Voluntary Action South West Surrey

CAFOD is looking for people to visit Catholic Schools to deliver a lively presentation about its work and mission.  Volunteers can specialise in either Primary or Secondary schools.

CAFOD will provide support and training and will supply suitable materials to deliver the presentations.

The opportunity is during school hours with times to suit the school and the volunteer. On average one visit a month is required.

The work also involves contacting the allocated schools, negotiating arrangements for visits, and following up with any necessary correspondence.

For further information please click on the Sign up button.

Food Bank Delivery Driver

    Commitment – 2-4 shifts per month, 1-2 hours per shift

Vacancies for –

• 2 drivers on Tuesdays 1 – 2.30pm
• 1 driver on Wednesdays 9:15 – 11 am
• 3 drivers on Fridays 4:45 – 6:30 pm
• Plus additional shifts to cover high demand in December

Minimum term – 6 months - however if you can only help in the short term in December, we would really appreciate it
Location – St Clare’s Church, Park Barn

Summary
As a volunteer driver you will support our work of helping those in food crisis in our community. You will be responsible for collecting food parcels from our base at St Clare’s and delivering them to clients’ homes in Guildford and surrounding villages. You will be a compassionate and reliable individual who wants to make a difference in our community.

Responsibilities
     ● Commit to your allocated shifts and where possible, step in if a call for additional support is made (during particularly busy periods)
     ● Delivery of food parcels from the food bank to clients’ homes, using your own car.
     ● Load and unload parcels with care and ensure the correct parcels are delivered, in good condition.
     ● Provide a friendly and respectful face of the food bank.
     ● Provide each client with brief information on our signposting tool and any fuel support that is appropriate to their situation.
     ● Maintain client confidentiality within the food bank
     ● Update your Team Leader with the status of each parcel and any follow up needed with each client.

Essential for the role

    ● UK driving licence
    ● Ability to lift and carry food parcels up to 10kg
    ● Respectful, compassionate and sensitive to the needs of vulnerable people
    ● Punctual and reliable
    ● Must pass Basic DBS check
    ● Knowledge of the local area is helpful but not essential.

Fuel team member

Commitment – 1-2 shifts per month, up to 6 hours, spread over the first couple of days of the week.

Vacancies for –

         1 fuel team member

Volunteer role – unpaid
Minimum term – 6 months
Location – Your home

Summary
As a member of our fuel team you will ensure that food bank clients who have prepayment meters are referred for a fuel voucher, where needed, given by our partner organisation the Fuel Bank Foundation. You will ensure our tracking spreadsheets are kept up to date and will contact clients about their fuel top ups by phone and text (using a food bank phone) to ensure that we have accurate information about their situation.

Key responsibilities
     ● Keep up to date with training on fuel processes internally and with Fuel Bank Foundation
     ● Follow fuel team processes and flag any client issues to the food bank administration team
     ● Speak to clients with respect and without judgement
     ● Answer fuel team emails and "fuel phone" when on shift

Essential for the role
      ● Friendly, approachable and empathetic manner
      ● Good listening skills with the ability to communicate respectfully

      ● Non-judgemental attitude and awareness of the challenges clients may be facing
      ● Access at home to a desktop or laptop
      ● Confident using apps and spreadsheets for tracking client data
      ● Good at problem solving
      ● Able to follow a standard process
      ● Work in an organised way
      ● Reliable and enjoy working as part of a team
      ● Willingness to attend meetings with the fuel team, either in person or online.
      ● Ability to remain calm in sometimes emotionally charged situations.
      ● Dedicated to working to support our Charity’s mission and Christian values
      ● Able to drive to meet other volunteers - we have a shared phone that needs passing on as the rota changes

Desirable

      Live within easy reach of the central Guildford area

Food Bank Cafe Listener

Commitment – 2-4 shifts per month, 1-2 hours per shift

Vacancies for –

           2 cafe listeners on Fridays 4:45 – 6:45 pm

Volunteer role – unpaid
Minimum term – 6 months
Location – St Clare’s Church, Park Barn

Summary
As a cafe listener you will support our work of helping those in food crisis in our community. You will provide a warm and friendly welcome for individuals and families (clients) collecting their food parcels from the food bank. Your role will be to offer refreshments, listen without judgement, complete referral forms for fuel support, help signpost clients to relevant support services and to offer prayer.

