Our volunteers have a vital role to play by delivering memorable and enjoyable tours and providing a warm welcome and excellent customer service to our visitors. We are open throughout the week and welcome a wide range of customers who are interested to find out more about this beautiful historic building.

Overview:

Little Holland House is a unique Arts & Crafts style house in Carshalton Beeches. It was designed and built by Frank Dickinson, between 1902 and 1904, who lived there with his wife Florence and their two children. It is now owned and opened to the public by the London Borough of Sutton. We are looking for volunteers to help us share the special story of the Dickinson family and their unique home, by welcoming visitors and tour groups on our public open days and pre-booked visits.

Our volunteers have a vital role to play in delivering memorable and enjoyable tours and providing a warm welcome and excellent customer service to our visitors. We open regularly on the last Sunday of the month, and also offer the option of pre-booked tours throughout the week to groups who are interested to find out more about this beautiful historic building.

When:

Tours take place once per month on a Sunday. There may also be the opportunity to volunteer on Special Open Days and some evenings.

Where:

Little Holland Houses, Beeches Avenue, Carshalton, SM5 3LW

Benefits to you:

• Opportunities to meet new people and be part of our friendly team

• A chance to share your knowledge and enthusiasm.

• Learn new skills and enhance current skills.

• Improve your CV and future job prospects.

• Help to preserve and promote local heritage and a beautiful and unique building

Main tasks: (training will be provided)

• To meet and greet customers to the house and provide an overview of its history and answer any queries they may have.

• Deliver tours to a wide range of people including general visitors and scheduled exclusive out-of-hours tours.

• Learn and retell the stories of the house, the gifted Frank Dickinson and his family.

• Recognise and assist visitors who may need help to ensure they have a memorable, comfortable and enjoyable visit.

• Play a part in safeguarding the property and the objects within it.

• Follow health and safety procedures to ensure the safety of our visitors.

• Assist with setting out and serving refreshments as part of the focussed tour groups.

Skills Required :

• Warm, polite, enthusiastic and friendly manner

• The confidence and ability to talk to groups of people of all ages and backgrounds

• Ability to convey information in an enjoyable and accessible way and respond to questions

• Enthusiasm for meeting and chatting with people.

• Interest in the local area and willingness to learn more about local history

Little Holland House is a unique Arts & Crafts style house in Carshalton Beeches. It was designed and built by Frank Dickinson, between 1902 and 1904, who lived there
with his wife Florence and their two children. It is now owned and opened to the
public by the London Borough of Sutton. The garden is integral to the history and
story of the house and the Dickinson family, with some original planting, like the pear
tree, Frank and Florence received as a wedding gift in 1904, still very much growing.
We are looking for volunteers to help us keep the history and spirit of the Dickinson
garden alive, as we share the house and garden with the community on our public
open days.

Main tasks:

We are looking for volunteers to assist us in clearing and replanting the garden, which will involve a range of tasks including:

● Weeding, pruning and general garden maintenance.

● Assisting with replanting and a chance to be involved with research on a

  historic garden

● Helping to prepare the garden for open days

Skills required:

You don’t need to be an expert but some gardening experience would be
useful
● Enthusiasm for helping to care for a local history and heritage interest garden
● Interest in the local area and its history
● A proactive and positive attitude
● You should be physically fit and able to lift, bend and kneel

When:

The amount of work will vary with the seasons but approximately 2-3 hours per week on a date to be arranged.

Where:

Little Holland House, 40 Beeches Avenue, Carshalton SM5 3LW.

Benefits to you:

● Opportunities to meet new people and be part of our friendly team

● Sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm to make a difference to our visitors

● Gain a sense of pride and satisfaction from helping restore an important

  local garden

● Help to preserve and promote local heritage. Support offered: We are fully

  committed to ensuring that volunteers have a positive experience and are fully supported. You will receive training and induction for this role, and ongoing support from a member of the museum staff.

● Personal wellbeing through physical activity, being outside and connecting
with others
● Tea, coffee (or similar) and biscuits / cake

Support offered:
We are fully committed to ensuring that volunteers have a positive experience and
are fully supported. You will receive training and induction for this role, and ongoing
support from a member of the Sutton Cultural Services Heritage team. All tools and
equipment will be provided.

Availability

- Thursdays

- Fridays

Sutton Council’s Cultural Services are always looking into more ways we can help the public and their computer skills. Through a series of programs, we aim to make our community more digitally inclusive, providing support and knowledge to those who find difficulty in the everyday systems that most take for granted. We also promote digital and health literacy within the borough. 

Skills Required

• Have a good command of basic IT skills

• Familiar with popular apps/software such as Email, Internet browsing, Microsoft Office 

• Have excellent communication skills 

• Confidence to talk to people of all ages and backgrounds

• Are patient and attentive to people’s needs 

• Are understanding and respectful 

• Are able to express professional terminology in simple terms

• Helping to promote the NHS app, Sutton Information Hub, and other health literary offers within the borough

Main Tasks

• Advising users on beginner digital queries

• Providing instruction to users in line with digital exercises

• Leading small groups of users in preset digital exercises 

• Assisting users to navigate computers, smart devices, and/or internet sites 

• Supporting some users to develop basic IT skills 

• Helping to facilitate sessions focused on digital instruction

• Helping to develop activities for sessions focused on digital instruction 

• Helping to promote the sessions

Benefits

• Opportunities to meet new people and be part of our friendly team

• A chance to share your knowledge of digital apps/software with those who would have a lot less knowledge than you

• Develop new skills in communication and leadership

• Improve your CV and future job prospects

• Access to tea & coffee refreshments

• Invitation to regular volunteer social get-togethers

When:

Times and dates to be agreed, subject to availability.

