How do I become a volunteer?

• The application process will be slightly different for the various opportunities
• Please check the application details for the opportunity which you are interested in.
• Some projects will ask you to complete an application form.
• Others may just ask you to complete an enquiry form on the website and this will count as an application form.
• For some projects you will then need to have an interview so that staff can talk with you about yourself: your skills, experience (if this is relevant) and personal qualities and decide if their opportunities suit you.
• For other projects a short phone interview may be enough.
• If you will be volunteering with children or young people or vulnerable adults and will be volunteering with them unsupervised, you will be asked to complete a form so that a DBS check can be carried out. In this case, you will be told what forms of ID you’ll need to bring with you.
• For some projects, training is part of the selection process and you will only be accepted as a volunteer when you have successfully completed the training. For other projects you will be trained once you have been accepted as a volunteer. The training may be on a one-to-one basis and involve practical information as well as written information.
• In all projects, we aim to make the application process relevant to the type of volunteering which you would be doing.
• We believe it is very important to work within the Council’s Equality and Diversity Statement and therefore we are all keen to encourage applications from a wide range of people and to ensure that certain people are not ‘put off’ unnecessarily.
• If for any reason we cannot offer you a volunteering placement, or if you decide the placement is not for you, you will be given details of other organisations which deal with volunteering.

Personal qualities

The following personal qualities will give you an idea of what will be needed for some of the volunteering opportunities:

Essential qualities

• Ability to make a regular commitment
• Ability to work with other people
• Reliability
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Ability to accept boundaries
• A non-judgemental attitude
• Honesty and sensitivity
• Ability to accept initial and ongoing training and support
• Desire to be a volunteer
• Ability to empathise

Desirable qualities

• Good communication skills
• Good timekeeping
• Ability to give and receive feedback
• Ability to request assistance
• Ability to identify own support needs
• Ability to be flexible about volunteer role
• An understanding of equality and diversity