Key responsibilities

• Greet clients warmly when they arrive to collect their food parcels Offer drinks and a listening ear.
• Provide a non-judgemental listening ear, for those who wish to talk, so clients feel valued.
• Identify the most appropriate fuel support and complete the relevant fuel referral form.
• Provide signposting information, aided by our online signposting tool.
• Bring any queries that you cannot answer to the session team leader.
• Ask clients if they have anything that they would like the team prayer for at the end of the session.
• Maintain client confidentiality within the food bank setting.
• Follow the food bank safeguarding policy at all times.

Essential for the role

• Friendly, approachable and empathetic manner.
• Good listening skills with the ability to communicate respectfully.
• Non-judgemental attitude and awareness of the challenges clients may be facing.
• Reliability and the ability to work as part of a team.
• Willingness to attend training outside of normal food bank hours (no more than once per term).
• Ability to remain calm in sometimes emotionally charged situations.
• Dedicated to working to support our Charity’s mission and Christian values.

Food Bank Team Leader

Commitment – 2-3 shifts per month, 

• 3-4 hours per shift
• 1-2 hrs prep day before shift and 
• 30-45 mins after the session finishes
• 2 hour Team Leader meeting every 2-3 months

Vacancies for – 2 Team Leaders - Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday

Volunteer role – unpaid

Minimum term – 6 months - following training of 3-4 sessions

Location – St Clare’s Church, Park Barn

Summary

As a Team Leader you are responsible for running a client session. You will be well organised, a clear communicator and able to keep calm whilst coping with multiple demands on your time during a session. You will be the main point of contact between the Food Bank Manager and volunteers.

Key responsibilities

• keeping up to date with recent food bank communications 
• preparing packing sheets for your upcoming client session
• unlocking and securing the building at the start and end of the client session
• ensuring you have the correct number of volunteers in relation to expected client numbers
• ensuring all team members are clear on what is expected of them during the session and providing them with recent food bank updates with respect to packing and talking to clients
• keeping track of parcels being packed, including relevant dietary requirements. 
• monitoring clients arriving and following up with the Food Bank Administrator when queries arise during the session.
• ensuring all cafe listeners have the opportunity to download what they have heard and ensuring that any specific needs are offered in prayer (prayer can be done by another member of the team; the download and prayer are key to our work)
• sending in fuel voucher and fuel advice referral forms and completing a session report following the closure of your session.
• feeding back suggested areas for improvement in the way we work
• maintaining client confidentiality within the food bank setting.
• following the food bank safeguarding policy at all times.

Essential for the role

• Well organised
• Confident with email and Whatsapp communication and accessing information on spreadsheets
• Friendly, approachable and empathetic manner
• Good listening skills with the ability to communicate respectfully
• Non-judgemental attitude and awareness of the challenges clients may be facing
• Reliability and the ability to work as part of a team
• Willingness to attend training outside of normal food bank hours (no more than once per term)
• Ability to remain calm in sometimes emotionally charged situations
• Dedicated to working to support our Charity’s mission and Christian values

Food Bank Sort Team member

Commitment – 2-4 shifts per month, 3-4 hours per shift

Vacancies for –

• 3 team members Monday 8.30 - 11.30

• Plus additional and longer shifts to cover high level of donations from late Sept - Dec

Minimum term – 6 months 

Location – St Clare’s Church, Park Barn

Summary

As part of a friendly, committed team, you will support our work of helping those in food crisis in our community, . You will be responsible for setting up and helping with the smooth running of the Monday sort session. You will be a compassionate and reliable individual who wants to make a difference in our community.

Responsibilities

• Commit to your allocated shifts and where possible, step in if a call for additional support is made (during particularly busy periods)

• Arrive promptly to help set up for the weekly donation sort

• Help with unloading supermarket deliveries and moving them into food bank stock

• Follow safe lifting practices to move crates of food to ensure date control of food products

• Greet donors who deliver donations to us

• Be proactive in ensuring all tasks are completed before leaving at the end of your shift.

• Provide a friendly and respectful face of the food bank.

Essential for the role

• Ability to lift and carry crates of approx 10kg
• Commitment to following safe lifting procedures
• Ability to work as part of a team, under the direction of a team leader.
• Punctual, reliable and practical