment to being involved in a grant application/project from start to finish preferred.

What you will get out of it.

You'll get the opportunity to:

• spend time with like-minded people and make new friends.
• develop skills in fundraising, networking, and business engagement.
• raise money to help us improve the mental health and outcomes of developmentally traumatised children.

Family Futures will provide.

• Full induction to Family Futures and the role.
• Monthly supervision and support.
• Out of pocket expenses agreed in advance.
• Reference at the end of the volunteer placement.

We believe that embracing different perspectives enriches our agency’s culture and strengthens our ability to serve the children and families we work with. Therefore, we welcome applications from candidates from a wide range of lived experience and are actively recruiting people from the global majority, i.e. Black, Asian, dual heritage and minority ethnic groups as they are currently under-represented at our organisation.

Family Futures is a highly nurturing environment. We are an equal opportunities employer and committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce. We encourage applications from suitably qualified applicants regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Family Futures is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. The organisation follows safer recruitment practices to protect children and adults at risk of harm and will require the successful applicant to undertake an enhanced DBS disclosure.

We’re always looking for empathetic individuals with great listening skills to train as non-religious pastoral support volunteers and join the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network (NRPSN), working within Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care teams to provide like-minded support for people in difficult times. Research has shown that despite purporting to support everyone, only 4% of chaplaincy team visits are made to non-religious people. However, 69% of the population think specific non-religious care should be available, and non-religious people have the same need to talk about ‘the big questions’ and receive like-minded support.

Our volunteers and paid members work in the NHS, HMPPS, and the armed forces. We have trained more than 300 pastoral carers, and currently have a presence in 9% of prisons and in 30% of NHS Trusts and growing. The covid-19 pandemic has severely affected our volunteer numbers, and we are working hard to ensure that non-religious pastoral care is available to all. Will you join us in making pastoral care more inclusive and equal?

Upcoming training dates:

• London – 16 & 17 March 2024
• Midlands – 25 & 26 May 2024
• London – 27 & 28 July 2024
• Wales – 26 & 27 October 2024

After training, you’ll need to be able to commit at least half a day a week to volunteering, and you’ll need some tenacity along with the confidence and interpersonal skills to work with religious colleagues. You’ll be rewarded by being a positive support to people in their hour of need, and by being part of real change in how institutions support non-religious people.

Please read the attached Application Pack, and then complete and return the Application Form (when you click the link it may automatically download to your device) to register your interest. The application deadline is six weeks before your chosen course, and interviews will be completed shortly after your application is received.

LMK – Let Me Know is a London based education charity running a proven prevention programme against relationship abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. We have worked with over 10,000 young people in our first 3 years across 22 London boroughs. Two thirds of the young people we work with tell us we’ve fundamentally changed their understanding of healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours and 84% know how to leave an abusive relationship safely. 

Are you passionate about tackling relationship abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault? Are you eager to help young people to protect their mental health and thrive in their relationships? Are you motivated by LMK’s values of being Kind, Brave, Open and Collaborative? Do you want to use your time and skills to support a small, ambitious charity making a big impact in the charity sector?

If so, you could be one of the three people LMK is looking for to join our Board of Trustees.

You do not need to have previous experience of a board role, but you do need to care deeply about the work that we do and have the time, skills and experience to contribute to the work of the board. We are particularly keen to hear from people with expert, working experience of governance, risk and compliance programmes, and safeguarding. We are looking for:

Vice Chair With previous experience of chairing meetings and strong leadership skills, you will deputise for and provide support to the Chair in carrying out their responsibilities. You will have, or be willing to develop, a strong understanding of best-practice in charity governance and an ability to implement it in a small charity context. You will act as a ‘critical friend’ and sounding board to the Chair, while remaining open to feedback about the Chair, LMK and the operations of the board from other Trustees, the CEO and members of staff. LMK’s Vice Chair will be asked to take on specific responsibility for risk and compliance, providing expertise and oversight of the risk register and contributing to sub-committees as needed.

Chair of Safeguarding Subcommittee Experience of managing safeguarding operations and up to date knowledge of safeguarding legislation is key for this role. You will champion safeguarding at board level and, through your role as Chair of the Safeguarding Subcommittee, work with the staff team to ensure that LMK has effective policy and practice in place, as well as the right culture and understanding around duty of care more generally. 

Trustee (Generalist) You will have experience in one of the following sectors: VAWG, Education, Mental Health, Community Engagement or Youth Work, and be willing to use your knowledge to guide LMK in the creation of its strategy, programmes, materials, and marketing or social media content.

If you would like to apply for the role of LMK Trustee, please look at the recruitment pack and follow the process on P9 which tells you to send us an application, explaining:

• Why you are interested in joining LMK.

• What role you are applying for Vice Chair, Chair of Safeguarding Subcommittee or Trustee (Generalist).

• What knowledge, skills and experience you have gained in your life that could benefit LMK.

• Why you feel you could make a difference to LMK.

• You can also attach your CV or other supporting material if you think it could help your application.

Deadline: 8th January 2024.

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