Getting Started
Starting volunteering can be a daunting prospect for some, especially if you haven't volunteering before. No need to worry, staff at the Volunteer Centre will provide the necessary information and support to get you started.
If you know what you want to do you can access information about volunteering opportunties by searching our on-line database.
If you would like to find out more about what’s involved in volunteering and get some advice on the opportuntiiy that’s right for you then contact an adviser.
If you feel you would need one-to-one support to get into volunteering then see the information about our Volunteer Support Worker.
In deciding what type of volunteering is right for you it may help you to think through the folowing questions:
- What skills, qualities and interests do I have to offer?
- Am I able to take on a commitment to voluntary work?
- What would I like to get out of it for myself? Could this be achieved by doing voluntary work?
- Is there anything that would influence or restrict my choice of volunteering role?
- Would I need support? If so, how much and from whom?
- How much information about myself would I want to share with an organisation?
- How often would I want to volunteer and for how long?
Once you've found a possible placement it might be worth asking them the following questions:
- Ask for a clear description of the work you will be expected to do.
- Who will show you what to do and supervise and support you in your work? Will you get supervision sessions or will it be less formal than that?
- What about expenses? Volunteers should not be out of pocket for the work they do. Ideally, though it won't always be possible, an organisation should cover expenses such as travel, lunch and childcare.
- What about insurance? eg. If you are doing driving, do you need tell your car insurance company?
- How often will you be expected to do voluntary work and for how many hours each time?
- How long is the volunteering likely to last?
- Who do you tell if you can't make it that week?
Once you’ve been through these questions you may want to find opportunities straight away or contact us to talk it through with an advisor.
