Supporter Services Administrative Volunteer Volunteer Roles

The Say Aphasia charity provides support groups across the UK for people with aphasia; a language and communication disability caused by a brain injury like a stroke. Aphasia affects over 350,000 people in the UK but is little understood or known about by the public. It is the only aphasia charity set up by people with aphasia for people with aphasia; helping them to adapt to their new way of life and regain their independence and confidence.

Aphasia occurs due to injury to the brain such as a stroke. It affects access to language, resulting in difficulties following conversations, speaking, reading and writing. People’s language can be affected to different degrees so not everyone’s aphasia looks the same.  Imagine for a moment not being able to verbally order a coffee or ask for a bus ticket. This may be what life could look like for someone with aphasia. Aphasia is a lifelong condition and means that the person living with aphasia, their friends and family will need to adjust to a new way of communicating to overcome barriers. This may mean having to write or draw things instead of speaking. Due to the damage in the brain, people with aphasia may find it difficult to process conversions as quickly as before. Aphasia frequently results in loss of employment and a reduced social network, leading to isolation for the person living with aphasia.

Say Aphasia are always looking to welcome new volunteers to help out at the drop-in groups. 

Volunteering for the charity is very rewarding. The training and support ensures that the volunteers learn and enjoy their time with the charity. By giving your time to people with aphasia, you will be improving their quality of life. Many of the members attending the groups live alone, or have minimal social interactions. Having a regular drop-in group to meet others with similar experiences of living with aphasia, vastly improves their mental health and well being. As a volunteer, you can help the members to communicate with each other, help to organise activities, or help out with teas and coffees. Say Aphasia offers a warm welcome to volunteers. To be part of the team,  fill in the application form. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICANTS MUST BE BASED IN THE UK AND LIVE LOCALLY.

ABOUT THE ROLE 

During 2024, the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) developed a digital immigration system. This means they are replacing physical documents with an online record of our immigration status. Due to this change, IRMO has received a fund from the Home Office to support vulnerable people to replace their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or Biometric Residence Card (BRC) with this online system called eVisa. This project will be delivered by our Community Support team at IRMO and other external locations. 

As part of our Community Support team, you will play a key role in assisting community members with the creation of their UKVI accounts. You will explain the concept of an eVisa, guide individuals on how to access it, and clarify how this change may impact them. This support will be delivered in person, and you will be responsible for maintaining clear and accurate records of the assistance provided in our database.

By taking part in this project, you will support service users whose primary challenges are the language barrier and digital exclusion. This, in turn, will enable them to build their confidence and enhance their sense of autonomy. 

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who wants to better understand the challenges faced by the Latin American community in London; use their language skills in a positive and impactful way; and develop valuable administrative and customer service skills in a multicultural, fast-paced organisation.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supporting the Community Support Lead in the delivery of the eVisa Project

• Supporting community members with creating their UKVI account and accessing their eVisa

• Carrying out one-to-one appointments and drop-ins

• Send a written copy of what was done during the session with detailed information 

• Explaining eVisa changes according to the most up to date information 

• Creating handouts and flyers relevant for our community on Canva

• Promoting our eVisa project to service users

• Registering users on our database and keeping accurate records of services offered

• Monitoring internal calendars and appointments

• Interpreting calls for service users 

• Liaising with staff in other departments and with external contacts (partner organisations)

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• General knowledge of eVisa (training will be provided) 

• Good verbal and written communication skills in English and Spanish and/or Portuguese

• Ability to work effectively as a member of a team and with a diverse population of service users, staff and partners

• A caring, sensitive and non-judgemental approach

• Ability to cope with stressful and emotionally challenging issues

• Professionalism to handle sensitive and confidential information

• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail and ability to multitask

• Ability to set their own work priorities, take initiatives and work with minimal supervision

• Good IT skills, including in using Microsoft and Google suite packages and different database systems

The Say Aphasia charity provides support groups across the UK for people with aphasia; a language and communication disability caused by a brain injury like a stroke. Aphasia affects over 350,000 people in the UK but is little understood or known about by the public. It is the only aphasia charity set up by people with aphasia for people with aphasia; helping them to adapt to their new way of life and regain their independence and confidence.

