Volunteer volunteer roles in whitley bay, england

Could you help SSAFA reach more supporters and raise greater awareness of our services through the magic of social media and digital marketing? You don’t need a military background, just some basic digital skills, the ability to get on with a wide range of people and good written English. If you have I.T or digital marketing experience, that would be great but not essential. We’d love you to get in touch to find out more.

What is a Digital Marketing Volunteer?

There are SSAFA branches and service committees throughout the UK and overseas. We use local microsites and social media to raise awareness of our services, raise funds and find new volunteers. Digital Marketing volunteers help us maximise our message, keep content up to date and increase traffic to our sites.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Our clients, volunteers and supporters come from all backgrounds and age groups and want to engage with us in different ways too. To offer the best possible service we need to provide seamless communication, consistent messages, and accurate information. We’d love to hear from you if think you could help us grow our on-line presence.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but many volunteers are based at home.

The role would suit someone looking for a flexible volunteering opportunity as times and days could fit in around work and other commitments to suit you.

What would you be doing?

· As part of a team of volunteers, maintain branch microsites and social media feeds.

· Look at ways to increase traffic to microsites and improve SSAFA’s digital brand.

· Keep content current and accurate.

· Support and maintain the SSAFA brand by consistently using our brand guidelines and tone of voice.

· Working with the digital marketing team, interpret analytical data to develop local communication plans.

· Working with local SSAFA branches, build social media channels and integrate on-line and off-line activity to best effect.

The remit of this role may change over the next 12-18 months depending on the outcome of a trial currently being undertaken.

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

· Be a part of our motivated and enthusiastic team.

· Experience, training and skills from a national charity that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.

· Use your skills, knowledge, and experience to benefit the Armed Forces, veterans and their families.

· Develop contacts, skills and opportunities working with influential people and organisations.

· Improve and develop your digital skills, useful in all aspects of your life.

· Support and friendship in your local area and the wider SSAFA community

· Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

· Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.

· Support from our Digital Marketing team based at SSAFA Central Office.

· Training on our web platform

· Access to analytical tools and our digital marketing tool kit

· Induction covering all the aspects of SSAFAs services and the difference we can make to people’s lives.

· Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses

· Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

· Friendly and approachable people, possibly with some experience of digital marketing/ IT or social media

· Ability to write in English to a good standard.

· Ability to be respectful and non-judgemental with clients, supporters, volunteers, other agencies, and staff.

· Understanding of how social media can be used to engage and influence.

· Ability to use social media applications including adding and editing content.

· Basic understanding of website maintenance, training will be provided.

· Basic understanding of digital analytical tools, training will be provided.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a disclosure check required? No

Are you a warm, empathetic person with good communication skills? Could you offer four hours a week to support families in urgent need?

We Stand - Formally Mosac  provide a free National Helpline service to non abusing parents and carers of sexually abused children. We are currently seeking Helpline Volunteers to provide support, information and a listening ear to parents and carers whose children have been sexually abused.

We know a caring, sensitive and non judgemental response can make a real difference to someone seeking support. We are looking for volunteers with good verbal, listening and communication skills, no previous experience on a helpline is required. Trained, experienced staff will always be on hand to provide support and guidance. 

We expecially welcone volunteers who  speak additional languages, from all communities, to help us support more parents from diverse backgrounds, Welsh speakers are also required as part of our South East Wales support project

Helpline Volunteers will:

• Receive full training prior to the formal induction (3 week training programme) Dates to be confirmed 
• Commit to volunteer 4 hours per week for a minimum of 1 year
• Receive ongoing support and supervision from a friendly team
• Make a difference to the lives of families impacted by child sexual abuse

Opportunities for you: 

• To contribute to We Stand’s aims of supporting families affected by child sexual abuse

• You will receive training, continual development and support in the role

• Working remotley from your own home

• Gain valuable experience and development of interpersonal skills

• Out of pocket expenses for travel  cost if required to attend meetings,and subsistence will be met by We Stand

Your Responsibilities: 

• Answer calls that come through the National Helpline 

• Provide support, information and signposting to relevant support organisations 

• Complete all call log and monitoring information after each call 

• Attend mandatory supervision meetings fortnightly or monthly to support you in the role. 

