Roles for Volunteers
When people ask what they could do as a volunteer, the short answer is - almost anything!
Volunteers work in every department. Some work directly with patients, others help in administrative roles. A large number work in our retail outlets, whilst others assist on an occasional basis with fundraising activities.
Every single person who volunteers for the Hospice, in whatever role they undertake, is directly helping their Island community in need. Now, wouldn’t that be a good feeling?
Location, location, location!
Not all tasks are based at the Hospice – Drivers and escorts, for instance, are community roles. Fundraising administration and gardening are away from patient areas. The retail outlets are based in town centres and there are other tasks, such as leaflet delivery and distribution of promotional goods, and fundraising events supporters (such as Walk the Wight), where help is required on a more occasional basis.
Currently the Hospice has specific vacancies in the following roles:
Café Assistant
We are recruiting volunteers to help the existing team in our new café which is situated in the recently opened EMH John Cheverton Centre on the Hospice site. If you enjoy meeting the public and working in an upbeat and friendly environment this is likely to appeal to you. Catering experience would be an advantage but is not essential as full training will be given.
Volunteer Complementary Therapists
We are looking for fully qualified and insured complementary therapists skilled in any of the following areas:
Massage
Reflexology
Aromatherapy
Retail Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers to help in the following retail outlets:
Donation and Distribution Centre:
TREASURE HUNTERS NEEDED!
Our busy Donation & Distribution Centre, on the Riverway Estate, Newport, is looking for enthusiastic and curious people to come and volunteer some of their time to hunt out treasures for the Hospice to sell. Any items that cannot be sold are recycled. If you like the idea of searching through our donations to find high value items we can send to our shops and sell on Ebay then please get in touch. It’s a great way of keeping busy and active too. No experience is necessary as full training will be given. However, if you have a specific interest in, or knowledge of, a particular area such as fashion, books, vintage items, jewellery, recycling etc we will be pleased to place you in a specific department.
House clearance and deliveries:
There are also vacancies for volunteers who are interested in helping out on our vans with house clearances and deliveries to our retail outlets across the Island. We are looking for people with furniture removal experience and a working knowledge of manual handling as some heavy lifting will be involved. As you will be visiting peoples’ homes, a Disclosure and Barring Service (formally Criminal Records Bureau) check will be required.
If you would enjoy being part of a friendly, hardworking team who are well known in the Hospice for their love of tea and cake then why not pop in for a tour of the Centre and a chat with Retail Team Leader, Kath Bright to find out more about what is involved.
Ryde Shop:
Monday afternoons.
Freshwater Shop:
Monday mornings, Tuesday mornings, Friday mornings and Saturday mornings & afternoons.
Ventnor Shop:
Thursday mornings, Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Cowes Shop:
Tuesdays and alternate Saturdays.
Newport Shop:
Lugley Street, Monday and Tuesday afternoons.
Since opening in June this shop has gone from strength to strength and has become a popular addition to the Newport shopping experience for many Islanders. The shop is modern and spacious with a wide variety of departments including clothing, furniture, home ware, toys and books. Our team of dedicated volunteers played a large part in the initial development and success of this outlet, we are looking for people to join this existing team to help maintain the professional and welcoming service that customers currently enjoy.
What roles can you choose from?
- Breakfast preparation (Ward)
- In-Patient Support (Ward)
- Chaplaincy Support
- Day Hospice Support
- Drivers
- Escorts for patients
- Fundraising Events Supporters
- Bereavement Support
- Fundraising Administration
- Donation sorters at the donation and Distribution Centre, Riverway Estate Newport and the East Cowes Shop
- Leaflet Distribution
- Macmillan Nurse Admin
- Complementary Therapists
- Pamperers
- Voluntary Services Admin
- Physiotherapy Aides
- Receptionists
- Retail Assistants - Newport, Ventnor, Cowes, Ryde, Wootton, Bembridge, East Cowes and Freshwater.
- Switchboard Operators
- Yellow Box Collectors
- John Cheverton Centre Cafe
Interested?
If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities, look at the Volunteering page for information about the Introduction Programmes we run and contact Voluntary Services on (01983) 528956 or Email: vols@iwhospice.org.
Fundraising volunteers
The Hospice has to fundraise £4,500 every day to continue to provide Hospice care to over 800 patients every year. So we are always grateful for voluntary help. This can take a variety of forms:
- We write over 6,000 thank you letters every year, and maintain an office taking lots of calls, so we are grateful for volunteers who are happy to help on a regular basis in the Fundraising Office.
- We also do lots of events in the community where we need help running stalls or marshalling.
- We have collection boxes and small toys which we need to distribute to shops and hotels and then go back later to collect the money
- We have mailings which need collating, enclosing and despatching.
- For particular events we often need help with specific skills, which may range from needlework and photography to carpentry and selling on Ebay.
- We co-ordinate the recycling of printer cartridges.
So some of these roles are regular, others occasional. Some are in the office and some out and about. Whatever suits you. And it is a very rewarding role. The Hospice has a very high reputation for care so we receive very positive feedback.
If you want more information about what is involved please ring Fundraising on (01983) 528989, or email: info@emhfunding.com.
If you would be interested in becoming involved, please ring Voluntary Services on (01983) 528956, or email: vols@iwhospice.org.