Latest volunteer roles for February

There are fewer opportunities than usual due to Covid-19. The organisations listed in this bulletin are actively looking for volunteers but the opportunities may have been affected by the current lockdown restrictions. Please check directly with the organisation/s to find out more.

www.sheffieldvolunteercentre.org.uk

What is the Volunteer Centre?

We are part of Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS) and we help people wanting to volunteer and organisations offering voluntary roles to find one another. You can find out more about volunteering by contacting us:

Web: www.sheffieldvolunteercentre.org.uk

Email: vc@vas.org.uk or Telephone: 0114 253 6649 (Mon – Weds)

Facebook: @SheffieldVolunteerCentre

Twitter: @VolunteerSheff

Our drop-in remains closed until further notice – but our volunteer advisors

are now available to help by phone and email, please see details below.

Want to volunteer but not sure where to start? Need support finding a volunteer role? Our volunteer advisors can help!

Our drop-in service remains closed due to Covid-19, but our volunteer advisors are now available to help by phone and email, identifying roles that might suit you and answering any questions you have about volunteering. Our advisors are friendly, knowledgeable and experienced in helping people to find volunteer opportunities. To request phone or email support from an advisor, please complete the following form: https://forms.gle/TVQy8uECAps7buFm7

Search online Visit our website - www.sheffieldvolunteercentre.org.uk and click on start volunteering: you will be able to search through all volunteer roles and register. However, due to Covid-19, not all the roles advertised online will be current. If you see a role advertised on our website, we would recommend checking on the organisation’s own website for confirmation they are currently recruiting new volunteers before applying. The organisations listed in this bulletin are actively looking for volunteers. Please note however that the opportunities listed may have been affected by the current lockdown restrictions. Please check directly with the organisation/s to find out more.

Spotlight on… Adira

"When a flower doesn't bloom you fix the environment it grows in - NOT the flower"

Can you bring your skills and experience to support the innovative work of ADIRA, a Sheffield-based, not-for-

profit organisation led by Ursula Myrie and Marjorie Frater? ADIRA provides a number of services centred on raising up the voices of the black community in Sheffield and the specific intersections with mental health. ADIRA runs a mental wellbeing support service for black women as well as training opportunities, a listening service, and mental health awareness events. ADIRA has also established a ground-breaking Black Hair Care service, aimed at helping people learn about their own specific hair care needs as well as training others to look after black hair in ways which are culturally and individually tailored. ADIRA is at exciting point of development and now needs some additional team members to build on these achievements and provide a sound footing for its future. ADIRA is looking for volunteers in these areas:

Director level of a small CIC (Community Interest Company) Experience and expertise in:

financial planning and oversight

project planning

business planning Volunteer Management Mentor Able to:

support the volunteer co-ordinator in role

lead the development of volunteer policies and procedures as appropriate to ADIRA

support the development of volunteer activity for ADIRA

Business Leadership Mentor Able to act as a business leadership mentor for a defined period to the leader & Director of Adira, Ursula Myrie. Experience and expertise in:

Mentoring/Coaching others at a senior business leadership management level

Previous experience of working in or with voluntary sector organisations

Held leadership roles either in the public or private sectors (The role should not last more than 5-6 months unless otherwise agreed and require no more than 1 meeting per month between the mentor and the mentee. The role of the mentor is not to provide advice. A mentor agreement will be provided) Event Planner Able to:

prepare and implement an event project plan

liaise with event partners as required

represent ADIRA in a number of planning meetings (via Zoom, currently)

liaise with team member/s as required (The event planner role could suit a student or someone seeking experience in event / project planning. Hours by agreement: planned activity to date in February 2021 with further events tba)

If you are interested in any of these roles and would like to know more, please contact Jill Malcomson at Voluntary Action Sheffield: j.malcomson@vas.org.uk d/d 0114 23 6630

Spotlight on… Beards & Books

Beards and Books is an educational programme which focuses on providing tuition, delivering mentoring workshops, publishing online educational content, hosting story time events and curating subscription boxes for children and young people. Supporting the community, Beards & Books wants to ensure that young people have access to multicultural books as well as enjoy an increased presence of BAME tutors. We want to break down barriers that are caused by the lack of representation of the BAME community in education, providing localised role models and encouraging students to perform to the best of their ability and more.

