Organisation Name:
York Neighbours
Organisation's Cause(s):
Local Community
Location of voluntary activity:
Mostly in our office on James Street but some volunteers choose to make their calls from home. If you choose to volunteer from home, we ask you to come in to the office a few times so we can be present and monitor your first few calls. Once we are comfortable with you doing so, you can begin volunteering from home if you choose to do so.
When are volunteers needed: Volunteering with York Neighbours is very flexible. If you choose to make your calls from the office, there is typically someone here Monday-Friday 9:30am-3:30pm so you can come in any time within those hours. Most call volunteers come in for 1.5-2 hours but again, this is flexible. There is no minimum requirement of hours given to volunteer with York Neighbours, we appreciate any help you can give.
However, making calls from home can occur at any time of the week, so long as it's not too early in the morning or too late at night. This can also include weekends if that suits you better.
Type of Voluntary Activity:
Community Work
Driving
Event Support
Volunteering with Older Adults
Role description:
York Neighbours connects with socially-isolated older people in York via regular phone calls with volunteers who care about how they are feeling, what they have been up to, and to ask about any help they might need from our charity.
There is no minimum or maximum number of calls that we would need you to make each week - it depends on what we need help with the most in any given week. This could be wellbeing calls for a general chat, or office admin jobs that also require talking on the phone (such as task feedback and annual check-ins).
Either way, making these calls allows you to connect with the older generation via one-on-one phone calls, forming bonds and friendships, and reminding our loneliest clients that there is someone out there who cares and wants to hear about how they are doing.
The wellbeing calls hold no formal structure - they are literally just a chat with someone who may have no family or friends around and feels isolated. These calls can last anywhere from 2-30 minutes, depending on each Neighbour's needs and how much other social contact they have. The office admin jobs would require you to volunteer from our office on James Street, and hold more structure, but we will give you full training and advice on these when you start. This can include collecting feedback from a recent task a volunteer has done, or from one of our recent social outings. This can also be completing 'annual reviews', where we call every registered Neighbour every year to check their details are correct and up-to-date on our system. However, these calls do allow us to speak to Neighbours who we may only speak to once or twice a year, so sometimes they can result in a chat!
Skills and behaviours needed for the role:
To become a call volunteer we don't require any specialist skills. Ideally you will have phone etiquette, good communication skills and most importantly, empathy. However, there is space at York Neighbours to build on these skills and treat it as a learning experience as well as giving back to the community and the older generation. We need you to understand when to flag more serious issues up to staff members, but again, this will come with experience and the training we provide during your induction and beginning sessions.
Will there be a DBS check? No
Driving Licence required? No
Volunteer's own vehicle required? No
Suitable for:
Intellectual/Learning Disabilities
Ongoing Volunteering
Skilled Volunteer
Vision impaired
Wheelchair users
Work Experience
What will the volunteer gain/benefit from:
Joining the York Neighbours team means becoming part of a thriving community in York. Volunteering with us will allow you to contribute acts of kindness to those who are isolated, and may not have much local support. We welcome volunteers and Neighbours from all backgrounds and experiences, meaning you will meet people from all walks of life, particularly from a different generation.
We offer full training as part of the onboarding process, and share further opportunities whilst you are with us. You will grow skills such as communication, self-confidence and practical knowledge. If you have any specialist skills, we will work with you to grow these.
How to get involved:
Please visit our website to complete our Volunteer Application form. This will be sent to the office team who will then invite you to an introductory session. This will allow us to get to know each other, and provide a space for us to answer any queries you may have.
If you would like to contact us, please email info@yorkneighbours.org.uk or call us on 01904 891 627.
Web link: Click here
Closing date: 31-03-2027