Aphasia occurs due to injury to the brain such as a stroke. It affects access to language, resulting in difficulties following conversations, speaking, reading and writing. People’s language can be affected to different degrees so not everyone’s aphasia looks the same.  Imagine for a moment not being able to verbally order a coffee or ask for a bus ticket. This may be what life could look like for someone with aphasia. Aphasia is a lifelong condition and means that the person living with aphasia, their friends and family will need to adjust to a new way of communicating to overcome barriers. This may mean having to write or draw things instead of speaking. Due to the damage in the brain, people with aphasia may find it difficult to process conversions as quickly as before. Aphasia frequently results in loss of employment and a reduced social network, leading to isolation for the person living with aphasia.

Say Aphasia are always looking to welcome new volunteers to help out at the drop-in groups. 

Volunteering for the charity is very rewarding. The training and support ensures that the volunteers learn and enjoy their time with the charity. By giving your time to people with aphasia, you will be improving their quality of life. Many of the members attending the groups live alone, or have minimal social interactions. Having a regular drop-in group to meet others with similar experiences of living with aphasia, vastly improves their mental health and well being. As a volunteer, you can help the members to communicate with each other, help to organise activities, or help out with teas and coffees. Say Aphasia offers a warm welcome to volunteers. To be part of the team, fill in the application form.

PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICANTS MUST BE BASED IN THE UK AND LIVE LOCALLY.

At Rainbows, we support around 750 babies, children and young people with serious and terminal conditions throughout the East Midlands, providing support at our Hospice, in local hospitals and at home. As part of this, our Family Support Team work with families to navigate through the emotions of caring for a child who has a life-limiting condition.

As these families can be based all across the region, Keep in Touch Volunteers play a vital role in connecting families with the Hospice. Volunteers do this by making an outreach telephone call to a family; checking-in with them and signposting them to any wider support which may be needed, as well as any support or services which Rainbows may be able to provide.

Typical tasks the role could involve:

• Making outreach telephone calls to Rainbows families.
• Checking on a family’s welfare and alerting them to available support if needed.
• Relaying any concerns to the Family Support Team.
• Regularly submitting an activity log summarising their calls so we can make sure everyone is receiving the help they need. 

Will it suit me?

This profoundly rewarding volunteer role is ideal if you love engaging with people and are passionate about directly supporting Rainbows families across the East Midlands. This role is ideal for someone with excellent interpersonal and listening skills who can think on their feet. Given the nature of our work, empathy and sensitivity towards the needs of children, young people, and their families are crucial. You'll be using your computer skills to record outcomes of your conversations in our database, so a basic confidence with technology is a must. Understanding the importance of confidentiality, boundaries, and safeguarding is essential within Rainbows. While previous experience in caring for others is beneficial, it is not a requirement.

At Age UK Westminster we run a weekly Information and Advice telephone helpline for our clients, service users and the public. The telephone line remains busy throughout the open hours and we completely rely on the support of our friendly, diverse and dedicated team of Telephone Enquiries and Signposting Volunteers to ensure this vital service continues. 

We are looking to recruit more student volunteers for this role.  As our volunteer, you will be part of the Information and Advice Team, and we will train you in handling telephone enquiries and offering information to callers. All we ask for is a commitment of 4 hours, once a week from 10am to 2pm on any day between Monday and Friday.

Will you share your counselling or psychotherapy skills as a counsellor or therapist to join an online counselling service for patients and families affected by a chronic pain condition (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)?

We're looking for 2 qualified counsellors, psychotherapists or psychologists ideally with some experience of working with chronic pain patients or lived experience of chronic illness, who may want to volunteer their skills supporting our adult service users (aged 18 & over) and help us to continue developing a mental health support service. 

