We offer all Volunteers many different kinds of interesting roles within a charity that is growing by the day. Simon Says offers you the chance to use your existing skills as well as learning new ones. Within Simon Says you also feel like you are part of a strong team making hard times easier for children and young people throughout Hampshire. We provide the information and resources to bereaved children and their families.
Telephone Help Line
Simon Says offers telephone support, therefore you could be taking calls offering information about our service and guidance to people who are closely connected to a child that has suffered bereavement. This could be a parent relative, doctor, teacher or friend. In order for the charity to provide this service we would be looking for volunteers with a confident phone manner. They ideally would be able to work a couple of hours a week during the evening and perhaps sometime during the day. Each new volunteer is given some training which covers dealing with calls, relating to callers, logging information and other general office duties. After the initial training, some volunteers may be working alone.
Support Groups
Simon Says also needs volunteers to help assist in our support groups; these are a fun, informal way of bringing together children who have all been touched in some way by bereavement. The support groups are themed and include a variety of activities aimed at supporting them in the grief process. The volunteers may be included in the planning of the activities and helping the children to participate. Once again training is provided, however fun is guaranteed. They run on a Sunday afternoon and are held in Millbrook. Due to the hands on approach with this role it would be helpful if the volunteers had a caring nature as well as some experience working with children.
Information Talks
Simon Says offers awareness of Bereavement in the form of presentations to schools, GP’S, social services and other related professions. We have put together a small presentation lasting about 1-2 hours. This is designed to prepare these people for the way that children and young people can react to a loss. We explain the needs of the individuals as well as offer Simon Says as a source of support should the inevitable occur. Here the volunteers need to be comfortable talking to a group for a large amount of time. They also need to be able to handle question and answer sessions and to be able to facilitate debates.
Fundraising
Simon Says is a charity. We depend solely on donations and therefore are always keen to welcome fundraising volunteers. They would need to work closely with Paula Wiseman to develop a fundraising calendar which focuses on creating awareness as well as raising money to allow us to grow. Within this role it maybe necessary to deal with the media and large companies so the volunteers need to be prepared for face to face dealings and be able to present the charity’s needs to major investors etc. The hours on this would be flexible and would need to be discussed at interview.
We have a small friendly group of volunteers who will provide you with all the training and also some supervision to get you started. We very much value your interest in Simon Says and therefore should you have any questions or concerns please call the office on 023 8064 7550
We ask that our volunteers be aware that we cannot take on any volunteer who has suffered bereavement within the last 2 years.