Become a Volunteer
Find out more about what’s involved when volunteering with us, and apply below.
What's involved?
Volunteer Visitor
Locations to suit you available across both Ryedale and Whitby area
We offer a long-term befriending service for people who are being cared for at home to provide their carers with a small amount of time each month to be able to pursue something for themself. We also offer the same to people living alone who want some social connection with others. Matching the skills and interests of passionate visitors with the hobbies and interests of the people we visit is crucial to the success of this role. Visitors typically visit every 2 weeks for an hour or two to create a 1-2-1 connection, offer companionship, encourage people to do the things they enjoy and provide some respite for the carer.
Your co-ordinator will be happy to talk through it all with you, and arrange a visit together to introduce you all.
In this role you will spend quality time with the person you visit and could do a range of different activities like:
- Sitting and having a chat
- Going out to a local café/pub for a meal/drink
- Take part in community activities like visiting a place of interest, going shopping etc.
- Enjoying a walk
- A craft activity at home
As a volunteer visitor…
You will be:
- Friendly and approachable
- Accepting of others who might be different to yourself
- Reliable and patient
- Passionate about supporting people to live well in their community.
You will:
- Have the opportunity to help make a difference to the life of the person you visit
- Receive a personalised volunteer induction and training
- Have agreed out of pocket expenses reimbursed
- Meet new people
- Get on-going support, and feel appreciated and valued
About Caring Together North Yorkshire
We are a long-established charity in the area providing ongoing support to carers and those living alone to reduce loneliness and isolation, and enable people to continue their important caring role.
Volunteering with us is YOUR opportunity to help us achieve this, whilst having the chance to develop your skills, meet new people and join a passionate and dedicated team.
If you have questions about volunteering with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Volunteer Driver
Locations to suit you available across both Ryedale and Whitby area
We offer a number of different activities and events across the area on a monthly or 3 monthly basis and sometimes the people we support need help to be able to come along. Public transport is not great, taxis are expensive, and the area is quite rural. This is where our volunteer drivers come in, to pick up and take home people who want to come along.
Your co-ordinator will be happy to talk through it all with you, and explain the area and distances you may be asked to cover.
In this role you will spend quality time with the person you visit whilst in your car, and you will be rewarded by knowing you have enabled them to get out of their house to enjoy the company of others.
As a volunteer driver…
You will be:
- Friendly and approachable
- Accepting of others who might be different to yourself
- Reliable and patient
- Passionate about supporting people to live well in their community.
You will:
- Have the opportunity to help make a difference to the life of the person or people you transport
- Receive a personalised volunteer induction and training
- Have agreed out of pocket expenses reimbursed
- Meet new people
- Get on-going support, and feel appreciated and valued
About Caring Together North Yorkshire
We are a long-established charity in the area providing ongoing support to carers and those living alone to reduce loneliness and isolation, and enable people to continue their important caring role.
Volunteering with us is YOUR opportunity to help us achieve this, whilst having the chance to develop your skills, meet new people and join a passionate and dedicated team.
If you have questions about volunteering with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
IT Buddy
Locations to suit you available across both Ryedale and Whitby area
We offer a long-term befriending service for people who are being cared for at home to provide their carers with a small amount of time each month to be able to pursue something for themself. We also offer the same to people living alone who want some social connection with others.
Many of the people we support struggle to be able to do the vast number of everyday things that have to be done online these days. This can range from connecting a Smart TV to being able to connect their Ipad or tablet to it, to being able to take part in a zoom call with family somewhere, or reading e mails. The list is endless! A small amount of time spent by an IT Buddy can make a huge difference to the person’s life.
In this role you will spend quality time with the person you visit and specifically help them in a very personalised way. You will not be accessing any bank details or helping them with shopping, nor setting passwords for people.
You might want to put any specific IT skills that you have to greater use, and get a small group together in a village hall or somewhere to consider sharing new skills, or getting speakers in. We would love to hear about any IT interests you may have because we will be using IT more, not less, with every year that passes.
As an I.T. Buddy…
You will be:
- Confident in the area of Information Technology (IT)
- Friendly and approachable
- Accepting of others who might be different to yourself
- Reliable and patient
- Passionate about supporting people to live well in their community.
You will:
- Have the opportunity to help make a difference to the life of the person you visit
- Receive a personalised volunteer induction and training
- Have agreed out of pocket expenses reimbursed
- Meet new people
- Get on-going support, and feel appreciated and valued
About Caring Together North Yorkshire
We are a long-established charity in the area providing ongoing support to carers and those living alone to reduce loneliness and isolation, and enable people to continue their important caring role.
Volunteering with us is YOUR opportunity to help us achieve this, whilst having the chance to develop your skills, meet new people and join a passionate and dedicated team.
If you have questions about volunteering with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Events Supporter
Locations to suit you available across both Ryedale and Whitby area
Alongside our offer of a long-term befriending service we put on different activities every month or 3 months attended by the people we support. These take place in community settings such as village halls, recreation clubs or church halls across the area. They will always feature a hot drink, something to eat, and a speaker or an entertainer. They are really vibrant and varied.
In this role you could do a range of different activities like:
- Making drinks and serving these to people
- Cooking the bacon for the bacon butties!
- Serving and clearing away
- Washing up
- Sitting and having a chat
- Taking part in the activity, if it is appropriate ie, getting crafty or a bit of singing
As an Events Supporter…
You will be:
- Friendly and approachable
- Accepting of others who might be different to yourself
- Reliable and patient
- Passionate about supporting people to live well in their community.
You will:
- Have the opportunity to help make a difference to the life of the person you visit
- Receive a personalised volunteer induction and training
- Have agreed out of pocket expenses reimbursed
- Meet new people
- Get on-going support, and feel appreciated and valued
About Caring Together North Yorkshire
We are a long-established charity in the area providing ongoing support to carers and those living alone to reduce loneliness and isolation, and enable people to continue their important caring role.