As a Volunteer Counsellor/Therapist you’ll be providing remote counselling/therapy support services to adults aged 18 and over many of whom are isolated and in need of mental health services. You’ll be providing one-to-one counselling/therapy sessions online via Zoom or by phone. With your recognised counselling qualifications and experience you will be an asset to our small charity and to our services users.  

Depending on your qualifications, skills and experience, our volunteer counsellors / therapists provide person centred counselling (general talking counselling) or integrative counselling, or specialist services such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), ACT, CFT and EMDR for CRPS patients, or their families & close relatives.

People will be referred both by health or legal professionals as well as having patients and carers themselves referring into to the service.

In this role you’ll be able to develop your counselling and therapy skills, organisation, communication and team working skills.

Most importantly you’ll be providing essential services that help make sure no one has to face CRPS alone. Be the hope for CRPS.

What the role involves

This role may vary depending on needs, but is likely to include:

• Undertake a client assessments, followed by person-centred counselling (via Zoom or phone) to our clients, offering up to 20 sessions for each client plus 4 psychometric assessments

• Providing one-to-one counselling sessions to clients aged 18 & over

• Update our database with the client’s information, sessional notes and session attendance

• Maintain succinct, relevant session notes and store these confidentially and securely in acccordahce with GDPR

• Attending and participating in peer supervision support

• Attend CPD training to ensure your knowledge stays current

• Participating in volunteer meetings
• Maintaining client confidentiality, upholding data protection and equal opportunities principle

• Attend monthly Supervision and peer support sessions to ensure safe working practices

We can support you to develop the skills you need for this role, including a full induction. You will have a chance to discuss your role and any additional needs with us. We can offer you a supervisor as well as expenses for annual insurance and an external supervisor if required.

What you need for this role

Essential

• Be a member (including student membership) of one of the recognised organisations (see below)
• Level 4 Diploma level qualifications as a minimum (unfortunately no students at this time), Degree or Masters in Counselling, Counselling/Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, Art Therapy, EMDR 
• Minimum of 100 hours supervised
• Proof of professional indemnity insurance annually - we may consider paying this as an expense but commitment to the charity is required
• A valid DBS certificate (enhanced version), which is less than three years old and renewed every three years (the charity can provide where necessary)
• Able to keep people’s personal data safe

• Willing and able to provide counselling via Zoom from a private location with a stable WiFi connection

• Able to support a minimum of 3 clients a week, being three hours of your time for counselling sessions plus time for administration. We ideally hope you to offer the charity a minimum commitment of six months.

Desirable

• Knowledge of chronic pain or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Previous experience as a chronic pain or CRPS counsellor or psychologist 
• Committed to our values
• Willing to develop skills and experience
• Enjoy working as part of a team
• Effective administration skills, planning and organisation skills
• Approachable, presentable, enthusiastic

We also welcome training counsellors and counselling/clinical psychologists who are looking for placements.

Once we’ve assessed your application, you may be invited for interview. If you are successful, we will arrange for you to have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service DBS or Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check.

Recognised Organisations You Must Be A Member of:

• British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP)
• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP)
• EMDR Association UK
• Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)
• General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR)
• British Society for Clinical Hypnotherapists (BSCH)
• National Council for Hypnotherapists (NCH)
• United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• The National Hypnotherapy Society (HS)
• National Counselling Society (NCS)
• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• The Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP)
• National Register of Hypnotherapists & Psychotherapists (NRHP)

Making a difference

What impact will the opportunity have?

You will join the charity during a critical and challenging period where referrals are on the rise and your expert knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our success. You will have a key role in not only developing a counselling service for our clients but also ensure we provide counselling services and mental health support to our CRPS patients & their families who are in need of our support and inclusion on a regular basis. With your help we will expand our support and mental health services to ensure our service users receive mental health support that they may not have been offered.

