Volunteer Telford

Volunteer responsibilities:

Help to collect, sort and organise items for our swaps and give-away events, such as clothes, books, DVDs and household goods.

Assist in setting up and maintaining our Library of Things.

Engage with members of the public visiting our hub and help to spread our message of sustainable living by encouraging re-use, repurpose and recycling of items and reducing buying new items.

Other straightforward housekeeping tasks as required.

Time Commitment and location:

Initially the volunteer would be needed on one or two days per month, usually a Saturday, to help at our swaps and giveaways. These take place at different community centres around Telford.

We can help by offering transport if that would be a problem.

They would also be invited to attend our regular zoom meetings which take place fortnightly on a Monday evening at 7:30 pm. The time commitment would increase when we have secured a permanent base for our Hub. This will be in Wellington.

We are part of the national network of Climate Emergency Centres and one of the first to be set up.

Our team of trustees are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, ready to support the volunteer in helping to spread our message.

The volunteer will report to our trustees.

They will not be responsible for any other team members.

Initial training will include: Background and Aims of our organisation; a tour of the premises; Volunteer role description and agreement; how to use any relevant equipment; who's who and what they do; health and safety information; problem solving procedures; who will help and supervise them.

No prior training is required.

As the role develops we may offer training and education in various aspects of sustainable living and other basic training such as Health and Safety.

A DBS check will not be required as the volunteer will be working under close supervision of our trustees.

The volunteers experience will be monitored and evaluated by informal briefing and de-briefing sessions.

Why we need your help:

The success of local engagement is based on developing good relationships in the local community – whether it’s with a school, club or council or with an influential leader in the community such as a mayor. 

With your enthusiasm and drive, you will work alongside your local Community Engagement Manager to identify potential opportunities, look to open up new avenues of support and develop beneficial partnerships through which we can promote our recruitment activities.

What we need you to do:

Research key individuals and organisations according to the priorities of the local community engagement team.

Initiate approaches to target audiences.

Assist with applications for support.

Keep your local community engagement team informed of approaches and outcomes.

Liaise with staff and other volunteers to ensure interest generated is followed up appropriately.

Update records on the RABC database.

What we can offer you:

The opportunity to gain fantastic skills and experience within a supportive and professional team.

Use of toolkits, marketing plans and PR templates.

Regular support and contact from your local Community Engagement Manager.

Valuable experience in community engagement.

What we ask of you:

To follow RABC’s policies and procedures.

To complete documentation relating to the role.

To provide the appropriate driver documentation if you choose to drive whilst volunteering.

The concept of sewa - selfless and love inspired service - grounds our lives in love and selflessness. It provides us with an opportunity to take authentic action.

Time devoted to seva, is not time lost, but time gained. Those that have dedicated countless hours, days, weeks and even years to support the Gurdwara Sahib and the Sangat it serves, consistently find clarity and purpose in all aspects of their lives.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji continues to guide us with the words Vand Chako – share and consume together. One of the founding pillars of Sikhism.

Example of Seva include but are not limited to:

Langar

Daily opportunity to support cooking in the community kitchen (Langar) from 10am – 11am every morning.
On Sundays between 2pm – 5pm there is an opportunity to support the team with cleaning the kitchen.

Technology

Supporting the technical team with audio/visuals on Sundays and major events. 
If you have a good phone/camera and an eye for photography our Social Media team would also be interested in hearing from you.

General Cleaning or Gardening
There is always an ongoing need to support the Gurdwara’s general cleaning schedule. This helps to maintain our high standards to ensure the Sangat’s experience is as comfortable as possible.
Also, quirky but interesting – nobody really likes to wear “used” ramaals. Weekly washing, drying and ironing of guest ramaals is something everyone forgetting a head covering would really appreciate.

Club 2000 Sport and Leisure exists for the benefit of people over 16 with physical and/or learning disabilities, to provide them with the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sport and leisure activities. This happens on Thursday evenings 6.30-9pm, mostly during term time.

Duties would include assisting the Treasurer, recording incoming and outgoing funds on club evenings, bank reconciliation, applying for grants.