The Volunteer Centre maintains a database of detailed information on local groups and volunteer opportunities.

We do our best to match a volunteer's skills, interests and availability with appropriate opportunities.

Challenge
Volunteering can, and should be, an enriching experience for the volunteer. It can bring new challenges, build self confidence and bring a real sense of achievement.

Work experience
By volunteering you can show potential employers that you are motivated and reliable. Volunteering offers a chance to brush up on old skills and perhaps learn new ones.
Volunteering offers the chance to gain an up to date reference.

Social contact and companionship
Volunteering offers the opportunity to make new friends – both with those you are helping and with your fellow volunteers. Volunteering gives you the chance to understand the difficulties that others face and to contribute to the welfare of your community.

 

LOCAL VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES

Family Visitors
Volunteer visitors support families in the community by visiting them on a regular basis. There are many reasons for needing a visitor, a young Parent may need help with confidence building as they adapt to life with a small baby or child. They might be needed as an extra pair of hands for an outing with a family with twins or triplets, or to provide a listening ear to a mum suffering from postnatal depression.
We offer training to volunteers,who are interested in visiting, in child protection, listening skills, confidentiality, and first aid.
Ongoing support & training provided.

Visiting Elderly/Disabled
Volunteers visit their client once a week or fortnightly. This can be an elderly person, someone housebound or disabled. Befriending can vary in many ways – from having a coffee and a chat, sharing a joint interest, going shopping, or visiting in a residential home.

Gardening Project
We receive calls from elderly and disabled residents needing help with their gardens, grass cutting, pruning bushes, hedges and general gardening. Most of the clients have their own tools, we have a limited supply of equipment.

Conservation Work

If you want to get outdoors and do something useful to help your local environment, then join the Conservation Volunteers at East Town Park/Railway Walk or the Go Wild Project.

Youth Work
We have volunteering opportunities working with Youth Clubs, After School clubs and organised Clubs such as Brownies, Guides, Cubs etc.., all volunteers working with young people are required to have a Criminal Record Bureau check organised free of charge by the Volunteer Centre.

General Volunteering
Volunteers are needed by:
• Elderly people
• People with disabilities
• Lonely or isolated people
• Young people
• Families
• Local voluntary and community organisations

             
Haverhill Volunteer Centre
Volunteers are needed to help in many different ways.

1-2-1 Mentors to support volunteers with ill mental health or learning disabilities in their volunteering role.  Training & support provided

* Drivers / Passenger Assistants – to take people to hospital appointments or visit relatives in hospital

* Odd Jobs – generally mending and fixing

* Volunteers are needed to escort elderly around town shopping (use of own car in most cases necessary)

* Visitors/Buddies urgently needed (for 1-2 hrs a week) and Shoppers for the elderly or disabled

* Supporters and Visitors for families or single parents needed

Haverhill Library  'Reading Game'

4-6 Volunteers needed

During the summer holidays Haverhill Library is holding the ‘Reading Game’ for young readers .

If you are 16+ and interested in volunteering during the holidays and reasonably confident and enthusiastic in leading a 1:1 conservation with youngsters about their books they’ve just read—

then this could be the volunteering opportunity

for you.

The hours vary each day but are usually 10-12 and 2-4  (7 day week) and this will be a shared role on a Rota basis.

Interested ?

Why not find out more about it.

Please contact:

Haverhill Volunteer Centre on 01440 708444:

Or

Haverhill Library on 01440 702638

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

New volunteers to join the Haverhill CAB branch are always welcome

• Volunteers to train as advisers
• Clerical support to specialist advisers (employment, debt etc.)
• Volunteers to complete forms for clients
• Contact clients about outcome of their cases
• Enter messages into client records
• Make refreshments
• Photocopy clients documents
• Provide audio typing
• Trustee Booard Member
• IT support (software,applications,hardware, systems)

 

Suffolk Befriending Scheme

SBS promotes fulfilling relationships between people with learning disabilities and volunteer 'friends'.  Linked 'friends' spend time together doing things they both enjoy like having a cup of coffee and a chat, going for a swim or shopping, visit new places and enjoying new experiences - probably the same things you do with your friends!