What's in it for you as the volunteer? 

You would be a part of our small, friendly, forward-thinking charity team, focused on reaching people affected by this rare, painful and debilitating chronic pain condition and to provide them with psychological support whether they are patients, their partner, relatives, friends or carers. As this service is rapidly expanding, you would have a key role in developing our counselling and psychotherapy programme and to complement our support services that we offer. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to make a real difference in our clients' life which is already isolated and painful, who may not have received any psychological support.

Summary of Role:

A key role at the food bank, you will run one shift a week alongside other Coordinators. You will work in close cooperation with volunteers and guests, ensuring that the food service is as smooth as possible, dealing with any incidents that may arise.

Location: St Michaels Church Hall, 37 Bounds Green Rd, London, N22 8SD

Hours: Tuesdays or Thursdays, 9am - 1pm or 12.30pm - 5pm. Plus a fortnightly meeting (2 hours)

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 1,300 children and adults in the community. We are committed to improving lives by providing food and essential household items to build a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow. We strive to promote social inclusion by supporting people who find themselves in a crisis situation where they need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

The Role:

1. Manage Food Service Volunteers 

• Manage the Section Leads and Food Service Volunteers, allocating tasks according to each volunteer’s experience and ability. 

• Make sure volunteers are aware of and follow food bank policies and procedures (e.g. the Kitchen Policy and using the food bank themselves).

• Ensure volunteers follow all health and safety precautions, including checking all items are in-date.

• Ensure all volunteers sign the register.

• Support volunteers, ensure they take breaks, help them deal with any difficult incidents and ensure they alert you to any issues.

• Be available to volunteers and responsive to their needs.

2. Manage Guests 

• Ensure that guests have completed the registration process and are referred to the Advice Team where eligibility to use the food bank has not been confirmed.

• Treat all guests equally, welcoming them to the food bank and making sure they are respected and thought about.

• Ensure the order of the queue is maintained. 

• Deal with any issues by speaking directly to the guest, asking them to follow the rules and helping them deal with any difficult incidents. 

• Ensure no alcohol or drugs are used at the food bank or in the queue.

3. Complete Daily Duties

• Prepare for setting up from 9am and complete shift at 1pm (depending on shift time).

• Prepare  to open the food bank to guests at 1pm and lock up at 5pm (depending on shift time).

• Receive deliveries: know what deliveries to anticipate and coordinate volunteers to direct the driver, unload their vehicle and load crates in the hall.

• Organise the decanting and repacking of items.

• Keep an eye on stocks and make a note of shortages.

• Complete additional tasks that may arise e.g. bagging food, getting rid of waste, and updating admin.

• Ensure the hall is clean and organised before locking up. 

Person Specification:

• Has 6 months’ experience in a similar capacity.

• Can organise and manage tasks efficiently.

• Can keep calm under pressure.

• Able to de-escalate difficult situations.

• Be willing to attend training eg. safeguarding, first aid and management skills.

• Willing to do administrative work (eg. taking minutes and reading the minutes of other meetings shared with the Food Service Team).

• Reliable, assertive and tactful with both volunteers and guests.

• Team player with good communication skills.

Volunteer with us!

At Acorns we provide care and support for life limited or life threatened children and their families. We are a charity, so most of the care that we provide is funded through fundraising and through our shops.

Join Us as an Admin Volunteer!
We are looking for an enthusiastic Admin Volunteer to support our People Team, with the flexibility to work remotely and can be based anywhere in the West Midlands.

Volunteers are required to complete an Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check, which we will pay for and process for you.

Your Role:

• Assist the People Team in delivering efficient services to internal and external customers.
• Process and maintain volunteer data to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
• Support onboarding for new volunteers and manage our volunteer database.
• Collaborate with the Academy Support Team for smooth transitions from onboarding to induction.
• Respond to information requests and assist with the administration as needed.

How much time will it take?

