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Volunteering opportunities with the Upper Room

Are you looking for an opportunity to make a difference in the community? Do you have the passion and perhaps a personal story that can make a difference in the lives of ex-offenders? Are you a good communicator with the ability to inspire determination in others, and do you have excellent inter-personal skills? We are looking for suitable volunteers to provide mentoring to the ex-offenders on our UR4Driving Project. For more information on this project, please visit www.theupperroom.org.uk/ur4driving. Any interested candidate may apply, but we are particularly interested in hearing from people who have been personally affected by crime, such as a family member of an ex-offender or people who are themselves ex-offenders.

Purpose of the Role:

To develop supportive and confidential relationship with ex-offenders, helping them to:

  • Receive a holistic support from the project – Supporting their learning and providing case management support to help them address the barriers they face to moving their lives forward.
  • Become self-aware – learn to evaluate themselves, developing awareness of their personal strengths and weaknesses, their skills, the contributions they make that are valued, their interpersonal relationships with others etc.
  • Become self-directing – choosing the directions they want to take. Develop a sense of their own purpose (ownership) – understanding their personal needs, what interests them, what they want, where they are going in life.
  • Experience their own success – the reward of feedback from accomplishments in which they
    have shared. Learning from their mistakes. Gaining deeper insights into themselves and others and the world in general through “doing”.

This is an opportunity to gain key skills in offender management and case work principles. Successful candidates would be provided with Mentor Training. If you are interested and can spare a minimum of 2 straight hours a week in a working day please send a one page statement by email to applications@theupperroom.org.uk, giving your contact details and your suitability for the role.

Having a past criminal conviction will NOT exclude you form this opportunity.

For more information, please go to www.theupperroom.org.uk or contact us on 020 8740 5688 or by email to uradmin@theupperroom.org.uk.

 

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Case Study of using Volunteers to Support Reception at Dawes Road Hub

Dawes Road Hub

The Dawes road Hub managed by Sobus and located in Fulham offers office space, hot desking, meeting and training rooms for hire. It is currently being used by the voluntary and community sector organisations and others.

Reception

The Hub has a team of four part time Receptionist/Administrators working shifts to cover reception as well as providing administrative support for Sobus.

The reception rota was organised so that only one team member would be on reception duty during any shift. This presented a problem in providing cover when the receptionist needed to leave the front desk eg to complete other tasks or take a break. This was initially dealt with by using other members of staff to temporarily cover reception, but this wasn’t ideal and was also subject to staff availability. On the other hand, having two receptionists on shift at reception simultaneously would have been a waste of resources. A solution was needed.

Volunteering Proposal

Volunteering was proposed as possible solution. We decided we should look at how we could reorganise the work to allow us to fully understand what work should be done by staff, and tasks that could be done by a volunteer that would create an interesting volunteer opportunity. After some thought we set up a Receptionist/Administrator Volunteering program. A part time volunteer would volunteer alongside the receptionist on shift and in return they would receive full training, work experience and reasonable reimbursement of expenses for travel and lunch.

Implementing Proposal

A member of the Reception/Administrator team, was asked to create a series of Volunteer handbooks across three levels of learning, which would provide information and instructions on all tasks included in the role. The handbooks were designed to assist training and give feedback on training progression both to volunteers and to the team. It was also necessary to amend existing documents used for paid staff to make them appropriate for voluntary staff including Voluntary role advertisement, role description, person specification and other policy documents. Once everything was completed and approved, we were to advertise the role through Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteer Centre who put details on ‘Do-it’ through their website. We were fortunate however in receiving direct offers of voluntary help from two interested individuals before the advert was put out. A meeting took place with the potential volunteers to discuss the role and their own expectations and skillset.

Outcome

Both individuals were taken on as volunteers. Each volunteer completed the agreed three month voluntary period. The experience has helped one volunteer to develop their own business, the other has moved from a retail job to an office job. The reception team and Sobus found it really useful to have extra help ensuring a high level of service to people using the Hub, additional tasks being completed and having a pool of people to recruit from when required. We are now recruiting volunteer receptionists on an ongoing basis and looking to develop a similar model in other areas of Sobus’s work. We have had no shortage of interest or applicants.

As a result of this experience we would highly recommend taking on volunteers to other organisations, where a similar program could be tailored to suit any particular organisational need.

