How We Help

It simply would not be possible to provide all our services to around 3000 people every year without the amazing contribution of our wonderful volunteers. They are young and old (ranging in age from 16 to 86) come from every walk of life, and every section of the community. They are a highly valued asset.

What are the benefits of being a volunteer?

• Enormous satisfaction from making a big difference to someone's life
• A chance to meet new people and form long-lasting relationships
• An opportunity to build your confidence and self-esteem
• A way of feeling part of your community and contributing to it.
• Growing through the experience of new opportunities and challenges
• Keeping you physically and mentally active
• Having fun – volunteering has a very positive impact on the volunteer’s life
• Acquiring new skills and honing existing ones
• Having something very positive to add to your C.V.

What do our volunteers do?

They make our job possible! We simply could not do our job without the amazing contribution of our wonderful volunteers.

The kind of jobs they do for us include:

• Collecting goods for and working in our All Aboard Shop
• Helping out at a special needs school
• Escorting people on our shopping bus
• Assisting us with surveys by making phone calls and collecting information
• Helping to run Magical Moments, our Sunday respite play scheme for children with special needs and their siblings
• Visiting people in hospital and helping them get back on their feet after discharge
• Taking people shopping or doing their shopping or errands for them
• Making refreshments at carers' groups and special events
• Helping children with learning difficulties with homework
• Providing respite to a stressed carer by sitting with the person they care for
• Running craft activities at our play schemes
• Phoning potential donors on Caring Sunday
• Transporting clients to appointments
• Helping out in our Toy Library
• Visiting people in care homes
• Signing for members of our Deaf Club
• Collecting charity boxes
• Offering practical and emotional support to people who have been bereaved

And that is not an exhaustive list! As you can see there’s a massive range of volunteering opportunities which can be flexibly slotted into even the busiest life.

Remember, just a small amount of your time can make a massive difference to someone else's life!

At The Fed we have four projects which are involved in the recruitment and placement of volunteers. These are our North and South Volunteers teams, the Time For You Carers' Project and the Young Volunteers Project. These teams work closely together ensuring that all our volunteers are both well trained and well supported so that they can give the best possible service to people needing our support.

For more information about being a young volunteer please visit our Young Volunteers page

For more information about being a volunteer specifically working with carers please see our Time for You Carers's Project page.