If you want to make a positive impact on your community and gain valuable experience while helping others, then volunteering with SDCAS could be for you.
Our volunteers typically work within our volunteer teams. Click below to read about each team and what they do.
The first step when someone contacts us is to identify what difficulties the client is experiencing and who the right person to support them is. This is called “triaging”.
Triage volunteers work either in person or over the phone with clients, gathering information about their support needs and liaising with the triage worker to provide appropriate advice, support or signposting.
Our Advice team provides support in the areas of Housing, Homelessness, Access to Healthcare and Access to Immigration Advice. We provide this support in one to one appointments both remotely and in person at our centres once the person has been triaged through our service. Our advice mostly involves filling in forms, making referrals to other specialist organisations, reading letters and giving guidance on peoples rights.
Creative activities team & evening art group
In the centre
As part of the wellbeing activities offered at SDCAS, the creative activities team holds a space for clients to learn and share various creative skills. Regular activities include sewing, knitting, and crochet, where beginners can get started with a new hobby and more experienced crafters can use the sewing machines, needles, fabrics and yarn we have to work on their own projects. Occasionally clients run workshops such as badge, bracelet and kite making, and sometimes we invite external professionals to run workshops, for example in film making or natural fabric dying.
Our evening art group
We have been supporting an Art Group at a local hostel for Asylum Seekers for almost a decade. Every Monday evening our group of volunteers transform the dining room into a space where everyone is welcome to paint, draw, create or just relax. The Art Group provides a time and space for people to explore, heal, play, and escape the difficult situation they find themselves in.
Our creche team work with our Play Leader to provide a creche for children under 6 at every day centre we offer.
Our volunteers in this team help in a variety of areas. Some help us by using their cars to collect and drop off donations from local businesses at our centres. Others help us unpack these donations, sorting them into foodbags or setting them up to form our clothing area.
Our ESOL team deliver English classes every Tuesday at Copleston for clients looking to improve their English. We have 3 different tables, grouped by ability, and an ESOL referral volunteer, who can support clients in enrolling on other courses in the local area.
Our fundraising team apply to grants and trusts to secure vital funds for our operations. They also help to plan successful events like our regular concerts. They work remotely, meeting once a month to coordinate their activities.
SDCAS are lucky to have a garden space at our Wednesday day centre and an allotment (at Lettsom gardens) at Copleston Centre. Our garden spaces and activities are aimed at promoting the wellbeing of our clients, and building a sense of community and personal empowerment. Our volunteers in this team work in a supervised team, supported by our garden coordinator.
We offer a free hot meal to all our clients at our day centres. Our kitchen team works collaboratively with our Chef to make these delicious meals, prepping them, serving them to our clients and volunteers, and cleaning up after.
Our office team are responsible for a number of tasks behind the scenes. They keep our office and stationary cupboards organised, and our flyers, posters, other documents, and our website up to date. They also produce and put out our regular newsletter for friends.
Our reception team play a vital role at all of our day centre: greeting clients, registering them on our database and subsequently signposting them to our various services. They help create a warm atmosphere at the centre, supporting clients to get the most out of our services.
Our social media and website team are responsible for managing all of SDCAS’ online presence, to meet our diverse users’ needs and communicate our work.
We are committed to supporting you in your volunteering with us and are keen to meet any requested adjustments. We are also happy to help think with you about what adjustments might help you volunteer with us.
If you want to volunteer with SDCAS but are concerned about any barriers or have any requests for specific support, please email our volunteer coordinator (issy@sdcas.org.uk).