We know how rewarding it is to be a kinship carer. We also know how difficult it can be, supporting your family and finding time to support others.
Some will need you to give more time than others. We’ll give you training and support for all roles. But you also need to make sure you’re in the right place now to volunteer. Because we know it’s a big commitment. Our current volunteering opportunities are:
- Become a Group Leader and set up a new Peer Support group for kinship carers
- Join the Someone Like Me team of volunteers
- Support other kinship carers as an Online Chat volunteer
Become a Group Leader
Do you want to support other kinship carers in your community? Help create a welcoming and supportive space to come together to share your experiences? We’re looking for kinship carers who can take the lead on setting up peer support groups. You’ll be a Support Group Leader.
You’ll have lots of support from our team and you’ll build a good relationship with our local Peer Support Volunteer Coordinator, who will be there to help you, advise you, promote the group and find a venue.
They’ll help you fundraise for your group (if you’d like to) and help you to access support and information in your local area.
They’ll work with you closely so that you have all you need to build your own peer support group.
• We’ll need you to give an average of 10 hours a month
• You’ll have training sessions and ongoing support
• You’ll learn new skills and build new relationships
You’ll need to be motivated, reliable and want to make a difference to the lives of other kinship carers. A positive attitude will be really key to make things happen in your local community.
We know this role might not be right for everyone and that situations change, so we’re happy to answer questions you might have.
Read the Group Leader volunteer role description.
Fill in the Expression of Interest form.
Become a Someone Like Me Volunteer
Our Someone Like Me service is a telephone service. Kinship carers are matched to other trained volunteer kinship carers.
Kinship carers just want to talk and tell their story to someone who understands. The service provides up to three phone calls with the same volunteer.
As we are receiving requests for support for an increasingly diverse range of kinship carers, we would especially welcome applications from:
- Younger kinship carers – including sibling kinship carers and other family and friends
- Volunteers who have time to offer in the evening
- Volunteers who can offer a language other than English
Also – if you’re based anywhere in Wales – we’d love to hear from you as we want to continue to develop our work and services across all of Wales.
If you’re a kinship carer who can quickly help people to feel at ease and have great listening skills, this is a brilliant way to volunteer. We’ll make sure you have the training and all the support you need.
- You’ll need to attend three training sessions (2 hours each) and you’ll have ongoing support and supervision
- Be really good at logging your calls (so we know that kinship carers are supported)
- Be able to give at least 8 hours a month to make the calls
You won’t need to pay anything through your phone as you’ll use our number to make calls.
Read the Someone Like Me volunteer role description.
Fill in the Expression of Interest form.
Become an Online Chat Volunteer
We know that kinship carers sometimes just want to be able to reach out and share their story with other kinship carers. People who understand what you’re going through.
We’re looking for volunteers who can be on the end of an online chat and can respond with compassion.
We’ll train you to be able to use the online chat and support other kinship carers too.
- We’ll need you to give an average of 10 hours a month
- You’ll have three training sessions of 2 hours each and ongoing support and supervision
- You’ll learn new skills
Read the Online Chat volunteer role description.
Fill in the Expression of Interest form.