• All helpline volunteers working remotely - attend 30 minute supervision after your shift.

We take children on voyages as readers and writers. Volunteer with us to join the adventure!  

Who are Literacy Pirates?   

Through our term-long after-school programmes, we develop the literacy, confidence and perseverance of children aged 9-13 who are falling behind in school and have fewer opportunities in their personal lives, so that they can succeed at school and beyond.  

Children join us on our Virtual Ship once a week to practise their reading and writing. By welcoming them into our joyful spaces, publishing their work in the real world, and celebrating everything they do, we develop their literacy, confidence and perseverance.  

What does a Volunteer do?  

As a Volunteer Crewmate, your role is to join our online sessions and help children practise their reading and writing in small groups by providing constant encouragement, positivity and celebration of their achievements.

Sessions are led and managed by staff, which means your time is solely focused on supporting the children in breakout rooms.

You will:  

• Receive full training.

• Gain experience working with children and leading small groups online.

• Develop your communication, leadership, problem-solving and digital skills.

• Take part in games and have fun. 

• Be invited to virtual celebration events with the children to see the difference that you’ve made.  

We offer employment references, for volunteers who have fulfilled their commitment of 12 sessions with us. 

What are we looking for?  

We ask volunteers to give just three hours per month, although you are welcome to volunteer as frequently as you like!  

Sessions run every weekday during term time from 3:45 to 6:15 p.m. and you will have the flexibility to select which sessions you would like to attend. Please note, we do not run sessions during half terms or the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays. 

No experience is required to become a volunteer – just a desire to help children develop their reading and writing skills! Full training is provided.  

All we ask is that you:  

• Are aged 16+ 

• Must be a UK resident  

• Complete a criminal background check (we cover the cost of this)  

• Have access to a laptop or desktop computer with a working webcam and microphone (mobile devices are unsuitable for this role) 

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

We're STAMMA. We exist to create a world that makes space for stammering. Where a stammer is embraced as just a difference. Where no-one judges us on our stammer or the way we choose to deal with it. 

STAMMA’s Employment and Training Services work with individuals and organisations on issues related to stammering and work. We’ve worked with a range of organisations including Money Wellness, Experian, New Day, Hertfordshire County Council, the Business Disability Forum, Network Rail and the CWU. For a flavour of our work and its impact, see this blog piece about our collaboration with Money Wellness.

As part of this work, we create video resources and workshops, tailored to different organisations. In our workshops, we see how powerful videos are in helping those who don’t stammer understand stammering. Those workshop attendees go out and create change. We want to use more and more videos as a way of getting out there, making a difference and creating a world that makes space for stammering!  We also created a raft of new video-based training modules for our Helpline & Webchat team, which have made a huge difference to the level of support we’re able to provide to new volunteers joining the helpline.

We’re now looking for a short-term volunteer who can help us edit and caption new modules for our volunteer training programmes.

About the role

We are looking for a volunteer to join us on a short-term basis, ideally 3 hours per week from September to October 2025. The times you choose to volunteer are up to you.

Working within our Employment and Training Services, we’re hoping you’ll feel comfortable to:

•  Use video editing software such as Premier Pro, Canva or similar
• You will edit pre-recorded videos to remove unwanted sections, add in opening and closing slides, reduce background noise and caption them.

Whilst you’re working in this volunteer role, STAMMA will fund a subscription to the necessary video editing software, such as Premier Pro if you need it.

You’ll have regular contact with the Employment and Training Services teams with detailed instructions on what edits need doing. You'll also have weekly catch-up with Kirsten (STAMMA’s Services Director).

Who are we looking for?

You’re likely to enjoy this video editing volunteer role if you:

• have  some previous experience with simple video editing functions
• are able to understand written and spoken English
• have a computer which is sufficiently high spec to run video editing software such as Premier Pro
• are passionate about making the world a better place for people who stammer

As a volunteer you can, of course, step back from the role at any time. However, both you and the service are likely to get most out of the opportunity if you’re able to volunteer with us for the full length of the project, which we expect will take about two months.  If you’d like to stay on after this time frame, we’d be delighted to have you! By gradually learning and developing your confidence in the role, you can have the biggest impact.

