Volunteering

Welcome to your first step in joining the Stable Family Home Trust team as a volunteer!

Volunteers are vital to our work and bring diversity and vibrancy to our service delivery.

Joining the Trust as a volunteer can be a hugely rewarding experience and offers you opportunities to use your skills and experience to support our clients. You can help people to learn new skills, build confidence and participate in new and exciting activities.

Volunteering is flexible to suit your commitments, so you can volunteer at times that work for you and for as long as you are able. We have volunteers who support us a few hours or days each week and some who help out at fundraising events every so often, it really is up to you.

You don’t need any qualifications or any previous experience of volunteering. A friendly approach, patience, understanding and a caring and kind nature are the qualities that are important to our work, and we will provide you with any training or awareness raising that will help you in your role as a volunteer.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact:

Sally Thurston – volunteer coordinator

T: 07731 806538

E: sallythurston@sfht.org.uk

Discover our volunteering opportunities

Activity support volunteer

Locations: The Stables, Gifted, The Bradbury Centre

Support, encourage and assist people to participate fully in activities at our day services. Activities include arts and crafts, cookery, dance and drama, gardening, life skills, pottery and woodwork.

Events support volunteer

Locations: The Stables

Support our fundraising event operations throughout the year by helping with refreshments, car parking, logistics, selling our handmade items and garden produce or simply baking cakes for sale.

Gardening support volunteer

Locations: The Stables, Gifted, The Bradbury Centre

Help to nurture plants for sale, tend outdoor spaces and create a welcoming, safe, and uplifting environment for the people we support and our visitors.

Admin support volunteer

Locations: The Stables

Use your admin skills to provide support for our operational teams and help to ensure the smooth running of our services.

Apply to Volunteer

If you have any queries when completing either the Pdf or Online Application Forms, please contact Sally Thurston/Volunteer Co-Ordinator:
Mobile: 07731 806538 / Office: 01425 485096
Email: sallythurston@sfht.org.uk

Fill out the form and press send

Download, fill out and email it to us

Volunteering FAQs

There is a range of different roles you can choose as a volunteer with SFHT, for example:

  • Support a range of activity and therapeutic groups at one of our three day services sites.
  • Provide retail support at our Gifted cafe in Highcliffe or at the Bradbury Centre in Southbourne
  • Accompany service users on group trips or activities
  • Help to maintain plant and garden areas at one of our three sites.
  • Help out at our fundraising events throughout the year
  • Provide admin support to assist the smooth running of our operations.
  • Support SFHT to raise awareness of learning disability through events or campaigning.
  • If you have a skill you’d like to share, or an interest in a particular area of our work, please email volunteer coordinator sallythurston@sfht.org.uk to see how you can get involved.

All volunteers at SFHT are asked to commit to our volunteering agreement which sets out expectations and responsibilities and helps to ensure that we provide you with a safe and enjoyable volunteering experience.

Yes, please do let us know if you need any support in completing an application form, or require information in a different format, by emailing volunteer coordinator sallythurston@sfht.org.uk

To volunteer in a one-to-one role supporting someone with a learning disability you will need to be 18 or over. There is no upper age limit for our volunteers.

At the Trust, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive charity, where everyone feels that they belong, regardless of their differences or background. All our colleagues and volunteers are expected to demonstrate our values in their work and approach with our clients – Choice, Collaboration, Respect, Safety and Trust.

Please get in touch so we can talk about your skills and preferences, and any additional support or adjustments you may need.

A DBS check is carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service and looks at whether you have a criminal record. A DBS check is free for volunteers and we will arrange it for you and support you through the process.

Yes! Some of our volunteering opportunities are for one-off activities, such as our fundraising social events which are held throughout the year.

Volunteering should not affect your benefits, but we recommend that you ask for advice from the Job Centre or your employment advisor.

No – we will reimburse agreed out-of-pocket expenses that you may incur whilst volunteering, for example the cost of your travel.

If your initial application is successful we will invite you to an informal interview to ensure that the role will be right for you.

If your volunteer role involves supporting people with a learning disability, we will ask you to provide references.

Yes. You can ask for a reference after six months of volunteering with us if you need one for a job or college application

We hope to have volunteers start within four weeks of application, but sometimes DBS checks and references mean that it can take longer.

You will receive a comprehensive induction and any training that you need to feel confident in your role.

For one-off volunteering activities you will receive a full briefing before your event.

You will have regular contact with your volunteer coordinator who will offer support and guidance with any aspect of your role.

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