Courses for volunteers will be delivered online 

We are very excited to have finalised the dates for our next round of volunteer preparation courses. We will be delivering two courses, starting the week commencing 14th September. We have decided to once again, run our courses online and will be delivering ten, one hour a week sessions to people who want to become a home visiting volunteer in The Forest of Dean, Cheltenham or Tewkesbury areas of Gloucestershire. 

Home visiting volunteers, once trained will spend two or three hours a week working with families that need a little bit of extra support. There are many reasons why families need some extra support, it may be they are socially isolated, have financial issues, have no close friends or family nearby, or are dealing with physical or mental health needs. Our volunteers spend time each week with the families they work with, offering emotional and practical help and support.

The benefits of volunteering as a home visiting volunteer are numerous. Our training is high quality and allows people to upskill and is regarded highly on CV’s for people wanting to change careers or move in a new direction with a relevant focus. Our volunteers always comment on the fantastic support they receive from their Coordinators and that they are made to feel like an integral part of the charity and the work we do, which of course they are. The social opportunities for volunteers is an important reason why many retired people volunteer their time as volunteering with us opens up a brand new social circle of friends and colleagues. Of course, the rewards that come from helping a family in need are knowing that you have made a real difference to a child or children and have been an important part of ensuring they have the childhood they deserve. We pay all out of pocket expenses for volunteers. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and all have different reasons for wanting to volunteer. Volunteers range from young first time parents to retired people and everyone in between. 

Home Start North and West Gloucestershire covers The Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury areas and the families we support all live in these areas, therefore our volunteers will need to be fairly local to one of these areas or able to travel to one of these areas weekly, once trained. 

Our course equips volunteers with everything they need to know about helping families once trained, our volunteers receive ongoing support and training if required. We have decided to run the courses online in September due to the uncertainty around Covid-19. Our online courses have proven very popular as it allows people with children at home much more flexibility and cuts out the travel time to the course location. It also means people who are still a little unsure about venturing out into the outside world just yet, can still participate and learn valuable new skills in preperation for the future.

We will be running two courses from September and because these will be online, we are able to offer morning, afternoon or evening sessions, to cater for people with work and childcare commitments. We will decide which of the two course you will be placed on based on your location within Gloucestershire and even though the courses will be online, you will still have the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends, and once we deem it safe, we will aim to have some face to face meetings too. 

If you are interested in becoming a home visiting volunteer (or know someone who might be), please do get in touch (Facebook, email, telephone) to book your spot. We anticipate that places will fill up fast on these courses. 

https://www.facebook.com/hsnwglos/

enquiries@homestartnwglos.org.uk

07584472025