What can you gain from this opportunity?

This is a wonderful opportunity to join a small and friendly team! We'll make sure you're supported in every step of your journey, and you'll get to meet some inspiring people. You'll build experiences for your CV, and gain insight into the inner workings of a chairty. Most importantly, you will make a real difference in the lives of people who stammer.

How to apply

To apply, please fill in our volunteer form that is linked to this opportunity. 

We are dedicated to making sure our roles are accessible and open to all. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us,

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA UK) is a charity and independent campaigning organisation established in 1984. We pioneered undercover investigations to combat environmental crime and abuse. We use evidence and analysis to bring about lasting policy and changes to legislation to protect our planet, its biodiversity, climate and all who live here.

Our vision is a future where humanity respects, protects and celebrates the natural world.

We are looking for volunteers to start in September 2025.

EIA UK is seeking two volunteers to support the Elephant Campaign ideally 1-3 days a week and for a minimum of 3-6 months, with data entry and reserach tasks.

The Elephant Campaign undertakes strategic and intelligence-led activities in cooperation with partners to advocate for effective legislative, regulatory and enforcement action to tackle illegal trade in elephant parts and derivatives. 

The volunteers will help the Campaign monitor news about seizures and prosecution of illegal trade of elephant parts and derivatives and enter information into EIA’s Global Environmental Crime Tracker.

Individuals with a keen eye for detail and an appetite for data are encouraged to apply and should have an interest in the environment, a passion for conservation and share the aims of EIA

Do you have what it takes to be an EIA Volunteer?

• Fluency in English. Capacity in any of the following languages will be an asset: Chinese, Vietnamese, Lao, Thai, Burmese, French
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes
• Good data entry skills
• Good research and analytical skills
• Patience and attention to detail and thorough work ethic

What we can offer you as an EIA Volunteer:

• Flexible volunteering hours.
• Reimbursement for subsistence (one meal) and for public transport costs to the office from within the London area.
• Work experience at a leading international environmental NGO.
• Opportunities for training on selected relevant software.
• Working with like-minded people and networking.

Joining this role means you'll be at the heart of providing essential support to families facing the unimaginable; caring for their child who's life will be short.

Many families in Wales are unfortunately facing this challenge alone, without support from others.

As a Practical Family Support Volunteer for Tŷ Hafan, you will assist families in need with various light tasks such as cleaning, tidying up and laundry.

Your contribution will go beyond housekeeping; it's about taking some of the pressure off and giving families the breathing space they need to spend more precious time together.

This role offers the satisfaction of knowing you are making a positive impact on families with a child with a life-shortening condition, by helping them create a tidy, clean and safe home environment that reduces their daily stress and worries.

Most importantly, you will be helping us to ensure that no family faces this challenge, alone.

Considerations:

Age requirement: 21+

Location: Across South & West Wales (in your local area)

Time commitment: Flexible and can be adjusted to accommodate your personal schedule. The support plans designed for referred families are typically structured to span a period of six weeks.

Background checks: Enhanced DBS check, 2 references and induction/training course required before starting.

Due to the nature of the role, we are looking for volunteers with some skills, experience and knowledge of gardening, either as a profession or as a hobby.

Activities include:

Activities include helping families with light housekeeping tasks such as; cleaning, dusting, vacuuming and laundry, giving them the space they need to be there for their child who needs them.

We are looking for volunteers who:

•Can empathise with the families you are helping and show them kindness and respect;

•Are reliable and flexible and committed to volunteering on a longer term basis;

•Will follow our health and safety guidelines, policies and procedures and report any issues or concerns to the Family Support Volunteer Manager;

•Are respectful of the privacy, preferences and needs of the families you are supporting;

•Are polite and friendly;

•Can adapt to different situations and challenges;

•Enjoy making a difference in the lives of others

At Tŷ Hafan our people values are working together, demonstrating compassion, providing excellent service and taking ownership.

We expect all colleagues and volunteers to behave with high levels of integrity and to represent our values as a core part of their role. 

