Volunteering - what do you do?

[mintpenguin]

If you volunteer are you actually doing so at the moment and what do you do?

I’ve tried a few places and I’m coming up against a brick wall with being told they don’t need anyone, or it’s evening/weekend work or a car is required. I’m looking for school hours where possible (I know this makes things tricky sometimes).

I’ve tried:
CAB (only want specialist volunteers near me)
Baby Bank
Food Bank
School (Reading mentor/library - no volunteers allowed onsite)
Library (not recruiting still)
Four local charities (all either not recruiting due to vacancies filled or Covid reasons)
Local council - their volunteering site has been taking down during Covid
Vaccination Centre (overun with volunteers and I missed out)
Beavers/Scouts (offered to help with DS group but no response other than to acknowledge my offer)
Do-It website - either has nothing near my town or they want people with particular skills I.e solicitor etc.

I know there is charity shops and the Samaritans but for my own reasons I am not keen on these options.

I’m starting to feel a bit shit that no one is interested in having me as a volunteer - and I’ve either enquired online or by phone so it’s not like I’ve even had an interview and they’ve decided I’m not suitable.

Also places like Kew gardens have a lot of volunteers. Maybe contact the national Trust as well.

How recently did you contact Cubs & Brownies? Summer holidays at the moment, so they may not respond immediately.

I'm amazed the scouts don't want you! I'm a beaver leader and we try and recruit all parents that show any glimmer of an interest!

I know it's disappointing when it seems like no one wants you!
But-

1. covid means many places still aren't operating as normal if at all
2. emails etc do go astray, especially with small voluntary orgs, definitely worth following up with a phone call

our local council covid support line is still running, it was very well organised and basically you could log on (once you were approved) and pick up whatever jobs needed doing, mostly it was either collect and deliver shopping or meds, or phone an isolated person for a chat. I'd look for something like that in your position. good luck

School Governor?

In my village I volunteer for -
Listening to children read at the primary school, for which I am DBS checked
Parochial church committee secretary
Speedwatch team
Church opening and closing
Church flowers and occasional cleaning
Litter picking occasionally
We do have quite an elderly population though and they’re crying out for young blood.

Oh and I help run an after school club but we haven’t restarted that one yet.

I bake cakes for FreeCakesForKids.org.uk

See the website for more information. I am not a professional cake maker, I describe myself as a 'mum baker'. The group is a real mix and there are some fantastic bakers in the group. It is very rewarding and you can do as little or as much as you want. DM me if you want more info. :)

I have just finished 12 years of youth work volunteering through a local church. You didn’t need to be a member of the church to help just agree to follow the standards of the church so no swearing etc,
I am now looking to start helping at my local youth centre, I would have strayed earlier there but then COVID hit. I found about about them needing support by asking about volunteering opportunities on the village Facebook page.

Local carers charity - I phone unpaid parent carers and help them complete Disability Living Allowance forms and renewals for their children, either by going through the form with them or if required, hand writing it on their behalf, all from home.

Same charity also has volunteers phoning carers to see if their circumstances have changed and they require any further support or signposting to resources.

Have also seen local charity which offers a phone befriending service - regular phone calls to elderly or housebound people just for a chat.

Re Scouts, a lot of groups shut down for the summer holidays so give it a couple of weeks and I'm sure they will be in touch

Your local council might have a useful list. I came across a great little local charity who renovate derelict houses for homeless people. They taught all necessary skills so the volunteers would have been a real mix of people, including those needing work skills/experience.

I've volunteered for Crisis and Mind in the past. Both were great, possibly there are more opportunities with them in larger towns.

And yes to local charities for older people, they generally look for befrienders, drivers and so on. Great fun and really useful to the local community.

I volunteer for Little Village baby bank and I absolutely love it - they're actively looking for volunteers in various parts of London if anyone is interested in getting involved.

Scouts aren't in school hours though.

Have you asked during COVID times, things may have changed now? I know our local schools stopped most volunteers coming on site in the last few months, but are hoping to start letting them on site soon

I'm surprised that your offer of help at Beavers didn't get a better response, but perhaps they will get back to you once they're back in September. If not, just go along one evening when your DS is attending, and ask them face to face. Make it more of a 'I'd like to help' rather than a 'do you need any help?'

If they genuinely do have more than enough leaders already at Beavers, see if they could do with more in another section (cubs, scouts etc). I've been helping/running cubs for 10 years, and I love it!

[quote mintpenguin]@Mrsjayy forgot to say that I was all cleared to start volunteering 1-1 with Homestart in March 2020 and then Covid happened and it was all cancelled. Since then the centre has shut down and not re-opened.

PTA - sorry forgot to say that I am on the school PTA but not much happening due to Covid, although that should hopefully pick up.

No animal charities near us, which is a shame as that is something that appeals. We have a rescue cat who is nervous so fostering another animal probably wouldn’t go down well![/quote]
If animal charities appeal but there are no centres nearby then The Cinnamon Trust might be a good shout. Since it involves going into peoples homes for dog walking, there isn't one set location: cinnamon.org.uk/home/

When did you last contact vaccination volunteers, @mintpenguin? Ours was overwhelmed with volunteers in the first few months, but since more people have gone back to work and are less available, we’ve had to recruit more urgently.

I volunteer for a domestic violence charity. It's bloody hard to get a volunteer role. You have to be really tenacious and try and get a foot in the door, somehow. We probably get approx 10 queries a month from people wanting to help. We have to turn down nearly all of them.

@SparklingLime

When did you last contact vaccination volunteers, *@mintpenguin*? Ours was overwhelmed with volunteers in the first few months, but since more people have gone back to work and are less available, we’ve had to recruit more urgently.

Also desperate for new volunteers at the centre where I volunteer, so definitely worth checking again.

You could try your local hospital, speedwatch team, magistrate's court, public park / garden maintenance?

@SparklingLime

When did you last contact vaccination volunteers, *@mintpenguin*? Ours was overwhelmed with volunteers in the first few months, but since more people have gone back to work and are less available, we’ve had to recruit more urgently.

Worth registering on the Goodsam app - we are running at 50% at the vaccination centre I volunteer at. Great for my steps though!

I can see why only wanting school hours is going to make things difficult. Is that really the only option for you?

If you were willing to marshal at your local parkrun people would love to have you.

I am sure scout groups etc would love to have you too, but they only meet in the evenings.

There are school sports events in school hours, but if eg you wanted to measure long jumps at athletics meetings, it would be useful to do the course, which is held in the evening or weekends. And most events are at the weekends. And you may need to drive to get to the track or school where the meet is being held.

Another option might be helping at swimming galas but again it will be weekends.

What about the summer reading scheme at libraries. I guess it's nearly over now. You could look into it for next year, though.

There are also jobs you can do behind the scenes which you probably could do in school hours. For example, contact a local football club and volunteer to do their pitch bookings and arranging referees. That can be done anytime, you don't have to be at matches.

@olderthanilookapparently

School Governor?

Meetings are outside school hours - usually evenings, but can be late afternoons.