Benefits
Volunteering is a key part of our work and service delivery to improve people’s health, wellbeing, and recovery.
Volunteers are essential to our Partnership enabling us to provide more and better services.
Opportunities
Each Partner organisation offers a variety of different volunteering opportunities. See below for the different roles you could undertake.
Restore
Volunteer at one of the Recovery Groups or Cafés, as a Coach or an Opportunities Project Volunteer on a mental health ward, as an Admin or Event volunteer, or support the Fundraising Team as a Volunteer Fundraiser.
- Admin Volunteers help with the quarterly ‘Members Council’ – when service users from Restore’s services can meet, give feedback and news. Admin Volunteers can also assist with general admin support at the Manzil Way reception.
- Recovery Group Volunteers can support staff through engaging with service users to help them to work in the allotments, or woodworking rooms, or provide one-to-one support to service users with craft projects.
- Coaching Volunteers provide 1-1 employment support to clients to help them identify their goals and determine the best way for clients to achieve these.
- Opportunities Project Volunteers are based on the adult inpatient wards and offer patients guidance and information about support and services available to them once they are discharged.
- Café Volunteers support service users in the running of Restore’s two Cafés – the Garden Café at Manzil Way, and the Littlemore Café at Littlemore Mental Health Centre. Volunteers can help with food preparation, menu creation, customer service, and dish-washing.
- Events Volunteers support Restore’s work by helping at and attending fundraising events – such as the annual Elder Stubbs Festival – as well as organising the events themselves.
- Fundraising Volunteers support Restore’s online presence through social media channels, developing and updating their website, and helping to identify and apply for funding. They can also help with multimedia projects such as producing videos, podcasts, and designing infographics.
Connection Support
Opportunties include:
- Employment coach – this involves working closely with clients to help them find suitable employment, volunteering or training.
- Digital computer buddy – this role looks at helping clients become digitally confident both with a computer and accessing the internet.
Oxfordshire Mind
Opportunities include working as an admin, benefits assessment buddy, events and fundraising volunteer, information service volunteer, talking space plus volunteer, wellbeing service volunteers, wellbeing walk leader and universal credit claim and journal support volunteers.
- Admin volunteers – work to support their busy office team with a range of tasks such as data entry, research, statistics, and updating records.
- Benefit Assessment Buddy – they support people one-to-one prior to and during benefits assessments.
- Event and fundraising volunteers – they represent Oxfordshire Mind at a variety of local events and fundraising opportunities. They help them raise money and spread awareness of their services in the public eye.
- Information service volunteers – they support the Oxfordshire Mind Information Service by answering our telephone, email, and website queries and offering information about mental health and local services.
- TalkingSpace Plus volunteer – Volunteers work alongside staff to provide practical support at the classes.
- Wellbeing Service volunteer – Wellbeing Service Volunteers help with the peer support groups. These groups focus on a range of activities including art, cooking, reading and music. Volunteers help to welcome people, and encourage them to engage in activities.
- Wellbeing Walk leader – Wellbeing Walk Leaders facilitate short walks from a variety of existing mental health locations and support participants to improve their mental and physical health.
- Universal credit claim support volunteers – they help clients claim and understand their entitlement to Universal Credit, a new benefit that has been brought in across Oxfordshire.
- Universal credit journal support volunteers – they are based in our wellbeing hubs across Oxfordshire, supporting clients face to face to access and update their existing Universal Credit claims.
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Opportunities vary but can include ward volunteers, admin volunteers, Patient Advice Liaison Service support, gardening volunteers.
Volunteering as a peer support worker is something multiple organisations offer, find out more information on our peer support page.
Learn more about volunteering at Oxford Health.
Volunteers with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust will automatically become a member of the foundation trust. This enables them to influence the way local services are provided and developed.
They can also attend free events for members, run for or vote for governor and enjoy a wide range of discounts at local retailers, restaurants, leisure facilities and more.