Training you will receive:

You will receive a comprehensive introduction to Tŷ Hafan and your role, to include an in-person Induction and Training Programme as well as additional e-learning.

You will be a part of a friendly and supportive team who will assist you with any queries or concerns through regular and ongoing meetings.

Other role and organisation specific training is available including both supplementary and mandatory training.

All volunteers must maintain their mandatory training to continue in their role.

The benefits of becoming a Practical Family Support Volunteer in Family Homes:

•Make a positive difference in the lives of children with life-shortening conditions and their families, by helping them to maintain clean spaces for them to enjoy;

•Attend Volunteer Celebration Events throughout the year;

•Meet new people and join a friendly community of volunteers, passionate about helping others;

•Expenses will be provided following discussion about the role.

This role is purely voluntary and this arrangement is not meant to be a legally binding one or an employment contract.

This role provides a telephone listening and support service to bereaved carers’ and family members whose relatives died under the care of The Hospice of St Francis. Last year our Bereavement Support Line volunteers made over 1,000 calls.

We are looking for additional volunteers to support this service.  Do you have strong listening skills?  Are you reflective, self-aware, adaptive with basic IT skills?  We'd love to hear from you. 

The role will be ome based and you will receive full training and ongoing support.

Lead Support Volunteer

We’re the MS Society – a community of people living with MS, scientists, campaigners, listeners, organisers, ambassadors and fundraisers. Our volunteers are a key part of achieving our goals and their support is vital. Join us.

About this opportunity
We are looking to recruit a Lead Support Volunteer for the South Northumberland Group. As a Lead Support Volunteer, you will be coordinating the support team, representing the needs of people affected by MS and our services and collate information about relevant local organisations. See a video about one of our Support Volunteers here.

This is a great opportunity to gain experience within a large charity and develop your existing skills and learn new ones. We need you to get involved and help make positive changes to the lives of people affected by MS.

About you
You’ll have an interest in the MS Society and the work that we do, as well as the enthusiasm to represent both us and our values locally. You will understand the needs of people affected by MS in your area and be sympathetic to the needs and motivations of volunteers. You’ll have empathetic listening and interpersonal skills and be able to support a team of volunteers.

Apply 

Read through the role description carefully

Apply online 

The MS Society is committed to promoting diversity. We can only offer roles to over 18s.

Across the UK, our 270 local groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS. They provide sense of belonging, unity and friendship. And they deliver services and support for their local MS community.

We are looking to recruit a Support Volunteer for the North Durham Group. As our local group Support Volunteer you’ll help people affected by MS find information about local and national services. That could be helping someone access local information about the care or benefits they need or giving them a hand with a grant application. See a video about one of our Support Volunteers here.

In this role you’ll be able to develop your listening and communication skills, as well as your knowledge of local services. Most importantly you’ll help people affected by MS to access the help they need.

Time commitment

We estimate this role will need around 2 hours a week. Our roles are flexible and aim to fit around you. Time commitments for this role may vary depending on your activities. This is an ongoing role.

This is a great opportunity to gain experience within a large charity and develop your existing skills and learn new ones. We need you to get involved and help make positive changes to the lives of people affected by MS.

About you

You’ll have an interest in the MS Society and the work that we do, as well as the enthusiasm to represent both us and our values locally. You will understand the needs of people affected by MS in your area and be sympathetic to the needs and motivations of volunteers. You’ll be confident using Microsoft Office, the internet and email. You’ll be able to apply disability, equality and inclusion practices and understand and apply our risk management system. Ideally you’ll understand the local area and organisations that provide local services.

You will be reliable and easy to contact and you need to live in or near the local area the group to carry out this role.

Apply 

1. Read through the role description carefully

2. Please apply online

The MS Society is committed to promoting diversity. We can only offer roles to over 18s.

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Caseworker?

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

What would you be doing?

• Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
• Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
• Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
• Applying for funding on the behalf of the beneficiary through a specific process and system  
• Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
• Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
• Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
• Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.  