Volunteering with us is YOUR opportunity to help us achieve this, whilst having the chance to develop your skills, meet new people and join a passionate and dedicated team.
If you have questions about volunteering with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
The real impact of a Caring Together volunteer
Soon after my husband’s grave illness in 1982 at the age of 37, I was introduced to the charity and my husband started receiving visits from a volunteer. As Allen’s condition started to gradually improve, although never completely, he had many happy hours and visits with Peter, his volunteer. This gave me very welcome time to pursue my own activities and also eventually, to resume my teaching career part time, as well as having valuable time with our two young children.
A few years later, I was asked by Claire Hall, the CEO at the time, if I would join the board of trustees. I replied that I wasn’t a committee person nor did I have any experience of the charitable sector. She, however, insisted that I had the carer’s perspective, which would be valuable as a trustee. I agreed to join the board of trustees and have never regretted it. I found that my experience was helpful in certain areas and the meetings were always well conducted and always involved more than a few laughs!
I don’t know how many years ago that was, but it was certainly over 25 and I have never regretted it.
A little while after Allen’s death in 2009, I agreed to become a volunteer as I felt I wanted to give something back to the organisation, and I knew how valuable having a volunteer, especially one matched to Allen’s interests, was to him and to me.
I have been a volunteer with many couples or people on their own over the last 15 years and have found it an extremely rewarding experience.
Liz Davison
Next Steps
1. Express an Interest
Please contact us to express an interest in volunteering. You can do this via our website, by ringing the office, or in-person - if you meet us at an event, for example.
2. Get to know each other
Next, a coordinator will contact you, usually by phone, to arrange a meeting to discuss the services that we offer, what is expected of the volunteer and the application process.
3. Complete a DBS application
You will need to complete a DBS application to volunteer with us. You can do this in-person (during our first meeting) or online - which is much quicker. In order to complete your DBS application in-person, you will need to bring 3 forms of ID (e.g. driving licence, passport, utility bill) with you. The coordinator will also ask for two referee contacts, which can be employers, other volunteering contacts, or personal contacts who will provide a character reference.
4. Start Volunteering
Once you have received your DBS certificate, we will have been notified and a CTNY coordinator will be in touch with the next steps. Usually this is to introduce you to the client you will be visiting, and/or arrange when you will begin volunteering with us.
5. Keep us up to date
Regular communication is encouraged between volunteers and coordinators. You will receive quarterly newsletters about our events, projects and developments. You are always welcome to join a Volunteer Hub near you to keep in touch with other volunteers as well as your local coordinator. It is important that you receive the support you need to carry out this much-valued role.
Volunteer FAQ
What sort of volunteering opportunities do you offer?
We provide different opportunities, which you can find here. Many people spend time with one person whilst their carer has some time alone, or because they live alone. We are also looking for people to drive clients to events, people to help our events run smoothly, and those with IT skills to help people access our digital world.
Will fuel expenses be covered?
Volunteers can put in a claim form for mileage incurred from their home and back to their home. This is paid each month at a rate of 40p per mile. We do not expect people to drive long distances and ask that you check with your coordinator before driving far from the client’s home.
What sort of training and support is available?
There is always a coordinator at work during the week who can make contact, should you need it. All new volunteers are invited to an induction session where they can meet different members of the team and discuss different parts of the volunteer role. During the year different learning opportunities are offered, for example, dementia support, how to spot scams, and how to make the best use of nature for our well-being. We are rolling out an online platform which will provide further training opportunities for those who like to learn this way. In addition, our volunteer hubs in the different towns provide a face to face opportunity to develop and learn in your role.
How often am I expected to visit someone and for how long?
Usually volunteers visit fortnightly for 1-2 hours each time. People make their own arrangements and choose the day and time to suit both parties. Equally people visit more or less often than this.
Am I expected to care for the person?
You are NOT expected to provide care for the person. This includes toileting, administering medications, cooking meals. We ask that you do NOT undertake these tasks and advise us immediately if you are asked to.
Am I expected to do shopping for people?
You are NOT expected to do shopping for people and we would ask that you do not handle people’s money. It is perfectly acceptable to support someone to go shopping, but not that you undertake it yourself. The occasional bottle of milk or loaf of bread, with a receipt is different, but no more.
How far might I have to travel to visit someone?
We match volunteers and clients as near to one another as possible so as to minimise driving. If volunteers are prepared to travel to some of the harder to reach areas, or where a match seems perfect, then this is asked of the volunteer, but the choice is yours.
I don’t drive. Is that a problem?
We do have volunteers who do not drive and that is fine! We will look to match with someone on a good bus route or within walking/cycling distance as preferred.
I would like to volunteer for Caring Together North Yorkshire but I have a number of other commitments through the week - do I have to be available every week/fortnight at the same time?
The arranging of appointments with clients is managed entirely between the volunteer and the client; please do be clear what you can, and cannot do, even if it varies week on week. That is fine.
What is it you expect me to do with the person I am visiting?
This very much depends on you both and there is no right answer! The relationship develops over time and people settle into what works best for the client. We are looking simply for someone to have some time to give someone, often in their own home. You may like reading to someone, listening to music, going for a walk, going out to a café, doing a jigsaw. The list really is endless. What is important is that we do NOT expect you to carry out personal care, cook, clean, shop etc. We hope you will become a friend.
If I didn’t get along with the person that I first visit, would you find me a more suitable match?
Not everyone does get on with everyone, and that is why we spend some time to get the matching right from the start. Your coordinator will check in with you early on in the relationship, but please do get in touch if it is not working for either you or the client and we will look to match you with someone else.