Charity Status Task Force Volunteers We are seeking volunteers who can assist us with applying for our charity status. We currently operate as a social enterprise which is limited by guarantee. As our organisation is constantly growing the benefits associated with being a charity can help us further our social aims and allow us to work with more organisations in the future. We aim to start our application immediately, with the aim of sending off our application by March. Onboarding Volunteer For this role, we would like a volunteer to support our onboarding process. Our Team at Beards & Books is constantly growing and we have systems in place to ensure from the moment a volunteer expresses interest they are contacted and provided with the necessary information. This will role will involve contacting potential volunteers that have expressed interest in one of our roles, verifying if they are still interested, then sending them our Volunteer Application Form and informing them about Beards & Books background. Social Media Content Writer This role is all about informing, educating and showcasing our research, content and work which we do to our audience and potential audiences. The role includes increasing our visibility online, engaging with our followers, drafting up captions, posting content and using the latest features in social media. You will need the ability to create interesting and unique content in order to increase engagement, reach and conversion rates through our social media channels, in particular Facebook and Instagram, using organic and paid for methods. You will have a good understanding of social media trends and platform capabilities, in particular on Facebook and Instagram and will be able to create relevant and engaging content for online editorials, blogs, features and press releases. WordPress Support Administrator We are looking for a WordPress Support Administrator that can help us to manage and develop our Beards & Books website. The role will involve tasks such as making updates where needed, uploading media, editing text, supporting other website editors to ensure the smooth working and aesthetic appearance of the website. By volunteering with Beards & Books you will gain real experience working for a fast paced social enterprise. You will be supervised throughout your volunteering experience and will be assigned a mentor to help you fulfil your potential. You’ll also be given an induction and training to get you up to speed.

To register your interest in any of the above roles, please email volunteer@beardsandbooks.org

Website: http://beardsandbooks.org

Spotlight on… Motion Sheffield

Virtual Chair-Based Exercise Instructor

We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic individuals aged 18 – 25 to help us provide an important service to older adults in Sheffield. We run virtual chair based exercise sessions to aid mobility and decrease isolation. You will deliver these sessions virtually to help keep residents in care homes and members of lunch clubs active. You’ll receive training, HEAR accreditation (if you are from University of Sheffield) and brilliant experience to add to your CV. This role is a remote opportunity.

As we now deliver all of our sessions virtually, it is a requirement of the role that you have adequate means to video call the care homes and lunch clubs. Ideally this will be a laptop with a camera and a stable internet connection. A phone with a good camera should also suffice. But most importantly we need you to be friendly and enthusiastic!

To find out more or apply, please contact: hr@wearemotion.org

Check out our website: http://enactussheffield.org/motion/

Spotlight on… RSPB

Flock of Stories Project Volunteers Are you a storyteller? Are you fascinated by local history? Do you love the performing arts?

RSPB Old Moor has secured National Lottery Heritage funding to make RSPB Old Moor and our other sites in the Dearne Valley even better for our wildlife and visitors over the next three years and ongoing into the future. We will offer a fabulous visitor experience, including highlighting the industrial heritage of Old Moor and the surrounding area through a new venture with Chol Theatre. Find out more about Chol Theatre here: https://wearechol.co.uk/

There is a rich history of mining and strong community spirit in the Dearne Valley - we want to celebrate and share this, not let it be forgotten. In the Flock of Stories project, Chol Theatre will gather memories and stories from the local community. The source material will be crafted and edited into a script and developed into a live performance to share with our visitors. Chol Theatre and the RSPB are keen to involve local people at all stages of the project and the volunteering tasks are very varied. In this first stage of volunteer roles, we are looking for people to help collect memories and stories from local people to form the basis of the script and live theatre. You can develop interviewing and oral history/interview skills, deepen community connections and gain experience in the creation and ideas stage of theatre. Story gathering will be carried out in a Covid safe way and altered as needed. Benefits from this role This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a live theatre performance to celebrate the Dearne Valley's industrial heritage. You might be interested in this heritage and learning more or how local heritage is interpreted into a creative script and performance. In later stages of the project, you could gain theatre and arts skills such as prop creation, costume design, directing and acting. Develop your skills and knowledge of how live performances are created, working with a local theatre company. We can provide reference of your volunteering with us, if appropriate

