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Volunteers

Volunteers can change lives. Are you looking for a life changing experience? Volunteering with the Westminster Society for People with Learning Disabilities could change yours for the better.

Volunteering with us will give you:

• The opportunity to make a difference
• The opportunity to give something back to your local community
• Gain new life experiences
• Make new friends
• Learn new skills
• Gain work experience

We welcome and benefit from the wealth of life experience, skills and diversity that volunteers bring to our organisation.

Volunteers are an integral part of our support teams. The enthusiasm, energy, commitment and sensitivity expressed by our volunteers enhances the quality and strength of our support.

Befriending in particular is a rewarding and challenging role. Many of the individuals who access, or live in one of our services enjoy going out or taking part in events but are unable to do so because of limited staffing. We are looking for people who would make a commitment to one of our service users to take them out on a regular basis (once a week or fortnight for example) to an activity that both of you will enjoy. Examples of this in the past have included going out to Football matches, to the cinema or just to walk around Hyde Park. We would provide support for you and would make sure that you were paired with someone with similar interests.

Volunteers are not used as cheap labour or a replacement for paid workers. By choosing to spend time with a person who has a learning disability, you can offer something different from paid workers or relatives, such as friendship and a wider access to the community.

No experience of working with people with learning disabilities is necessary. You will be well supported and not asked to do anything you feel unsure about.

You can find out more about volunteering with The Westminster Society in our Volunteer Handbook.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please email Emma Rickards or call 020 8968 7376.

We offer Volunteers:

• A choice of different and varied volunteering opportunities
• Open and fair volunteer recruitment procedures
• An interview based on equal opportunities principles
• A thorough induction to ensure clarity of roles, including health and safety, responsibilities (ours and yours) and a general welcoming
• The services of a Volunteer Co-ordinator whose sole responsibility is the recruitment, placement and ensuring support of volunteers within the Westminster Society's services
• Regular support and feedback from a named person within individual services
• A grievance and complaints procedure
• Training for volunteers on supporting people with a disability, Makaton, first aid, epilepsy, medication etc., as well as access to the Westminster Society's own extensive training programme
• Insurance cover
• References
• Out of pocket expenses
• A rewarding challenge

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