There are a diverse and exciting range of opportunities for people looking to become a volunteer working within adult social care.
This includes:
- Helping in day centres, e.g. chatting to people, sharing any special skills you might have, helping staff, helping out at meal times
- Driving people to appointments, e.g. at hospital
- Delivering meals-on-wheels
- Helping at lunch clubs, e.g. serving meals
- Shopping and practical help around people's homes
- Helping groups which support vulnerable people, by using skills you may have acquired either at work or in your personal life, e.g. doing the accounts, taking notes of meetings, computing
- Helping in residential homes
- Helping carers have time to do the things they can't do whilst they are caring, by providing a 'sitting' (respite) service
How to get involved
To volunteer in adult social care or find out more information, you can:
Training and support
We can provide training to help you to work on our behalf, if you need it. We will also support you to settle comfortably into your new role and to maximise your skills and abilities.
Expenses
We will refund any money which you may pay in your role as a volunteer, e.g. petrol costs if you need to take someone to hospital.
Insurance
We will provide full and adequate insurance to cover you for the work you do for us. However, if you use your own car, we ask you to provide evidence that you hold fully comprehensive insurance.
Confidentiality
We ask you to sign a declaration to say that any personal information provided by or in relation to people who receive services from the council is kept confidential by yourself, and only discussed by you with people entitled to that information.
Checks on your background
Because you will be working with 'vulnerable' people, we ask you to complete a Disclosure Application Form, so your details can be checked with the Disclosure and Barring Service (external link). This is standard practice, but it can take a few weeks for a response.