To apply, or for more information, please contact Liz Harding on: old.moor@rspb.org.uk / 07729 627280

Spotlight on… St Luke’s Hospice

Our chain of St Luke’s shops are preparing to re-open once the current lockdown

is over and we need your help to make this possible. We are looking for volunteers to support our retail shops; currently the shops we have available are Crookes, Ecclesall, Woodseats, Crystal Peaks, Gleadless, City Road, Chapeltown, Hillsborough and Broomhill; our vintage shop and our Donation Centre. The shops highlighted in bold will require the most support to re-open. Can you or someone you know spare a few hours once a week to help us support St Luke’s? Due to lockdown, our shops are still closed, but we are actively recruiting for volunteers and would like to keep you on hold if you are happy to wait. We can get you processed ready for an informal chat with the manager when we re-open. Volunteering is a great way to learn the skills needed to work in a paid retail role, meet new people and help us to support the Hospice. We have various retail roles available, such as queue buster, meet & greet roles, stockroom assistant, till operator, general shop floor and stock replenishment roles. These roles are available Monday to Saturday at the moment in our shops. (Volunteers aged 14 – 70) If you would like a slightly different role, why not try our new Donation Centre, based in S4 7SF, the hub where our donations are sorted and processed ready to send out to our shops to sell. This role is typically not customer facing and would suit an individual who is looking for warehouse experience, or someone who has a keen eye for detail. Maybe you have an interest in all things vintage, help us to spot collectable and valuable items. We will also need support when accepting generous donations from the public on our donation days which are Monday and Friday 12 – 3pm. (volunteers aged 18 – 70) We have established a growing online trading operation which makes a substantial contribution to the retail operation. We have established outlets on both eBay and Amazon and we are looking for volunteers to help support our busy site. Our eBay department is located within the Donation Centre, we need help with listing items on eBay and Amazon and also packaging items for postage from Monday to Friday (volunteers aged 16 – 70) You don’t need any previous experience to apply, as we will provide support, training and cups of tea along the way. A typical shift is 3-4 hours once a week and we are flexible regarding fitting this around the free time you have and our needs. How can we help you?

Give you the opportunity to meet interesting and diverse people

Put your existing skills to good use in a new setting and pass these on to your team

Support Sheffield’s only Hospice and give back to the community in a direct and meaningful way

Improve communication, confidence and social skills

Offer you the opportunity gain a recognised qualification* ( Retail NVQ available, T & Cs apply)

Gain valuable work experience and knowledge to support job applications and enhance your CV

Provide advice and references

Make new friends and have fun! If you would like more information about our volunteering opportunities, why not attend our online volunteering Info Session on 1st March between 10-12am, a chance to chat to us face to face on Teams about our current opportunities. For more information please contact Francesca Bradshaw, Senior Volunteer Coordinator: 0114 2357548 volunteer@hospicesheffield.co.uk Alternatively, please have a look at our website: https://www.stlukeshospice.org.uk/volunteer/opportunities; or feel free to contact me. You can fill in our application form online to kick-start your volunteering journey: https://www.stlukeshospice.org.uk/volunteer/application-form I look forward to hearing from you, Kind Regards, Francesca Bradshaw, Senior Volunteer Coordinator: 0114 2357548 volunteer@hospicesheffield.co.uk

Other Current Opportunities…

Beaver Section Leader S6 4BA Put your skills to use, learn new ones, and contribute to an amazing life-experience for you and your local community.

Henry Bryan, gsl@150th.org.uk

Tackle food poverty with mentoring remote budget cooking classes! Interested in cooking, helping others prepare home cooked food on a budget, and connecting with people? Here's an opportunity to help a leading food poverty organisation change the lives of its participants by supporting them to learn essential cooking and budgeting skills and gain confidence in the kitchen.

Clio Hummerstone, 07757393758, sheffield@bagsoftaste.org

Administrative Assistant S2 1EE To provide administrative support to the operations team, including filing, record-keeping and using ICT to respond to the public and volunteers. You will assist in any administrative duties required by management at De Hood Boxing Centre.