• Complete our online training and in-person induction (3-4 hours).
• Flexible volunteering of at least 6 hours per week.
• This is hybrid volunteering opportunity

We’re looking for a volunteer who:

• Has admin experience
• Is comfortable managing multiple tasks
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and suite and other relevant software
• Has strong verbal and written communications abilities

Why volunteer at Acorns?

• To help a local charity and make a difference in your community
• Connect with likeminded people and make new friends
• Learn new skills to boost your CV
• Invites to social events and participate in our volunteer recognition scheme and award
• Full training provided

Purpose of the Role

This volunteer role is a key part of the HFEH Mind team delivering a range of services across Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow. We support clients with mental health with both clinical and non-clinical interventions.

Compass is a service designed to support adults (18 years and over) in H&F and Hounslow. The service provides support with welfare benefits, debt, housing and well-being/peer support groups/workshops.

The Ealing Pathways service is designed to support adults (18 years and over) with stable mental illness to stay well and avoid acute admission in the borough of Ealing. The service provides support with welfare benefits, debt, housing and well-being advice service.

As a part of this, we are looking for volunteers to support with both services. The role of the volunteer includes supporting with onboarding and contacting clients onto our services as well as completing administrative tasks.

Main Responsibilities

To work closely with the Compass/Pathways service team and support the services with enquiries and support the service users to access the service.

• Triage clients for the service through an onboarding process.
• Support with follow up surveys and questionnaires for those who have accessed the project and obtain their feedback to improve our services.
• Support the Compass/Pathways team to promote the service to the local community.
• Support with administrative tasks including recording information onto our database ‘Views’.
• Supporting clients by picking up ‘light touch cases’ e.g. form filling and welfare benefit checks.

Type of person we are looking for:

Essential

• An interest in supporting those with mental health needs to access Compass/Pathways services.
• Good oral and written communication skills (including listening skills); the ability to communicate in a patient, considered, and empathetic manner.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to follow administrative procedures.
• IT skills – able to update spreadsheets, use web-based applications, video-conferencing software, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Preferably have had experience working with people who experience poor mental health.

Time commitment and expenses

• 5 hours per week, during our opening hours of 10am–4pm.  Please indicate your preferred volunteering day(s) on your application
• We request a minimum commitment of 3 months of volunteering after the completion of your induction.   
• We will provide volunteers with an induction, training, and ongoing mentoring to support them in the role. 

We are an equal opportunities employer; and are proud to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

HFEH Mind are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults.

Post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Community engagement charity Sobus is looking for talented, passionate individuals to join our Board of Trustees.  We are looking for a new Trustee Treasurer to help guide the charity through a time of exciting opportunity and development.

It's an exciting time for Sobus, as we look to refresh our service offer, and maximise the investment opportunity following the disposal of a property in early 2024.

Our overarching aim is to “strengthen local communities”, through the provision of infrastructure support to the local voluntary sector in the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and supporting business communities around our North Kensington hub. 

Our work is focussed on five main areas:

• Voice & Representation
• Information & Intelligence
• Brokerage & Partnerships
• Capacity Building & Business Support
• Affordable Premises (through the provision of our business hubs in Fulham and North Kensington)

Trustee Treasurer: We are seeking a committed individual with a proven, professional track record of financial management and leadership at the highest level, and a sound understanding and experience of the voluntary sector.  We need someone with significant experience of leading long-term strategic development and driving financial sustainability.

You will share our vision and want to take a leading role in our journey to be recognised as an outstanding organisation. It would be a significant advantage if you have an understanding or experience of working in the voluntary and community sector, and even more so if you are a current or former resident of Hammersmith & Fulham or have a tangible, established and current connection with the area.

Sobus was formed in 2014 following a merger between the Community & Voluntary Sector Association and Fulham Community Partnership Trust. However, we were first established as the local CVS in Hammersmith & Fulham in 1998. 

