Volunteer - St Chads

Volunteering at St Chad’s Community Project

Volunteers are a key part of our St Chad’s family, we work hard to create a warm and friendly environment where all are welcome. We are so grateful for the many hours our volunteers put into our services, helping us to reach further into our community in ways we could not do without their support. We are very thankful for our volunteers and realise the impact of their roles within our small, independent charity.

There are many reasons our volunteers choose to support us, whether it be to add to their CV, give back to the local community or improve their mental health. They each gain something different from volunteering whether it be further embedding and embracing their new home, gaining work experience or just to give back to their community in a positive and fulfilling way. We are here to support our volunteers right through their volunteering journey, and offer support back into employment if they wish.

Our volunteer opportunities include;

Food pantry – our weekly pop-up food shop, help sort and distribute food to our community

Thrift Shop – gain retail experience in our high street charity shop

Childcare – help with our holiday club provision

Admin & IT – help us with some of our behind the scenes tasks

Sessional support – help with our parent and toddler sessions, messy play, advice and support groups

We would also love to hear from you if you have something else you think you could contribute to our work!

Meet a volunteer!

Angie has been a volunteer in our Thrift Shop for the last three years. She shares a bit about why she volunteers for St Chads and how she manages volunteering alongside her MS.

How did you hear about volunteering at St Chads?

“I’ve known Trish the manager for many, many moons. We used to work together and then I had to leave because I was diagnosed with MS. We kept in touch and she told me about this place and I thought, ooh, I could be a volunteer.”

And why is volunteering important to you? What does it mean to you to be a volunteer?

“Well, it gets me out of the house. I mean, it’s only once a week. But it does, it gets me out of the house and have a bit of a chat with other people.”

Why would you recommend volunteering to someone else?

“Well, if you’re lonely, you know, it is nice to get out maybe just that once a week, just to socialise with people. You know, if you’ve got a problem, it’s like a counselling session sometimes. You know, you can say, it’s been a bad week this week, or I’ve had a brilliant week, you know. It’s just nice to talk to people. Everyone needs company, don’t they? I have MS so to manage my energy levels I just do a half day and go home for a nap in the afternoon when I’m finished. But it’s good that everyone’s supportive of that and there is such a good sense of community here it is lovely. Plus I often manage to find the odd bargain from the shop for myself too!”

Get in touch to find out more about volunteering!