07 Jun A Myriad of ways to volunteer around Torbay
By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead
Volunteers’ Week is coming to an end, but volunteering continues in organisations across Torbay.
Every day volunteers give up their time and offer their skills to charities and voluntary groups to allow them to continue to provide a plethora of services, which otherwise might not be available.
Last week to mark the beginning of Volunteers’ Week we launched a new web landing page which opens onto a world of volunteering opportunities and provides a portal for organisations to showcase what they can offer.
We also challenged businesses to get involved by encouraging their employees to take up volunteering opportunities either individually or as a team.
Employers are being asked to showcase the opportunities available and facilitate and encourage their workers to give something back – using their skills for the good of others.
As soon as VolunteerTorbay.com launched, more volunteering opportunities were added and organisations flocked to TorbayTogether via the URL https://devonconnect.org/torbay to advertise a wide variety of positions they needed to fill.
More than 20 have added their opportunities to the website and more are being added daily. Take AgeUk Torbay, which has an agenda to help more people enjoy a better later life.
Currently, Torbay has about 63,000 people over 50, and our ageing society presents us with substantial challenges, but there are opportunities too. Last year alone, Age Uk Torbay Information and Advice service helped the over 50’s in the bay access almost £ 3 million pound in unclaimed entitlements, which has obvious repercussions on the health and well being of our population.
They are looking to recruit volunteers to assist with all aspects of advice which could include phone calls, form filling, information gathering and enabling and giving as much or as little time as you have available.
Torbay Hospital Radio relies on volunteers for everything from presenting shows to fundraising to keep them on air and they are currently looking for a volunteer fundraiser/event team member who will be responsible for a variety of tasks related to fundraising and event planning, including developing and implementing fundraising strategies, organising and running fundraising events, promoting the events and collecting donations
You may not realise it, but Devon, Torbay, and Langdon Advocacy Services also rely on volunteers to deliver their services, empowering a wide range of people, including adults with mental illnesses, learning disabilities, autism, long-term conditions, and physical disabilities. Many of their clients have care and support needs, including those who can access the IMHA (independent mental health advocacy) service.
They are seeking people who can spare a day a week to help deliver a person-centred advocacy role, helping people to express their views, wishes, and beliefs on issues that matter to them most. Volunteers can help with delivering advocacy awareness training in various settings. They provide training and regular supervision.
Not quite what you thought volunteers do? Then read on because volunteers are at the core of so many things and you can choose a role as complex as you feel comfortable with or you can simply sign up to help out at an event where you can help people have fun
Perhaps you are interested in supporting your local theatre and love live entertainment and meeting people? The Palace Theatre in Paignton is looking for more volunteers to support their activities including front-of-house stewards for their evening shows throughout the year.
At Hyperspace in Paignton Hyperspace, they are part of the concept, “The Chatty Cafe Scheme”, where the cafe offers a table that can be used for people feeling alone to sit and talk to people and the concept works better when there is a regular face at a regular time.
With that in mind, they are looking for people that can spare an hour a week to “host” the table and help the conversation flow. You will need an outgoing nature and be interested in others. And again training is available.
Those are just a handful of the most recent opportunities that have been added to the TorbayTogether and more are being added to the 80 plus already available on a daily basis.
Check it out to see if there is something that appeals to you; a world of opportunities awaits – https://devonconnect.org/torbay and click on volunteering. You won’t regret it.