Sobus is fully committed to equality of opportunity and diversity to ensure that we reflect the full breadth of the people that we support. We therefore warmly welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Selection process:

Candidates are requested to complete an application and a equalities monitoring form., and if shortlisted, an interview with our outgoing Treasurer, Chair of the Board of Trustees and the CEO.  t

For an informal discussion about the position, of for the Job Description and application form, contact the Sobus CEO, Sue Spiller

Do you enjoy multi-tasking and coordinating events? Is attention to detail one of your strengths? If so, we’d love to hear from you. You don’t need an Armed Forces background, just good organisation, and IT skills.

What is an Administration Coordinator?

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas, each delivering support to serving personnel, veterans, and their families. Every branch has a team of volunteers who make this possible.

The Administrator Coordinator is a key member of the team, ensuring the smooth running of the branch and supporting day to day operations. This role is at the heart of the branch, overseeing the group inbox, organising meetings, and liaising with volunteers and external stakeholders.

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.

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.

We aim to provide financial, practical, and emotional support when it’s needed most. To do this we need excellent administrators to keep things running efficiently behind the scenes.

What would you be doing?

• Every SSAFA Branch has different needs, however, below are the main activities of a Branch Administration Coordinator.
• Overseeing enquiries: Overseeing the administration of the branch shared inbox and post, ensuring queries are answered.
• Getting people together: Organising internal meetings, both virtually and face to face
• Planning and organising: Liaising with internal and external stakeholders to arrange events such as the Branch Annual General Meeting
• Note taking and recording: Maintaining accurate records of meetings and decisions.
• Communicating: Supporting the Branch Chair with internal communications, keeping other volunteers up to date and informed
• Tracking and ordering: Keeping a record of branch assets, ordering stationery, and ensuring maintenance of equipment
• Supporting health and safety: Supporting the Branch Chair with administration of personal, office and event risk assessments where required

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?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Give back to the Armed Forces community.
• Become part of the SSAFA community and build networks across your local area.
• 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 I 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.
• Local induction and support, from other branch volunteers
• Access to a range of e-learning courses as well as local opportunities to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.
• Support from regional volunteering and operations employees
• Regular meetings and events to learn and share information.
• 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 with good written and verbal communication skills.
• Some experience of coordinating people or events is beneficial.
• Good IT skills e.g., confident using email and online diaries– you will receive your own SSAFA email address.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach.
• Understanding of the importance of confidentiality and boundaries.
• This role would suit someone who would like to volunteer regularly, each week.

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 takes the utmost care at every step of volunteer recruitment to ensure that the people we involve are suitable and appropriate. All measures taken are to help make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

Are 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? No

The Say Aphasia charity provides support groups across the UK for people with aphasia; a language and communication disability caused by a brain injury like a stroke. Aphasia affects over 350,000 people in the UK but is little understood or known about by the public. It is the only aphasia charity set up by people with aphasia for people with aphasia; helping them to adapt to their new way of life and regain their independence and confidence.

Aphasia occurs due to injury to the brain such as a stroke. It affects access to language, resulting in difficulties following conversations, speaking, reading and writing. People’s language can be affected to different degrees so not everyone’s aphasia looks the same.  Imagine for a moment not being able to verbally order a coffee or ask for a bus ticket. This may be what life could look like for someone with aphasia. Aphasia is a lifelong condition and means that the person living with aphasia, their friends and family will need to adjust to a new way of communicating to overcome barriers. This may mean having to write or draw things instead of speaking. Due to the damage in the brain, people with aphasia may find it difficult to process conversions as quickly as before. Aphasia frequently results in loss of employment and a reduced social network, leading to isolation for the person living with aphasia.

Say Aphasia are always looking to welcome new volunteers to help out at the drop-in groups. 