If you want to learn more, contact Sobus at  support@sobus.org.uk or get help with volunteers in your organisation please contact Catherine Perez-Phillips – Volunteer Services Manager at H&F Volunteer Centre on 020 8741 9876 or Catherine@hfvc.org.uk

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Join Doorstep Library’s ”Publish the Bugman” Campaign

Doorstep Library Logodoorstep library campaign pic

The Bugman’s Great Escape is our very own children’s story, created especially for Doorstep Library by writer Scott Perry, illustrator Peter Reynolds and designer Michael Smith of Clout Branding. Through the story of Alex it sums up perfectly why we do what we do. At the moment, the book is complete – written, illustrated, formatted, ready for print – it simply needs publishing.

By printing it we aim to:

  1. Raise £20,000 to take the charity to the next level, building on our success by expanding our libraries through London
  2. Encourage low income children to embrace books and reading
  3. Attract more donors, sponsors and volunteers by spreading the message of what we do. For each new volunteer, an additional ten children can benefit from our programme.

All donations of over £15 will receive a copy of the book signed by both author and illustrator!

What’s The Bugman’s Great Escape about?

A young boy of eight, Alex, is in more danger than he knows. Obsessed by insects, but in trouble almost everywhere else, he hurls his most cherished possession out of the window. It lands in a puddle. He bursts into tears. His whole future rests on what happens next.

What makes a boy do such a thing? This story is about the power of words to take us places we never imagined we could go.

For more info, to donate or to read the whole story please click here

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The Human Library

hfvc logo

Human Library pic

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

Wanted!
Human Books

 

Would you or a service user from your organisation like to challenge negative perceptions, prejudice, discrimination, stigma and stereotyping? Then why not become a Talking Book with HFVC’s ‘Human Library’.
This exciting project aims to break down barriers and create a better understanding through interaction and dialogue between people. Just like in a real library, a visitor to the Human Library can choose a Book from a range of titles, however, the difference is the Books are people and reading is a conversation.

The Human Library is a place where real people are on loan to readers. A place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.

The launch of the HFVC’s Human Library will take  place at Lyric Square, Hammersmith, W6 0DA on the 28th September 2016 11:00 – 14:00 and will continue over a 9 month period in 9 other locations across Hammersmith and Fulham

Get involved: We are looking to recruit individuals to be Books. This can be for a 2-3 hour Library event or several. Training will be provided and travel expenses paid
If you would like to get involved or want more information, contact Ann-Marie
T: 020 8741 9876 
E: ann-marie@hfvc.org.uk 

For more information on the Human Library concept, visit www.humanlibraryuk.org

 

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VOLUNTEER ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2016

Now’s the time to nominate your volunteers for an award from the Mayor of London as part of the Team London 2016 Achievement Awards. Volunteers can be nominated in a number of categories, with awards for volunteers under 25, volunteers over 25, and people who volunteer in a team.

Nominations close on 31 July 2016.

READ MORE

 

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Volunteering Projects

Volunteering Projects

Works4U, the not-for-profit social enterprise branch of Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteer Centre is looking for volunteering opportunities/projects available in the local community that would suit a large group on 7th June.

When: The activities must be available on 7th June 2016
Team Size: We are looking for activities which can be undertaken by a team size of 40-80 people.
Time: The task must be able to be completed in an afternoon from 12:00 – 17:00 pm
Types of activities could be: Park Clean-ups, River Clean-ups, Gardening, Painting/Decorating, Befriending Older people, Cooking meals & promoting healthy eating, Afternoon tea party etc. We are open to ideas and the volunteers are keen to do something that has a real impact. If you are not sure if you have an idea, then please do get in touch and we can help formulate one.

If you want to discuss your project and/or want more information on how you could use our help please call Aparna on 020 8741 9876 or E-mail:
aparna@works-4u.com 

Please get in touch with us with your ideas and projects as soon as possible as we are looking to lock down the project in the next few weeks. However, we have many other teams of volunteers looking to support the community throughout the year.

We look forward to working with you!

Works4U Team
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Hammersmith and Fulham Mind: Volunteer Trustee (Treasurer)

H&F Mind logo

 

 

This is an excellent opportunity to be involved in a successful and forward-thinking charity that helps improve the lives of many people in Hammersmith & Fulham and beyond.

