Our vision is to provide volunteers from the local community with a rewarding, supported and high quality volunteering experience which is mutually beneficial for the volunteer and the Council and community at large.
All volunteer motivations and aspirations must be considered including those who may wish to volunteer as a hobby, put something back into the community in which they live, fulfil a personal interest, learn new skills, meet new people and undertake volunteering as a valuable form of work experience or training.
Therefore it is important that there are a range of volunteering opportunities both short and long term, which are flexible and with no barriers to entry or exit.
To deliver a successful volunteering offer teams in the Council need to have the right infrastructure and capacity in place to ensure volunteers are well informed and organised. It is paramount their working environment is safe with good welfare standards and the work of volunteers is worthwhile, valued and supported.
Volunteering should be accessible to all with an efficient pathway from the initial enquiry to starting. Volunteering suitable for all ages, ethnicities, abilities and disabilities and backgrounds is fundamental.
Our current volunteering opportunities are below, if you would like to support the following schemes, please click on to the "Fill in an application" option on the the top right hand corner of this page.
Digital Champions - Dagenham Community Hub
Are you Interested in helping people use the internet? With so many people within Barking & Dagenham who struggle to use the internet or using their devices, we can support them in achieving their goals, whether it happens to be accessing Council services online, booking GP appointments, communicating with family and friends or even shopping online.
We are looking for willing and able volunteers to assist in running of sessions for our residents at the Dagenham Community Hub (Dagenham Library) and to keep them up to speed with the latest technology. Our volunteers will be able to offer the following services:
We need volunteers who have:
You must be:
Digital Champions will learn how to:
Benefits of the role:
Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn and develop their customer service and communication skills. We will provide training and support for the role via the Council’s learning portal that include:
Travel expenses:
Travel expenses will be reimbursed
Recognition:
We are happy to provide a certificate of recognition after you have volunteered with us for 3 months.
Please click here to apply.
Volunteer Role Description
Supporting residents to register with a GP practice.
This role is intended to help residents of the borough who are not registered with a GP practice to register. Pop up venues will be set up in community hubs to allow residents to enquire about how to register. Initially the pop-up locations will be at Barking Learning Centre and Dagenham Library.
Role purpose:
Training:
Please click here to apply.
Mentoring with One Million Mentors
Can you understand the challenges a young person is facing and see things from their point of view?
Can you offer advice or even just encouragement?
If so, then you have what it takes to be a mentor.
1MM mentoring empowers young people to become the best version of themselves. We build relationships - free of assumption and judgement - where people benefit from one another's experience and perspective. Mentoring helps people to think bigger, find their own answers and take the next meaningful step into their future.
We recruit, train and deploy volunteer mentors, matching them with mentees and providing high quality support to both so that they are well prepared and can have an effective and impactful mentoring relationship.
Our mentoring is one to one, for young people aged 14-25 years old, for 1 hour, once a month, for up to a year.
If you are interested, click here to sign up! ✨
What will I do?
We are looking for Mentors in Barking and Dagenham to take part in our October programme launch at Barking and Dagenham College.
We would particularly love to hear from mentors with experience and knowledge that would help them to support a young person with an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) although being currently employed in one of these industries is not a requirement.
What skills do I develop?
What do I need to do?
Please click here to apply.
Independent Living Agency
Stay Well Stay Safe- Healthy Futures Project
Are you sociable? Do you enjoy helping others? Our project requires volunteers who can share their time and experience with disabled people who are trying to make healthy lifestyle changes.
Our project has three objectives:
As a volunteer, your responsibilities include:
This may seem like a lot of responsibility, but these tasks will be done by different volunteers. Depending on what your Match is interested in and where you feel your skills are more useful, you’ll be trained to provide support in a specific area rather than doing everything yourself.
For more information on the different roles for volunteers, scan the QR code or follow the link below to view our Volunteer Handbook:
What support and benefits can I expect as a Volunteer with the Stay Well Stay Safe- Healthy Futures Project?
* Based on an agreed time period and outcomes.
For more information, scan the QR code or visit our website to access our Volunteer Handbook
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Redbridge Respite Care - Activities Coordinator
Are you Interested in helping with activities?
Are you interested in helping others join in with activities, helping them bring out their creative side. We are looking for willing and able volunteers to assist with activities in a Dementia Day centre to help service users keep their minds active.
We need volunteers who have:
You must be:
Activity coordinator will learn how to:
Benefits of the role:
Volunteers will have the opportunity to bring joy and excitement to those in need and to learn new ways to communicate in a way so others can understand.
Travel expenses:
Travel expenses will be reimbursed.
Job References:
We are happy to provide a reference after you have volunteered with us for 3 months.
Please click here to apply.
Redbridge Respite Care - Telephone Befriender
Are you Interested in being a phone befriender?
Are you interested in helping others by becoming a phone befriender. This involves calling an individual who has been diagnosed with Dementia or Mental Health to have a chat to alleviate loneliness.
We are looking for willing and able volunteers to assist with phone befriending on a one-to-one basis offering your time and support over the phone. This can be a call once a week or however much you see fit.
We need volunteers who have:
You must be:
Phone befriender will learn how to:
Benefits of the role:
Volunteers will have the opportunity to bring joy and excitement to those in need, by supporting and encouraging those who are social isolated due to medical conditions.
Phone call expenses:
Phone call expenses will be reimbursed.
Job References:
We are happy to provide a reference after you have volunteered with us for 3 months.
Please click here to apply.