Volunteering Opportunities

THE VOLUNTEER NETWORK (TVN) IS A CHARITY THAT'S BEEN RUNNING FOR OVER 20 YEARS IN THE SOUTH WEST. SUPPORTING ANYONE IN THE SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND AND HELPING THEM ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR BIG.

WE DO THIS THROUGH VOLUNTEERING EVENTS, OUR COMMUNITY ALLOTMENT PROJECT, WORK EXPERIENCE, APPRENTICESHIPS, TRAINING, SUPPORT, MENTORING AND SO MUCH MORE.
ON AVERAGE WE WORK WITH NEARLY 1,000 PEOPLE A YEAR AND WORK WITH OVER 40 ORGANISATIONS/COMMUNITY GROUPS.

WE ARE BASED IN GLASTONBURY, BUT TRAVEL AROUND THE WHOLE OF THE SOUTH WEST TO PROVIDE THE BEST SUPPORT TO RURAL AREAS.

Find out more about volunteering HERE

Transporting Somerset provides crucial transport for eligible non-emergency NHS patients and social care users enabling them to get to various locations across the county and further afield.

This is a rewarding opportunity for you to provide practical support for people within your community.

Click the link for further details Volunteer Driving in Mendip

Our Volunteer Visiting Service, established in the 1990s, provides one to one support for people with sight loss in their own homes throughout Somerset.

Volunteer Visitors visit a person on a regular basis, usually weekly or fortnightly and help with a variety of things such as

• Company and friendship
• Reading and correspondence
• Making and accessing appointments
• Going out for a drive and a cup of tea
• Assisting with shopping
• Walks in the local area

Click the link to find out more about the Volunteer Visiting Service with Somerset Sight

Advocates work alongside individual children to ensure their voices are heard and their wishes and feelings are taken into account when decisions are being made which affect them. Each advocacy case is usually short term and there is no expectation of a long term commitment to a particular child. We have a bank of advocates and each one can agree to take on a specific case or not.

Click the link to find out more about Route 1 Advocacy (supported by Somerset Council)

Home library service volunteers work with the local libraries to choose, deliver and collect books, audio books and DVDs to people who are housebound or those that cannot access the library due to impaired mobility, long term illness, disability, transport difficulties or caring commitments. This will also help to combat loneliness and signpost to extra help if required.

Click the link to find out more about Home Library Service volunteering (supported by Spark Somerset)

Age UK Somerset is looking for friendly people in our area who would like to get involved with making life happier for local older people.

As we get older, living alone and lacking the confidence or mobility to get out of the house can lead to anxiety, low mood and devasting loneliness (and as if that wasn't bad enough, this has been linked to an increase in health problems).

To solve these issues local charity Age UK Somerset have two wonderful free schemes running here - Walk and Talk which matches a volunteer with an older person for a weekly gentle walk and chat, and Wellbeing Friends where a volunteer visits each week to offer some friendly company.

However, they are desperate for volunteers to lend a hand and be matched with the older people they have on their waiting lists for both services.

If you can spare an hour a week (flexible) and would like to feel like you are making a difference in your community please contact them - volunteers@ageuksomerset.org.uk or 01823 345627.

There are a growing number of ad hoc opportunities for volunteering and these are set to grow in 2024!

If you would like to help support the Parish Council in various ways, and can offer some time & enthusiasm, please email Cllr Konrad Hoogesteger konrad.hoogester@stcuthbertout-pc.gov.uk or phone Lisa on 07496 198032.