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role – confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
• Good communication skills both written and verbally.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
• Willingness and ability to use IT systems for initial and on-going training and to enter cases on the Casework Management System. Willingness and ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address which you will be required to use when exercising your role.
• Ability to make enquires on behalf of beneficiaries by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms.
• Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to friendship or giving advice
• Reliable, prompt and trustworthy.
• Access to public transport or a car to travel to appointments with clients.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? Yes, this is provided by SSAFA at no cost to the potential volunteer. This role requires an enhanced check (including checks against the children and adults barred list)

*A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands, or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered. 

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Caseworker?

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

What would you be doing?

• Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
• Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
• Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
• Applying for funding on the behalf of the beneficiary through a specific process and system  
• Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
• Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
• Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
• Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.  

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role – confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
• Good communication skills both written and verbally.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
• Willingness and ability to use IT systems for initial and on-going training and to enter cases on the Casework Management System. Willingness and ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address which you will be required to use when exercising your role.
• Ability to make enquires on behalf of beneficiaries by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms.
• Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to friendship or giving advice
• Reliable, prompt and trustworthy.
• Access to public transport or a car to travel to appointments with clients.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? Yes, this is provided by SSAFA at no cost to the potential volunteer. This role requires an enhanced check (including checks against the children and adults barred list)

*A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands, or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered.

Help us to grow brand-new online charity platform A Good Thing! Come on board to help us manage relationships with the businesses that have joined us: use your communications skills to drive more businesses to engage with the platform and to make donations of things they no longer need.

A Good Thing is a not-for-profit set up with one mission: to send less to landfill, and more to a good cause. We're rolling out fast across the UK, momentum is building, and we're growing a network of passionate local volunteer champions right across the country to drive our growth.

You’ll be using both your communications skills and your project management expertise to help us grow the number of businesses engaging with the platform and giving things away.

Come with us on our journey towards reducing waste and boosting wonderful local charities at the same time.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a charity at the very start and to make a difference in shaping how we move forward.

Who are we looking for?

At present we are working towards being fully operational, over the next year Living Reasons will be looking to expand its reach and part of that journey is to recruit volunteers to ensure the organisation can be carried out and that individual volunteer needs are accounted for.

This role will be a really important aspect of the organisation’s success. We are looking for multiple volunteer co-ordinators, each focusing on different aspects of the organisation or part of the journey for our volunteers, whether it is recruitment, development, personalised support, equity building, events, community building and other areas that you may feel would benefit the volunteer team or the organisations supporters/uses.

To be successful in this role, all you need to be is passionate about the organisation’s goals and reasons for existing, and a creative mindset. The rest we can build together as a team.

What is the plan?

The person who is starting the charity up is autistic, has ADHD, CPTSD and also multiple physical conditions that effect daily life and is part of the LGBTQ+ community and has faced a lot of issues in life because of these things.

Living Reasons is being created to fix what we think is a challenging situation that is getting harder to achieve every week, month and year in the current economic, political, environmental and societal landscape. It is not easily defined but we hope the charity objects below will help put context to what we want to achieve, what we can say is that below are the issues we are trying to address, how we do this will change as quickly as society does, but the issues we want to tackle are these:

1) Outdated and damaging employment practices

2) Accessibility to services

3) Limited employment, training and education opportunities

4) Lack of support during times of crisis or need

5) Lack of equity and agency for many people in society

6) Institutional discrimination that is not challenged

7) Abuse of the legal system at all levels

8) Abuse of power in government bodies

9) Poor access to healthcare

10)  Unequal treatment of many people in society by large corporations

11)  Assumptions made by wider society based on incorrect, outdated or discriminatory rhetoric that is used in daily life

12)  Outdated company engagement with the public

13)  Lack of support that is not talked about and not being addressed

Our Living Values -

Creativity

1) Imaginative Development (Individual)

2) Instilled Collaboration (Internal)

3) Changing The Status Quo (External)

Prospectivity

1) What Can You Do (Individual)

2) What Can We Do (Internal)

3) What Can They Do (External)

Revolutionary 

1) Inspire With Confidence (Individual)

2) Boundaryless Innovation (Internal)

3) Challenge Traditions (External)

Attentivity

1) Analyse and Redesign (Individual)

2) Rebel and Reform (Internal)

3) Enquire and Reimagine (External)