Volunteer Boxing Trainers S2 1EE You will lead group and individual boxing training sessions in our gym for members of the public including children, young people and adults

Andy Kershaw, 07395 023887, andy.kershaw@dehood.org

Volunteer at Hillsborough All Wheeled Bike Park S6 2AB A variety of different volunteering opportunities are available at Hillsborough Park Bike Club, due to open in March 2021. If you want to volunteer as a coach, general helper, key holder, we want to hear from you. This is an exciting community project to be involved in with varying roles needing to be filled come track completion.

Gareth Jones, gareth.jones@shu.ac.uk

Event Photography Volunteer We are looking for a few fantastic photography volunteers to help us capture our first ever charity Musical Theatre Drive In! Event Volunteer for Musical Theatre Drive In We are looking for a team of fantastic volunteers to help us on the day with the running of first ever charity Musical Theatre Drive In! Performer Volunteer for Musical Theatre Drive In We are looking some fantastic performer volunteers to create some magic for the first ever charity Musical Theatre Drive In!

Emily Bush, ebush@roundaboutltd.org

150th Wadsley Church Scout Group

Bags of Taste

De Hood Boxing Centre & Community Hub CIO

Hillsborough All Wheeled Bike Park

Roundabout

Bushcraft Volunteer S73 0YF Help design and lead Bushcraft and outdoor skills events for local families and youth groups.

Community Forum Volunteer S73 0YF Represent the RSPB within local community forums and community projects. Be an advocate for the RSPB and take up opportunities for collaboration within communities around Old Moor.

Community Outreach Volunteer S73 0YF Connect and maintain links with people in the local community. Deliver outreach events and talks about what is happening at our Dearne Valley reserves. Spread the word of our projects and events.

Family Interpreter S73 0YF Use your creativity and imagination to help develop/ deliver fun and interactive ways of telling families and children the stories of wildlife and history of Old Moor and the Dearne Valley.

Liz Harding, 07729 627280, old.moor@rspb.org.uk

Editor for Weekly Information Bulletin S1 4DT Researching and collating information to help visually impaired listeners.

Val Newbolt, 0114 2780440, mail@sheffieldtalkingnews.org.uk

Volunteer Bookkeeper/Treasurer S11 Looking for Book-keeping support for our organisation, which has had an experienced bookkeeper/treasurer and has records which are in good condition.

Cara, 0114 2685212, sheffieldyogaforme@yahoo.co.uk

Mental Health Buddy S3 8JB We're looking for people to be a supportive friend to someone who’s experienced some mental health challenges and is in the care system in some way.

Andy Freeman, 07944166445, andy@spacetobreatheuk.com

Trustee We are looking to diversify the representation on our Board and have a vacancy for a new Trustee to join our small charity. This role gives the opportunity to make a difference. The successful candidate will gain experience and skills at board level and the opportunity to network. They will gain personal development in decision making skills/evaluating applications.

Gill Newman (Clerk to the Trustees), 0777 3660552, admin@thetalbottrusts.com

Volunteer Driver S10 2SJ In order to remove some of the stress of travelling to hospital, Weston Park Cancer Charity provide a free bus service between Chesterfield and Sheffield for cancer patients. This service relies solely on volunteer minibus drivers.

Kirsty Scarborough, 0114 553 3330, kirsty@wpcancercharity.org.uk

RSPB

Sheffield Talking News (for the Blind and Visually Impaired)

Sheffield Yoga for M.E./C.F.S.

Space to Breathe

The Talbot Trusts

Weston Park Cancer Charity

Learning & Events Voluntary Trainee DN4 8DB We are looking for a new voluntary trainee who is great with people of all ages and has bags of enthusiasm for wildlife and learning. You will be involved in the planning of a diverse events and education programme at Potteric Carr nature reserve in Doncaster working with families, adult learning, and sessions aimed at improving health and wellbeing.

Volunteering Support Team Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, volunteering@ywt.org.uk

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Volunteer Telephone Befriender Role Description Link: https://befriender.bdtbs.co.uk/

Bradford District Telephone Befriending Service - a multi-agency initiative being hosted by the Bridge Project - are looking for people who would like to join us in helping to provide support to as many people as possible during this challenging time. If you’re a friendly person who likes talking to people, then this is the role for you. What does a Volunteer Telephone Befriender do? This is an exciting new service and we expect the following to form the main part of the telephone befriending role:

To telephone Befriendee’s at their home for around 10 -30 minutes on a regular basis. You will arrange the exact times of your future calls direct with the Befriendee’s. This could range from once a day to once a week, but individual needs will be matched with your availability.

