Volunteer for Home-Start

By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.

Excerpt of volunteer leaflet

Volunteer leaflet (PDF)

Be a Home-Start volunteer

Without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. They give so much to the families and the organisation.

We depend on volunteers’:

  • skills, experience, and knowledge
  • generous gift of time
  • willingness to be flexible and do a variety of roles in Home-Start Bradford District.

Volunteers benefit from:

  • new skills, experience, and knowledge
  • improved knowledge of local services and local issues
  • raised awareness of the needs of families and communities
  • improved access to paid employment opportunities and a range of education opportunities
  • a sense of personal achievement and satisfaction
  • improved confidence and self-esteem
  • access to further training from local professionals

What it takes to be a Home-Start Volunteer

Home-Start Bradford District volunteers should be a parent or have parenting experience. We ask volunteers to commit to an average of 3-4 hours per week, for a minimum of a year, but most stay longer.

Most of our volunteers provide support to families in their homes, but we also have a limited number of places for volunteers providing telephone support to families and leading group sessions.

Potential volunteers will be invited for an interview before taking part in our seven-session course of preparation where you will meet like-minded people and have fun, whilst learning the skills required to support families in their homes.

Once the course is complete, and references and checks (including an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check) have been taken up, you will visit a family for 1-2 hours a week, or spend up to an hour a week on the phone to them. You will complete a diary sheet record of each visit, and meet up with a Coordinator every 6-8 weeks for supervision meetings. Volunteers for group sessions will help to facilitate 1-2 hour group sessions each week for around ten weeks at a time, plus one or two meetings outside of those sessions.

Our training is free to attend, and travel expenses will be reimbursed for both training and home-visiting.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Home-Start Bradford District volunteer, please visit the application page for more information or to apply.

Do you have what it takes to be a Home-Start volunteer?  Are you keen to help parents and children in your community? Please complete an application form to start your journey transforming lives across the Bradford District.

Apply online
Volunteer Role Description (PDF)
Download an application form (Word document)

Volunteer stories

Volunteer testimonials

Really enjoyed the training, listening to others’ opinions in a mixed group. I feel well prepared for my social work career. I could not ask for a better place for me to gain my experience. I am going onto do my Masters in social work. I have learned a lot from my Coordinator and always found her helpful and supportive.

Volunteer

I have grown in confidence and because of this have successfully secured a new role at an interpreting agency. I am so exciting to start a new job and thank Home-Start very much for the opportunity to have volunteered for them.

Volunteer

For me, it is lovely being able to share my parenting experience, talking about my children and reaffirming that they are doing a great job with their parenting – as a parent we don’t hear that enough. It also works both ways. I get that ‘feel good’ feeling when I have helped a family and have done my best to help that situation. My own wellbeing has improved and I feel needed and appreciated. You are making a difference in someone’s life and you don’t necessarily get that through a paid job. I simply love giving. The Home-Start Bradford District team are very supportive. I always feel that there is someone at the end of the phone if I need support. They have always been there if I have had any worries about a family or even if I have had personal anxieties.

Volunteer

Thank you for your support and offering this fabulous volunteer course to me, I have really enjoyed every moment of being a Home-Start Volunteer.

Volunteer

On the first day I did not know what to expect. I did not know if I would fit in due to my age or experience, but I was wrong. I have now met friends for life. Friends who have so much experience and knowledge to share with me. All the group was so welcoming; you would think we had known each other for years. We have respected each other’s viewpoints and opinions in every discussion even if we do not fully agree with what has been said. I would recommend training to be a volunteer to anyone. Even if you think you do not have enough knowledge or experience, the training provided fills any gap in a fun activity-based way.

Volunteer

Really good training, enjoyed it, thought it would be boring but it was great. Learnt so much, can’t wait to get started. Feel confident in myself and this is going to help with supporting a family.

Volunteer

During my time at Home-Start I have increased my knowledge of services in the Bradford area. Supporting a family on with children on child protection plan has given me new skills and experience of working with vulnerable families” I have now been promoted at work (within the Police force) to work with vulnerable families this is as a result of my experience at Home-Start.

Volunteer

Other ways to volunteer for Home-Start

 

Administrative support

If being a home-visiting volunteer isn’t for you, you could always help out in our office with administrative tasks which support our Coordinators and volunteers in their work. Please get in touch for more information.

Be a trustee: Could you help plan and oversee how we will support families in our community?

Could you join our strong and committed Trustee board to help steer the work of our charity in supporting families?

Most Trustees consider their role within the charity as both a privilege and a responsibility. Being a Trustee means that you are legally responsible for the governance of the charity, so it is not something to be taken lightly. Equally though, being a Trustee is something to be enjoyed and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a valuable contribution to your local community and helping to provide effective support for families with young children at the start of their lives.

“Trusteeship is one of the most important roles in the voluntary sector. Trustees give direction to a charity and are ultimately responsible for its activities” (Small Charities Coalition)

To find out more please visit our recruitment page or contact us on 01274 666711.

Become a Home-Start Volunteer Today

Home-Start’s team of trained volunteers make sure a child’s early years count. By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.

 

Find out moreApply online