Volunteering with children during the pandemic

[bootsbythesea]

Hi everyone! This is my first post ever here...
Quick introduction, after years of trying to conceive including 5 unsuccessful ICSI treatments and 4 egg collections we decided to make peace with it and move on.
After much research, we believe adoption is for us and so we start our adventure! We've been to an information event with a VA and we'll be having another one with our LA as "shopping around" seems to be a piece of advice given by most people.
One of the things that worries us the most about the assessment process is the whole "volunteering with children". We both work full time but we're problem solvers so I'm sure we could work around that. However, due to the pandemic and restrictions, volunteering opportunities are non existent... We were told in the information event we attended to "watch children tv programmes" and "do online things" but that just seems really weird and artificial lol. Does anyone know about people who did stuff that "counts" during lockdown?

No idea I am afraid but I just wanted to say you can still probably find some opportunities to volunteer in person, few and far between. Maybe outdoors stuff will count. Volunteering with kids sports. You could look into forest school or forest church which all happens out doors.

Get ideas and run them past social workers to see they are OK.

In current 4 week lockdown things are not open but Brownies etc have been running and it is possible to volunteer. These happen early evening so fine with work.

Watch the progranmmes to show willing, you may like them! Some are better than others!

See what is available on line, limited but maybe. Part of adoption prep is showing you are willing and able to get out of your comfort zone.

good luck.

Contact your LA no doubt there is a need during this covid for additional support, such as fast tracking new Emergency FC's. rest bite and support roles.

could you look into creating your own opportunity?

I had started a gardening club at the school next to me office at the time before I applied to adopt so I just carried on, I did it for 4 years in the end and was able to leave the school with an equipped garden. My SW came to observe a session. It was an inner city school, very diverse - many cultures, languages, refugee children etc etc.
If you have a particular interest which you could adapt to a project with a school, scouts etc that could work

Thank you so much for your ideas and suggestions. I'm a Critical Care charge nurse, so work is busy at the moment as you can imagine... I work 12hr shifts but I can do stuff on my days off. The idea of starting something new definitely attracts us both me and my partner. He works mon-fri 9-5 so evening and weekends is ok for him.

The reason I LOVE Ted's idea is that for those working in the daytime it's often impossible to get back home, do something, and drive back to work. But we all get a lunch break (or should) so something close to work is a good idea.