Volunteer

Volunteers are at the heart of our services. However much time you’re able to give, you can use your skills and experience to help people with Down’s syndrome to thrive.

Join our volunteer family

We have lots of different volunteering roles available. You could lend your hand serving refreshments or crafting at Chatterbox, or you might be a trainee student therapist looking for more direct experience supporting our specialist services.

We use your skills to place you in the right role, for example:

Good at getting stuck in?

Become a Chatterbox Volunteer

Chatterbox is held once a month on a Saturday morning.

This event is open to all members and is extremely popular. We have a different theme each month and all activities are planned around this theme. We have various things going on throughout the morning including Sing and Sign, arts and crafts, dance sessions, speech and language group sessions, access to an occupational therapist available to book and a conversation group for our older members. A Chatterbox volunteer role is varied but may include:

Helping with the set up and clear up of the event.
Greeting members at reception and collecting sign in information
Signposting members to different activities throughout the venue
Serving refreshments
Assisting with facilitating the various activities
Providing family support.

Sign up to volunteer

Like hosting events?

Become a Social Event Volunteer

We host a verified programme of social events for different age groups, including soft play, bowling, adventure golf and dance workshops, to name a few. Think fun, group activities, we want to do them all!

From our 10-16 group upwards, we aspire to promote independence which involves the parent/carer dropping off the member at the social event, into the care of our event lead and volunteers. This volunteer role involves:

Creating a welcoming atmosphere – Greeting members as they arrive, helping them feel comfortable and included, being a friendly face that they can approach if they need anything.
Facilitating activities – Leading or supporting the group activity. Depending on the focus, you might be leading or assisting with activities like games, arts and crafts, dancing, or sports.
One to one support – Some members may need extra help with understanding instructions or may benefit from more personalised support during the activities. Other members may require emotional support, your role would be to make them feel safe and understood.
Promote socialisation – Encourage interaction by helping members interact with each other, especially if they are apprehensive or uncertain about initiating conversations. Your role would be to foster inclusivity by ensuring that everyone is involved in the activity.

Sign up to volunteer

Great with little ones?

Become a Preschool Volunteer

Our preschool group is for members aged 0–5 years and their parents/carers.

We regularly have visiting speech and language therapists and occupational therapists to support our families. We have a small group of volunteers who work on a rota basis, so commitment isn’t needed for every session. This is very much a member-led social group facilitated by our team, to enable families to socialise with their young children. This volunteer role involves:

Setting up a play area in the café for the children and parents to sit and socialise
Serving refreshments to parents/carers
Representing the charity at the venue
Reporting back to the Programme Manager with the number of attendees to each group.

Sign up to volunteer