Volunteer for Home-Start

By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.

Be a Home-Start volunteer

No special qualifications are necessary to become a Home-Start volunteer, but volunteers are usually parents or grandparents with an interest in, and experience of, young children and family life. We welcome volunteers from all sections of the community.

Talking and listening can empower families to overcome their difficult situations. Volunteers are offered on-going training and support activities including specialist speakers and visits to family support services, as well as informal social gatherings.

Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.

What it takes to be a Home-Start Volunteer

 

  • As a Home-Start volunteer you will support a family by visiting them at home for around two to three hours once a week.
  • You should be able to commit at least one year of your time to Home-Start.
  • You should have a non-judgmental attitude and understand about the pressures of bringing up a family.
  • You will have to attend our free Volunteer Preparation Course with other new volunteers before meeting your first family.
  • When visiting a family travel expense are paid.
  • You must understand that your support for families is completely confidential.
  • You will have to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check at enhanced level.
  • You will meet regularly with, and be supported by, one of our co-ordinators during the time you are visiting families.

Do you have what it takes to be a Home-Start volunteer?  Are you keen to help parents and children in your community? Please download an application form to start your journey transforming lives in your area. Two versions of the form are available, the MS Word version you can download and edit, the PDF version you can download and print. 

Volunteering Application Form (MS Word)Volunteering Application Form (PDF)

Volunteer stories

Why Volunteer?

There are many reasons to join us, including:

  • Volunteers often talk about the personal satisfaction they get from their experience. You will be contributing to your local community, supporting young children during their most important early years.
  • You will receive high quality, free training, as well as the opportunity for ongoing formal training.
  • Many volunteers use their Home-Start experience to start or progress a career and enhance their CV.
  • Just two hours of spare time a week can make a lasting difference for a child, a parent, a family in your area.

 

Training to be a Home-Start Telford & Wrekin volunteer

Our volunteers undergo a full training programme before being matched with a family or with one of our groups.

Volunteers will learn about health and wellbeing, child development, child protection, mental health, domestic abuse,  community projects and a number of key areas of our specific services.

A programme of support and supervision, as well as ongoing developmental training, is in place throughout the year.

 

Volunteer testimonials

My experience of working alongside everyone at Home-Start Telford & Wrekin has been absolutely amazing!

Volunteer

We all seem to have had lots of experiences, some similar and some different which has made the sessions very interesting by being able to listen to everyone’s views and share my own.

Volunteer

I am loving being a volunteer with Home-Start Telford & Wrekin.

Volunteer

Other ways to volunteer for Home-Start

 

Share your time and skills to help our work

If being a home-visiting volunteer isn’t for you, you may be able to help us in other ways. Many people have volunteered their time and skills for:

  • supporting family groups & outings
  • administration work
  • music, craft and storytelling
  • healthy eating sessions
  • fundraising
  • digital promotion
  • and so much more

You may also be able to help in ways we haven’t thought about yet.
So if you want to get involved, get in touch and let us know what you have in mind.

 

Join us as a Trustee to help shape the future of our work with families

Our Trustees provide essential leadership, guidance and governance from their own professional or lived experiences. They also play an important role as ambassadors for our work and can offer particular skills to the organisation (like human resources, information management or finance, for example). We welcome interest from those who can be passionate about our work with parents, children, families and the community.

Importantly, the Board of Trustees should reflect the communities in which we work. We already benefit from a variety of skills, experiences and backgrounds and now need to add to that dynamic and creative team.

The minimum commitment as a Trustee is for 8 – 10 hours each month, to attend meetings or to engage in Board discussions via email and online forums. Further opportunities to get involved are possible too, so we can be flexible to suit individual motivations to volunteer.

Would you be interested in becoming a Home-Start Champion?

About the opportunity

Specifically, we are looking for PR & Communication/Fundraising/Digital Champions to:

  • Be a point of contact for Home-Start within your networks or workplace
  • Champion the work of Home-Start within your networks or workplace
  • Give information to fellow colleagues/contacts on how to contact
    Home-Start
  • Organise fund raising activities for Home-Start within your networks or workplace

By volunteering for us as a Home-Start Champion you will be making an essential contribution to our important work to support local families with a child under the age of five. We are looking for creative Community Champions who can reach out to new audiences. We require support to widen the reach of Home-Start within local businesses and the wider community. Champions will need to be self-motivated, articulate and be able to promote the work of Home-Start at work, to their own networks and to the wider community.

Become a Home-Start Telford & Wrekin Volunteer Today

Home-Start’s team of trained volunteers make sure a child’s early years count. By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.

 

Find out moreVolunteer application form