Hammersmith and Fulham Association for Mental Health (known as Hammersmith & Fulham Mind) is an leading independent mental health provider working with people living in the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham.

Our mission is to empower people with mental health problems to manage their health, take control of their lives and to support them to participate fully in their local community.

Our wide range of services reach and support over 2,000 people every year. We campaign for improved services and challenge the stigma and stereotypes surround mental health. We currently have 30 staff who work across a range of 18 services at Mind ranging from talking therapies to hoarding support groups.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about making a difference as a finance minded Trustee (Treasurer) of a small charity. We are looking for a qualified accountant with a strong track record in strategic and operational financial management to act as a key advisor to our team on all financial aspects of running the charity. The ideal candidate will have an interest in mental health and knowledge of current finance practice relevant to charities, as well as good financial analysis skills and the ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the charity.

The Trustee (Treasurer) will sit on the full board of Trustees as well as chairing the Finance Sub-Committee. This role will involve:

  • Overseeing the financial affairs of the organisation, ensuring they are in line with Hammersith & Fulham Mind’s charitable objects and within accepted accounting practice
  • Monitoring the financial health of the organisation, including appraising the financial viability of plans and proposals
  • Making fellow trustees aware of their financial obligations and taking the lead in interpreting financial data to them
  • With support from the CEO and the Finance Manager, regularly reporting the organisation’s financial position at committee meetings
  • Overseeing the CEO and the Finance Manager in the production of the annual budget, reforecast(s), management accounts, adherence to financial controls, etc.
  • Liaising with auditors

Trustee meetings are held approximately once a month (at 6.30pm – in Fulham or Notting Hill); in addition, the Finance Sub-Committee meets once every 2 months, alternately in Fulham, the City, or via conference call.

Trustees are asked to commit to volunteering with the charity for at least a year. You will join a board currently consisting of 8 Charity Trustees from various backgrounds and different experiences contributing unique and invaluable skills to the charity.

The application process will consist of an informal interview with the Chair and our acting Treasurer at a mutually convenient time.

For an informal discussion about the role, or to apply, please contact Claire Pettitt (Trustee & acting Treasurer): clairepettitt@cantab.net
Applications should include a covering letter and current CV.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 3rd April 2016

 

HFM is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage applications from individuals who have lived experience of mental health.

 

 

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Hammersmith and Fulham Mind: Volunteer Trustee (PR / Marketing)

H&F Mind logo

 

This is an excellent opportunity to be involved in a successful and forward-thinking charity that helps improve the lives of many people in Hammersmith & Fulham and beyond.
Hammersmith and Fulham Association for Mental Health (known as Hammersmith & Fulham Mind) is an leading independent mental health provider working with people living in the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham.

Our mission is to empower people with mental health problems to manage their health, take control of their lives and to support them to participate fully in their local community.
Our wide range of services reach and support over 2,000 people every year. We campaign for improved services and challenge the stigma and stereotypes surround mental health. We currently have 30 staff who work across a range of 18 services at Mind ranging from talking therapies to hoarding support groups.

We are seeking an outstanding media and communications specialist trustee who can support us in engaging media, clients and other stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be an innovative, creative individual committed to upholding the rights of mental health service users, with experience of development communications strategies and plans at a local level.

This role will involve acting as a key advisor to provide guidance on media and communications issues, helping our team to deliver an outstanding media and communications function by:
• Advising on ways to strengthen Hammersmith & Fulham Mind’s public profile, magnify our communications reach and contribute to showing that we are outstanding leaders in mental health
• Assisting our managers in developing our communications strategy, defining clear messages that promote our priorities and identifying opportunities to set out the many positive stories we have to tell
• Highlighting risks and proposing appropriate action

Trustee meetings are held approximately once a month (at 6.30pm – in Fulham or Notting Hill). Trustees are asked to commit to volunteering with the charity for at least a year. You will join a board currently consisting of 8 Charity Trustees from various backgrounds and different experiences contributing unique and invaluable skills to the charity.
The application process will consist of an informal interview with the Chair and another Trustee at a mutually convenient time.

For an informal discussion about the role, or to apply, please contact Jane Bullen (Chair): jane.bullen4@btinternet.com
Applications should include a covering letter and current CV.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 3rd April 2016

HFM is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage applications from individuals who have lived experience of mental health.

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