Volunteering for the charity is very rewarding. The training and support ensures that the volunteers learn and enjoy their time with the charity. By giving your time to people with aphasia, you will be improving their quality of life. Many of the members attending the groups live alone, or have minimal social interactions. Having a regular drop-in group to meet others with similar experiences of living with aphasia, vastly improves their mental health and well being. As a volunteer, you can help the members to communicate with each other, help to organise activities, or help out with teas and coffees. Say Aphasia offers a warm welcome to volunteers. To be part of the teamfill in the application form.

Citizens Advice West Sussex are seeking Volunteer Advisors to be based in Shoreham, Crawley, Horsham or Haywards Heath. Could you provide our service to your local community?

If you have spare time to offer, with excellent client service skills, and would like to offer help and advice to our clients in our community, we'd love to hear from you now!

As a Volunteer Adviser, the role involves:
• Completing our Adviser training course including assessments and an Induction to Citizens Advice so that the role can be fulfilled (the training will be remote via Microsoft Teams or face-to-face).
• Recording information and client details.
• Assessing the client’s problems and agree the right level of service .
• Identifying and communicating relevant information and options the client may have enabling them to form a decision.
• Assisting with Research & Campaigns work 

As a Volunteer Adviser, you need to:
• Have the ability to understand complex information and convey it clearly to clients.
• Have excellent listening skills & enjoy helping people
• Have good IT skills and a willingness to learn and use our database system accurately
• Have good level of literacy and numeracy
• To be open minded and non-judgmental

Other Information
Volunteering remotely from home or in one of our offices as part of a team of committed people, supported by a Supervisor. Living in, or with a connection to, West Sussex is a priority. If you choose to work remotely, you will need your own IT equipment and access to Wi-Fi for digital training. Reasonable travel expenses are paid.

Valuing Inclusion
We pride ourselves on having a diverse workforce with volunteers from a range of backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from people with all range of abilities for the skills that they bring. 

Do you enjoy multi-tasking and coordinating events? Is attention to detail one of your strengths? If so, we’d love to hear from you. You don’t need an Armed Forces background, just good organisation, and IT skills.

What is an Administration Coordinator?

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas, each delivering support to serving personnel, veterans, and their families. Every branch has a team of volunteers who make this possible.

The Administrator Coordinator is a key member of the team, ensuring the smooth running of the branch and supporting day to day operations. This role is at the heart of the branch, overseeing the group inbox, organising meetings, and liaising with volunteers and external stakeholders.

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.

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.

We aim to provide financial, practical, and emotional support when it’s needed most. To do this we need excellent administrators to keep things running efficiently behind the scenes.

What would you be doing?

• Every SSAFA Branch has different needs, however, below are the main activities of a Branch Administration Coordinator.
• Overseeing enquiries: Overseeing the administration of the branch shared inbox and post, ensuring queries are answered.
• Getting people together: Organising internal meetings, both virtually and face to face
• Planning and organising: Liaising with internal and external stakeholders to arrange events such as the Branch Annual General Meeting
• Note taking and recording: Maintaining accurate records of meetings and decisions.
• Communicating: Supporting the Branch Chair with internal communications, keeping other volunteers up to date and informed
• Tracking and ordering: Keeping a record of branch assets, ordering stationery, and ensuring maintenance of equipment
• Supporting health and safety: Supporting the Branch Chair with administration of personal, office and event risk assessments where required

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?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Give back to the Armed Forces community.
• Become part of the SSAFA community and build networks across your local area.
• 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 I 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.
• Local induction and support, from other branch volunteers
• Access to a range of e-learning courses as well as local opportunities to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.
• Support from regional volunteering and operations employees
• Regular meetings and events to learn and share information.
• 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 with good written and verbal communication skills.
• Some experience of coordinating people or events is beneficial.
• Good IT skills e.g., confident using email and online diaries– you will receive your own SSAFA email address.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach.
• Understanding of the importance of confidentiality and boundaries.
• This role would suit someone who would like to volunteer regularly, each week.

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 takes the utmost care at every step of volunteer recruitment to ensure that the people we involve are suitable and appropriate. All measures taken are to help make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

Are 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? No