Could you spare as little as an hour a week?

Doing things that we take for granted like meeting for a chat and a coffee will make a huge difference to the life of a person who is isolated from their community by learning disabilities.

We are looking for volunteer befrienders from all over Suffolk.

All volunteers are offered training and full support. Travel and out of pocket expenses are reimbursed.

Interested and want to know more?

Tracey Barker on 01284 724293 or

Julia Harrington on 01787 371333

Email: info @suffolkbefriendingscheme.org.uk

 

Suffolk Family Carers Telephone Befriending Project

• Do you like chatting on the Telephone?
• Are you a good listener?
• Could you offer friendly telephone support to one of our family carers?
• Do you have experience caring for a member of your family?

If the answer is 'YES' to most of this questions then you could be one of those special people we are looking for.

Family Carers can become very isolated and lonely, so this service is very important for them - you could be the only person, outside the home, that they have spoken to all day.

This is a voluntary role and would involve ringing your appointed Family Carer once a week for anything between  20-30 minutes for a friendly chat about shared interests.

All applicants will be interviewed, you will need a Criminal Record Bureau check and training will be given. We will pay the cost of your telephone calls and out-of-pocket expenses. There will be continual support for the Telephone Befrienders.

If you are interested please ring Margery Ward

on 01284 757 798

3Counties Transport (3CT)

We are a local Community Transport group for Haverhill and surrounding villages. We operate a morning Dial-a-Ride service from Monday to Friday and we provide minibuses for local groups.  Our community car drivers transport people to shops, appointments or to visit friends.

We could not operate without our volunteers - their involvement in running this service is vital.

Anybody interested in becoming a driver or a passenger assistant or would like to find out more about volunteering for 3CT can contact HVC or Lyn on 01440 712028 or email

lyn.burgess@et.suffolkcc.gov.uk

* Victim Support (Haverhill) is in urgent need for new volunteers.(Training provided)

* West Suffolk Voluntary Association for the Blind (WSVAB) is looking for people who will help with fundraising activities and events.

*Visitor needed for female resident at Eastcotts Residential Home

*  Volunteers to go to East Town Park, Haverhill to support volunteers (conservation) with learning difficulties.

* Salvation Army (Luncheon Club) Helpers needed for activities (board games, cards etc.) with elderly.

Mondays 10 – 3pm

* 3CT (Dial-a-Ride) Drivers needed for wheelchair carrying car and minibus. MIDAS training will be provided. Escorts urgently needed on the minibus transport around town and for outings.

* Charity Shops Shop Assistants urgently needed to help in many different ways. Sorting and pricing, dealing with customers, arranging stock and window displays and more.

* CAB Volunteers are needed to support staff and other volunteers with basic office work i.e. filing, shredding etc.but also with making coffee/tea for advisers and/or clients, Advisers (in house training provided) and Committee members.

* Suffolk Befriending Scheme—APT Centre (A Place to Talk)Offering many social activities, advice, opportunities for learning and respite for carers to people with learning disabilities. Volunteer helpers always welcome Fridays 10:00am to 12:30pm

* Various Charities Committee Members urgently needed, secretaries etc. Meetings usually once a month.

* Salvation Army Community Shop Volunteers are needed to help with the running of the Charity shop (sorting, pricing, dealing with customers etc.) and coffee room (making tea/coffee)

* Greenfield Day Centre (Age Concern) Volunteer/s urgently needed to help with getting the room ready for service users, i.e. moving chairs & tables etc. the time to be covered is 8:30am to 4:30pm and can be shared by 2 volunteers, volunteers to help with refreshments and generally socialising. Wednesdays 8:30am to 4:30pm any time given is very much appreciated

* Conservation Volunteers East Town Park & Railway Walk
If you want to get outdoors and do something useful to help the local environment, then join the Conservation Volunteers!

* WRVS (Meals on Wheels) Helpers are required to deliver Meals on Wheels in Haverhill.