Family outreach coordinator volunteer roles

Food Service Volunteers

Enthusiastic, hands-on volunteers needed to help provide food to the community. A key role, you will work at the main hub of the food bank and help the food service run as smoothly as possible. An exciting opportunity to make a real, immediate impact to those in need of support. 

Hours: Thursdays, a range of shifts from 9:30am - 6pm

Book shifts to suit your own schedule! No requirement to sign up for the same shift each Thursday or to volunteer consecutive weeks.

Location: St Michaels Church Hall, 37 Bounds Green Rd, London, N22 8SD

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 1,500 children and adults in the community. We are committed to improving lives by providing food and essential household items to build a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow. We strive to promote social inclusion by supporting people who find themselves in a crisis situation where they need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

Person specification: 

• Aged 18 or above

• Have a basic understanding of spoken English

• Available on Thursdays 

• Able to travel at your own expense (no parking is available)

• Patient and flexible - you will help on different sections on each shift and may need to switch during shifts too

• A team player - the food bank is run completely by volunteers, so we require enthusiasm and cooperation

• Willing to attend training - The Orientation Tour is required before you join us, but other training may be offered.

• Understands and is sensitive to the challenges and difficulties faced by guests accessing the food bank e.g. food and fuel poverty, feelings of shame and embarrassment, language barriers.

The role: 

• Take in deliveries and count stock at the start and end of the day (depending on your shift time)

• Help with setting up the food service, including getting food out of storage and onto the service tables, decanting and repacking items and replenishing goods when needed. 

• Warmly welcome guests, serving them the number of items advised by Section Leads and Food Service Coordinators during each shift. 

• Follow food bank policies including Health and Safety procedures e.g. wearing gloves when handling fresh food and lifting boxes safely. 

• Keep the hall safe throughout the food service e.g. tidying away boxes and keeping walkways clear. 

Benefits:

• Flexible - book shifts to suit your own schedule!

• Give back to the community - one of the NHS’ 5 Ways to Wellbeing!

• Gain access to free workshops for volunteers and upskill on a range of topics (conflict resolution, mental health first aid, arts and crafts, and more)

• Join free social events for volunteers (such as picnics, walks, games nights and celebration events)

• Gain a sense of community and meet the huge team of volunteers

Client Support Volunteer - Manchester Schools Project

Do you want to make a difference to someone experiencing the housing emergency?

Information about the role

School staff are working hard to support the thousands of families living in insecure and unsuitable housing in Manchester. Shelter’s @HOME project helps fight for secure and stable homes by working families who would benefit from early intervention to prevent them from becoming homeless and/or mitigate the impact of homelessness on their education. 

Your role will be to support the @HOME coordinator during drop-ins for parents in various school locations.

Location: Various locations across Manchester

Suggested contribution: Two half days per week

Availability: Fridays (Flexible)

The above is the essential information you need to know. You can apply now by clicking ‘fill in an application’ or read on more for details.

Main activities may include:

• Greeting people as they arrive to the drop-in
• Completing registration forms with people as they arrive
• Signposting to appropriate agencies and giving out information
• Running checks with people to assess benefit eligibility
• Being there for people if they need someone to listen
• Translating for clients if possible (common languages: Urdu, Arabic, Somali)

This role fights the housing emergency by supporting people who are struggling with housing and bringing them one step closer to a safe home.

Benefits of volunteering with Shelter

Volunteers are essential to Shelter’s mission to end housing injustice. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds. The insights and life experiences our volunteers bring to Shelter are valued as much as their contribution through volunteering.

We aim to provide our volunteers with a positive experience. This is by prioritising accessibility and tailoring the support we provide to the needs of the individual. We make sure our policies and processes are equitable, which means that no-one is unfairly disadvantaged while volunteering because of their background or identity.

Your skills and experience

We’d love the volunteer in this role to have good communication skills and be confident with using IT. But the most important thing is that you are friendly and caring, with enthusiasm for fighting the housing emergency.

Supporting you

• You will be provided with an induction into your role, access to relevant learning and a copy of our volunteer handbook.
• The role, including learning and communications, are flexible, so can be tailored so they best suit your needs and preferences.
• You will be able to claim reasonable volunteering expenses in line with Shelter’s volunteer expenses policy. Where financial circumstances would be a barrier to volunteering, we may be able to offer these funds in advance.
• You will be able to access our volunteer support package, including our colleague assistance programme and Shelter’s network of mental health first aiders.

Next steps

You can apply for this role by clicking ‘fill in an application’. If you need to apply by an alternative method, please contact us to see what options are available.

We will then get back to you about your application. Shortlisted applicants will have a recruitment conversation to discuss the role further.

Upon offer of role, you will be asked to declare any unspent convictions and complete a basic level Criminal Record Check. Having a criminal record does not automatically mean you can’t volunteer with us. We will have a conversation with you to discuss the convictions in relation to the role you have applied for. Sometimes it may limit the ways you can get involved. Please contact us if you require more information.