Volunteering
There are currently around 70 volunteers who work alongside full time staff. Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds with differing experiences and qualifications. The youngest is currently 25 and the oldest is 88.
Volunteers are unpaid but receive out of pocket expenses. We offer initial and on-going training, regular support, and guaranteed job satisfaction from knowing you are helping people to improve their lives. All applicants are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau.
There are many different things you could do:
- Work with Older People
- Become a Mentor for Young Women
- Work with Young People
- Become an Advocate
- Work with Children
- Provide Administrative Support
- Organise a Fundraising Event
Work with Older People
Volunteers are needed to help run a range of services for older people. We need volunteers to:
- Visit older people at home who find it difficult to get out and about
- Assist on minibus trips, both to and from our day-centres and on outings
- Assist with computer drop in sessions or home visits with a computer
- Work in our cafes
- Help our housebound learners to study
- Assist with or run groups
Find out more about services for older people
Contact
If you are interested in volunteering to work with older people phone 01273 205214 or email: olderpeoplesservices.bh@impact-initiatives.org.uk
If you are interested in volunteering at Dingemans in Steyning, please phone on 01903 879297 or email:
dingemans@impact-initiatives.org.uk
Become a Peer-Mentor for Young Mothers
Impact is seeking womenwho are young mothers, to train as volunteer peer-mentors. We value the knowledge that mothers have gained from their life experiences, and we actively encourage mothers of all sectors of society to apply. After free training, peer-mentors will work with young mothers who are not in need of expert advice but who feel isolated and would benefit from someone to talk to. The peer-mentor will support the young woman in developing new interests and in building social networks.
Find out more about services for young people
Contact
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer mentor phone 01273 324777 or email: stopover.mentoring@impact-initatives.org.uk
“As a mentor you use your life experiences to try and help another human being. You are a positive role model who can help the young person to find solutions to their problems. It's a two-way relationship; the young person must really want to get involved and be prepared to put in some work. It can take a lot of effort on their part.
“Impact provides excellent training and support for volunteers. I learnt a lot from the training in communication skills. Mentoring is about listening to people, finding out what they want, and getting them to think through changes in their lives. You don't always know the answers but you can try and empower people to take some positive steps.“
Domino, volunteer mentor
Work with Young People
There are many opportunities for volunteers to get involved in our work. These are some of the things you could do:
- IT support and development
- Help young people learn about budgeting, cooking and other skills
- Running and supporting workshops
- One-to-one and basic skills support
- General jobs around the centre including office work, DIY and/or odd jobs
The Young People's Centre offers hard to reach young people the opportunity to try new basic skills taster sessions over the Internet.
We're looking for volunteers, with a little bit of patience and understanding who can help young people gain confidence using a computer. Full course training will be given. So if you've got a couple of hours a week to spare and like young people, we would love to hear from you.
Find out more about services for young people
Contact
If you are interested in volunteering to work with young people phone 01273 230130 (Brighton & Hove) or 01323 738853 (Eastbourne).
Become an Advocate
Volunteer Advocates are ordinary people who protect and promote the rights of people with learning difficulties. We call this the 'advocacy partnership'. We have vacancies for advocates to support individuals and to work alongside paid staff doing group advocacy.
These are some of the things you could do:
- Listen to a person
- Support a person in a meeting
- Research a person's rights or choices, for example, on the internet
- Make information more accessible (using tapes, symbols, pictures, makaton etc)
Find our more about the Advocacy service
Contact
For information about volunteer opportunities with the Advocacy service phone 01903 718260 or email: advocacy@impact-initiatives.org.uk
Pete, a former builder who retrained as an instructor, has been a volunteer advocate for just over a year - supporting people with a learning difficulty.
“I felt very strongly about the fact that a lot of people with learning difficulties did not have anyone to represent them. I was interested in helping people with special needs express themselves and stand up for their rights. It can take a great deal of work just to help them become confident enough to say "No" when they do not like things. Most people have an understanding of what they want, they just need help to say it. Helping them to achieve their goals independently is very satisfying.“
Work with Children
Volunteers are required to help run our neighbourhood-based project for children in the Whitehawk area.
Volunteers can volunteer between 1 and 5 days a week between the times of 2.30 and 6.15. Volunteers support our playworkers in running a range of stimulating activities for children including arts and craft, cooking, sports and games. Training opportunities are available for committed volunteers who would like to gain playwork qualifications.
Find our more about our Neighbourhood-Based Children's Services
Contact
If you are interested in volunteering to work with children please phone 01273 674420 or email: wasp@impact-initiatives.org.uk
Administrative Support
We always need help with administrative work to keep the organisation running smoothly. We need help with filing, typing, answering correspondence - a whole range of office tasks. There are opportunities to help at our various offices across East and West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. If you have a few hours a week to spare please contact us for more details.
Contact
Phone head office on 01273 821914 or email: info@impact-initiatives.org.uk
Organise a Fundraising Event
Why not organise a fundraising event such as a coffee morning, a jumble or car boot sale, or organise a quiz night in your local pub. We can give you lots of ideas and support to help you organise your event.
Contact
Contact us on 01273 828449 or email: info@impact-initiatives.org.uk
Our Wish List
Your donations really make a difference. To find out more, please see our Wish List.
In July, our popular pub quiz at the Reservoir pub in Brighton raised over £200 for Stopover Supported Housing. Thanks to all who took part.