To provide a telephone conversation, a listening ear and chat about interests and hobbies, helping to alleviate loneliness and feelings of isolation during the COVID-19 crisis.

To provide companionship and human interaction at a time when this may be limited.

To signpost people to appropriate services for further support and act as a reliable source of information should it be required by the Befriendee.

To provide updates to the Telephone Befriending Support Team on a weekly basis. This is so we can keep a track of the amount of befriending calls each volunteer is undertaking, the type of support being offered during these calls and if there is anything further required.

To report back if there are any issues or concerns that need dealing with by the Telephone Befriending Support Team via tel: 01274 952200 or email: befriending@thebridgeproject.org.uk

It is important to note telephone befriending is not counselling or therapy and other services must be sought if this is required.

Who are we looking for? There are many skills, experiences and attitudes that would be useful to bring to the role. It is key that you:

Be punctual and reliable (as your telephone Befriendees will be waiting for your call)

Be able to communicate well with other people and happy to do this over the phone

Have a caring nature and are able to empathise with others

Be a good listener

Be non-judgemental and able to get along with people from different backgrounds

Be able to organise your own diary and plan when best to make calls

Be willing to undertake a small amount of e-learning training

Have access to a mobile phone and a quiet space to make calls

Additional Information

The exact amount of time you choose to commit is up to you, but all calls are to be made Monday-Friday, between 9:30am and 4:30pm only.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide expenses for telephone calls made. Ongoing volunteer support and guidance will be provided by the Telephone Befriending Support Team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I volunteer? Anyone can volunteer. People already in employment, full-time or part-time, refugees and asylum seekers, retired, students, unemployed and anyone else not mentioned here. Really, volunteering is for everyone.

When can I start? It can take a few weeks for you to go through the application and recruitment process. The one thing that often takes the most time is the DBS police check (formerly CRB), though not all volunteering requires a police check.

What about my expenses? Organisations should pay your travel and out of pocket expenses. To be registered with us we require this. Please contact us if you have had difficulty securing these expenses.

Do I need particular skills to volunteer? Sometimes, depending on the voluntary role. But very often no particular skill is required; the organisation will give you the right training for your role.

How soon might I be able to find a paid job after I volunteer? There is no guarantee that volunteering will lead to paid employment. But you will get a lot out of volunteering including new skills, experience and confidence, which can help with job prospects.

Will I get any support as a volunteer? You should be given an induction when you start, training that is relevant to your role and catch-ups or supervisions relevant to your role.

I am an asylum seeker - am I allowed to volunteer? Yes - you can volunteer as many hours as you want. There are no restrictions on asylum seekers volunteering. You are not allowed to do ‘unpaid work’ but volunteering is different. You are allowed to volunteer in a charity. Ask us for more information.

I’m on benefits - can I volunteer without losing my benefits? Yes, you can - plus volunteering is recognised as giving you a better chance of finding paid work. So, you can volunteer as many hours as you like while you are on benefits, as long as you still meet the terms for getting them. If you are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, this will mean you still need to look for paid work and you must be free to start a job with one weeks’ notice. It might be good to discuss your volunteering with your benefit agency so they are in the picture.

I am under 18 - can I volunteer? Yes, you can. There are a range of opportunities set up for younger volunteers; you can download a list of these from our website. If you need help doing this please call us on 0114 253 6649 or e-mail vc@vas.org.uk

I have a criminal conviction - can I volunteer? You can, and many people with criminal convictions do. It all depends on the nature of your conviction, how recent it was, the kind of voluntary role you would like and the organisation where you wish to volunteer.

Any other questions? Please call us on 0114 253 6649 (Mon – Weds) or email vc@vas.org.uk

www.sheffieldvolunteercentre.org.uk vc@vas.org.uk

0114 253 6649 (Mon – Weds)

Rights and responsibilities

As a volunteer you have a right to: Travel expenses Induction and relevant training Support and supervision Safe working conditions Insurance cover Being treated in accordance with an organisation’s equal opportunities

policy Access to a complaints procedure

Your responsibilities are:

Working within the organisation’s policies and procedures, which will be explained to you

Working within the boundaries of the volunteering task profile

Maintaining confidentiality as appropriate

Informing the Volunteer Manager of any problems.