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CHRISTMAS CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING
Now more than ever, connecting with the local community and each other is so important and our corporate volunteer days offer fantastic team building and staff development opportunities. Whether it is an informal team-building day, or simply the chance for staff to get together and put something back into the community, we always welcome extra pairs of hands to help us with sorting through donations and organising our stores, making a real difference to those who are affected by homelessness. If you want to get your company involved, please send an email enquiry to our Volunteer Development Co-ordinator - laurengilliland@welcomeorganisation.org
VOLUNTEERING WITH THE WELCOME ORGANISATION
VOLUNTEER ROLES
ENGAGEMENT & INVOLVEMENT VOLUNTEER
CURRENTLY CLOSED
We require an Engagement and Involvement Volunteer, you will be ensuring our service users are actively and meaningfully involved in the service and the local community.
For more information and to apply visit our volunteering portal on Be Collective:
Engagement and Involvement Volunteer - Be Collective - Volunteering
STORES VOLUNTEER
CURRENTLY CLOSED
We require assistance in our stores; clothing, toiletries and food.
Your support will help ensure that people affected by homelessness can have quick and easy access to clothes, toiletries and food.
KITCHEN VOLUNTEER
CURRENTLY CLOSED
We require assistance in our kitchen preparing and serving meals to the people that use our service as well as dishwashing.
For more information and to apply visit our volunteering portal on Be Collective:
Thank you for taking the time to consider volunteering for us, we really appreciate it. Although we are not currently recruiting volunteers, we invite you to fill out this form to join our wait list.
When opportunities become available, we will reach out to you using the details you provide.
By filling in this form you are agreeing to us contacting you about volunteering opportunities
VOLUNTEER TESTIMONIALS
SHEILA
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I have been volunteering in the Welcome Centre since September 2019. I help out in the kitchen on two mornings each week, helping to prepare food, wash dishes and generally clean and tidy up. The staff are friendly and supportive and do a great job. It can be very challenging for them. I have always found the service users to be most appreciative and they would often say thank you for coming in to help us, and despite their many problems they are generally very friendly and can be good craic. I was always fortunate in my life and was reared in a happy home and never wanted for anything. But I was always aware of people less fortunate in our society. It is so easy for anyone to fall on hard times and end up vulnerable and homeless and sadly all too common these days. I worked full time as a Practice Manager in a doctor's surgery. Life was usually quite hectic. Since I retired I now have the time and opportunity to give a little back. Volunteering is very worthwhile and I would certainly recommend it. I really enjoy my role and find it both rewarding and fulfilling. You meet and get to know lots of different people and even get to wear a cool T. Shirt. Makes you appreciate how lucky you are.
THERESE
I have been volunteering in the Welcome Centre from June 2018. I initially joined because I had a very serious, life-threatening illness in 2014, which I miraculously recovered from. I simply wanted to give something back, I had promised myself this when I was ill. In the 90s, I had worked for 6 years in the samaritans, and I decided to do something different. I heard about the Welcome and applied. I absolutely love working here, and I gravitated to the kitchen. It is the centre of the place, not literally, but definitely the place where people open up and share worries and their lives with you. I feel very privileged to be in that position, and I feel very strongly about giving them time and dignity to express themselves and to know we are all equal and the same. What I didn't expect was to feel how much I get out of it, too, as that was never important. I am glad I have the health and time to volunteer and would encourage anyone to do the same, it is a great leveller.
DIANE
I have recently started volunteering this is something I said I would do when I returned home from Nepal last year. I wanted to give back to the community as I have seen first hand how difficult it is to get the help you need in Northern Ireland with homelessness and addiction. I support staff in Catherine House, and I am going to help the ladies with anything financial like budgeting for their everyday living to getting a bank/savings account. I am there to give them general support and most importantly to listen. The reason for wanting to work with this charity is I watched family members dealing with addiction and I understand how difficult it can be and I wanted to help others in the same situation. I feel that we should give a little bit back to community and it doesn’t cost anything to be kind. I would encourage others to volunteer in whatever capacity they can it can help others and yourself at the same time. It can give you new skills, improve you own mental health and you can meet new friends along the way.