We’re always looking for new people to get involved!
What have our volunteers been up to lately?
Our volunteers Aman and Marie-Helene replaced the tired and dark curtains in our kitchen with translucent window film, making the area fresher and the whole kitchen brighter, and then added privacy film to the internal window in the Small Office, having already honed their skills in the Small Hall last autumn.
Thank you to our experts in this very fiddly task!
Want to join our volunteer team or find out more? Register your interest by filling in a Volunteering Application Form.
| TASK | DETAILS | SKILLS REQUIRED |
|---|---|---|
| Keyholding | Open and close rooms/centre as needed or on a rota basis | Live locally |
| Management Committee | Attend monthly meetings, help decide on the future of the centre and steering of the day to day running of the centre | No specific skills required just a willingness and enthusiasm to help and if anyone has experience in accountancy and governance this will be useful |
| Maintenance | From changing light bulbs, moving furniture and basic DIY to decorating and general small building works | General DIY and/or professional skills in plumbing, carpentry or electrics. Familiarity with building services standards [H&S requirements, gas, electricity, water, etc] an advantage |
| Gardening | Beautifying and general maintenance; weeding, planting and watering flowers and/or vegetables. Also garden design | No specific skills |
| Marketing/PR | To help with designing and producing a marketing/branding strategy for the Centre | Knowledge and experience of marketing and/or PR |
| Events | To help devise and deliver a range of events across the year to run elements of the event on the day e.g. run a stall, help in the kitchen | No formal skills required but if you have some experience in organising events at work or in the community your skills would be very welcome. First Aid or Fire Marshal certificates would be great but not essential |
| Lunch Club | A variety of jobs: plan a menu, order and/or collect ingredients, cook on the day, oversee kitchen during cooking and service, serve attendees with food, chat with attendees, help setup and clear away tables, liaise with local business to support the lunch club with donations or support | No formal skills required but for cooks: Food safety knowledge. Experience in cooking food for large groups would be helpful as are good communication skills |
| Befriender | Attend activities such as the Community Soup Café and offer a listening ear to attendees who may be attending alone. Facilitate conversation between attendees. | Good listening skills; understanding and empathy with the needs of older people. |
| Fundraising | Assist with or lead on completing funding applications, assist or lead on finding funding opportunities. Raise ideas for fundraising activities | No formal skills required but a knowledge or experience of fundraising, bid writing or research would be very helpful |
| Business Planning | To help the Committee develop and deliver a 5 year business plan, work with the Committee to ensure the Centre is meeting its business objectives and to look at new ways of attracting clients/users to the Centre | Experience of working in business development, developing business plans, understanding of running a not-for-profit organisation, excellent communication skills |
| Treasurer | Assume overall responsibility for HVCA finances and support HVCA’s external accountants to prepare the annual financial statements | Ideally an accountancy or book-keeping background |
| Class/workshop Leader | To lead sessions in arts/crafts, singing, sports or any other hobby or educational topic | Knowledge or experience in activity or topic, enthusiasm and leadership |
| Project Manager | To help implement plans for a regular free community café and instigate outreach plans to engage local charities and businesses | Good organisational skills, personable. Project management experience would be helpful |