Role Title: Group/Drop-In Volunteer

Hours: Various

Accountable to: Service Manager

Responsible to: Administrative Officer

Status: Volunteer

Base: 39 Aberdeen Walk, Scarborough

Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind is a registered charity, providing support to adults and young people (16 years +) with mental health problems in Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale.

Purpose
Support in a group is often a valuable opportunity for people to reduce their social isolation, get support from peers and learn new skills and hobbies. We have some groups that run on an ongoing basis that always need volunteers to support the running of the group, help out with activities and ensure that everyone is in a safe, welcoming environment.

We also like to run one off or ongoing workshops that involve volunteers sharing a skill or hobby with a group of clients. This might be activities such as arts and crafts, book groups, guide walking or offer support to a particular demographic in the community, for example: young mums or older people.

You don’t have to commit to running a group indefinitely, lots of people benefit from one off sessions that introduce them to a new hobby and any opportunity for people to get together with peers can bring increased confidence and self-esteem.

Main Duties
• Welcoming attendees
• Making teas/coffees
• Chatting with attendees
• Playing games/cards with attendees
• Running pre-planned activities with attendees

Time Commitment
• We can be flexible and we have volunteers who provide anywhere from 2 hours of support per month up to 20.

Skills
• Good listening and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team
• Commitment to work in compliance with policies and procedures
• Reliability

Training and Support
• You will be given induction training into the various aspects of the work and our organisation
• You will receive ongoing support throughout your volunteering

Reimbursement of expenses
• Agreed out of pocket and travel expenses will be reimbursed
Benefits to volunteer
• The satisfaction of knowing that you are helping vulnerable people in your community
• Boost confidence and develop team related soft skills
• The opportunity of meeting new people and working as part of a dedicated team
• Valuable experience of volunteering that you can add to your CV and we can provide references for employment or education applications

Application Procedure
• Application Form
• Induction training
• Informal interview
• References (2) and DBS