Where:

Location within Sutton to be agreed, subject to availability. 

Apply via the website.

https://www.sutton.gov.uk/volunteers

Our Rhymetime Sessions encourage and develop interaction, language and listening skills in 0-3 year olds. We are looking for a volunteer who could help bring songs and rhymes to life for the children and encourage social and language skills. This is a fun and rewarding volunteering role.

Main Tasks

• To support a member of our library team to set up the space and select the toys and books for the Rhymetime Session.
• This is a physical task which includes setting out 30 chairs and stacking them at the end of the session and also includes moving tables and lifting boxes of toys and equipment for the session.
• Support the Rhymetime leader to encourage the children and families to join in the activities and most importantly have fun.
• To learn the actions and words to a number of songs and rhymes to share with the Rhymetime participants.
• At the end of the session you would help out clearing the space as detailed above.

Skills Required

• The ability to engage with families and young children in a positive and friendly manner.
• The ability to learn a number of songs and actions to then share with others.
• A confident manner and the willingness to assist families and children.
• The willingness to help lift and carry toys and equipment to help set up and clear away the space for the session.
• Reliable and able to make a regular commitment to this weekly role.

When:

Various times and dates available - to be agreed with the volunteer.

Where:

Various libraries deliver this session - to be agreed with the volunteer.

Benefits to you: 

• Opportunities to meet new people
• Learn new and enhance current skills working with young children
• Improve your CV and future job prospects;
• Gain a sense of pride and satisfaction from helping others in your local community

Roles available at the following sites:

- Sutton Central Library: Monday & Wednesday Morning 

- Wallington: Friday Morning 

- Cheam Library: Wednesday Morning 

- Worcester Park Library: Friday Morning 

- Circle Library: Friday Morning

- Library at the Phoenix Centre: Tuesday Morning 

- Library at the Westcroft Centre: Wednesday Morning 

- Library at the Sutton Life Centre: Wednesday Morning

Are you able to offer excellent customer service?

Do you enjoy interacting with members of the public?

Are you interested in historic houses, local history projects and museums? 

Our volunteers have a vital role to play by providing a warm welcome to customers, delivering memorable, enjoyable tours and offering excellent customer service to our visitors. We are open throughout the week and welcome a wide range of customers who are interested to find out more about this beautiful historic building located in Cheam Village.  

Main tasks:

Greet visitors and welcome them into this historic building.

Handle initial enquiries about group visits.

Answer any customer queries and/or signpost to a member of staff if necessary.

Assist with setting up children’s activities, creating displays and assisting with arranging the collections.

Keep the Museum neat and tidy and clear away the activities once completed.

Stewarding at special events and open days that the house may hold.

Assist with decorating the house at Seasonal events throughout the year.

Opportunities to be involved in digital activities; for example, photography, social media.

Deliver tours to a wide range of people including general visitors and scheduled exclusive out of hours tours.

Learn and retell the stories of the house and it’s fascinating history.

Follow health and safety procedures to ensure the safety of our visitors.

Operations Assistant Volunteer Role

• To assist with operational support functions, including the delivery of items and supporting the set-up of events and activities taking place across all Cultural Services buildings
• To provide reliable deliveries and messenger services to Cultural Services and other buildings where required, using a vehicle provided.
• To assist with the organisation's preparations and erection when required. This will include events and activities such as (but not limited to): exhibitions, adult and child events, pop up displays, and committee meetings.
• To ensure that you are responsible when driving any London Borough of Sutton vehicles. The post holder must ensure that any items that are being transported are handled with care.
• To focus on achieving the right outcomes and solutions and taking personal ownership of the quality and outcomes of work
• To behave with integrity with any customer or team member.
• Ensure all health and safety standards are adhered to for the relevant work.
• Ensure that all policies are being adhered to.

The London Borough of Sutton ensures that our community is at the heart of everything we do. We require a strong commitment to service excellence, service care, and continuous improvement for all of our customers.

We expect all of our volunteers to fulfil our PRIDE values in everything they do. The PRIDE values include:

• People Focussed - Ensure that we listen and support all of our customers
• Responsible - Lead by example and use your initiative to learn and be proactive
• Innovative - Think creatively and think of new ideas
• Diverse - Carefully consider your decisions and evaluate how it affects everyone
• Enterprising - Take advantage of new opportunities and support partnerships that lead to Sutton residents getting good value for their money

Are you looking for a challenge? Do you want to improve your CV and make a positive difference to the local community? If the answer is yes to all, we need you!

The London Borough of Sutton has recently teamed up with His Majesty's Courts & Tribunals (HMCT), which will allow volunteers to support members of the public by filling out online forms. Other roles will involve uploading documents and connecting people with local centres to receive additional support.

This role is not an advisory role. You will support with completing the 6 forms only; which are:

• Appeal a Benefit decision
• Submit a plea deal
• Online Civil Money Claim
• Help with Fees
• Divorce
• Probate

What benefits is this to you?

• You will receive intense training to do this role accurately
• Improve your CV
• You will meet new people
• You will be appointed to a Volunteer Supervisor who will have regular one-to-one meetings with you