Volunteering

Personal Benefits of Volunteering

• Positive feelings from making a difference to the lives of others
• Improved health & wellbeing
• Feel valued and part of a team
• Spend quality time away from work or a busy lifestyle
• Gain confidence and self-esteem

Professional Benefits of Volunteering

• Gaining new skills, knowledge and experience
• Developing existing skills
• Enhance your CV or ask us for a reference
• Improving employment prospects
• Using your professional skills and knowledge to benefit others

Social Benefits of Volunteering

• Meeting new people and making new friends
• A chance to socialise
• Getting to know the local community
• Feeling less isolated

Corporate/Group Volunteering

Many people want to volunteer as a team or group. They can be employees from a particular company, members of a club or college or even just a group of friends or a family who would like to spend time together at a volunteer activity. Newlife is able to provide interesting group activities to meet any skill level or time commitment. Research shows that volunteering helps staff develop leadership, decision-making and negotiation skills. It can also help staff develop as individuals, boost morale and improve retention. At Newlife we can offer volunteering opportunities that enable our corporate volunteers to develop their skills and make a real difference in their local community.

Volunteering in the community

Volunteers can help to plan and deliver local fundraising activities such as Bag Packs at supermarkets, local Bucket Collections, promote the charity and raise awareness by giving out leaflets or provide much valued support at a pre-organised event, such as being a marshal for a sporting event. You can even volunteer to raise funds from home, at work or in college. We have a school fundraising pack which can be incorporated into Primary School Numeracy or Art projects where children make their own collecting can, decorate it and help raise funds. Volunteers can contact their local schools to propose this idea and to send our schools pack. This has the added benefit of raising Newlife’s profile in the school and with parents and families. There are activities to suit all interests, abilities and time commitments. We can give you hundreds of fun ideas or you can be as creative as you like. Why not volunteer with friends, family, work colleagues or just make new friends!

Volunteering in our retail stores

Newlife stores are a unique retail recycling enterprise where we sell clothes and other goods donated by companies from across the UK and Europe. All profits are passed to the charity which supports thousands of children and families across the UK. If you want to gain valuable employment skills, improve your confidence, develop team spirit or just help out a great cause, you can by volunteering in our retail and warehouse centres. All our volunteers are well supported and there is something to suit all ability levels and time commitments. You don’t need any experience and there are no targets or expectations. Volunteers with additional needs are welcome to come along with a carer if required. You can gain valuable retail or merchandising experience in one of our six retail outlets: In Cannock we have our retail SuperStore, our Newlife at Home Store and our Market Place Store. There will be no cash handling or use of a till required, however customer interface and stock display/release/tidying is important. We also have stock processing centres in Cannock where we process clothes and other goods donated by companies for resale in our retail stores. The processing centres are bright, clean and friendly and are ideal for any group looking for a shared volunteer activity.

Volunteering as part of a qualification

We can provide opportunities for volunteers on placements to support a recognised qualification. Newlife will provide the appropriate training for the voluntary opportunity and provide supervision while on site.

Head Office volunteering

We are always keen to hear from skill specific volunteers. This includes qualified people such as health, social care, media and PR professionals who can use their skills, contacts or experiences in a voluntary capacity. This may include roles in our Care Services department, Public Relations and awareness/promotional roles. We also need volunteer support in our friendly Opportunity Centre in Cannock. The tasks include preparation of goods for sale in the Newlife stores, sorting of jewellery, refurbishment of specialist disability toys, processing of household items and working in a team environment. There are many personal and professional benefits to this role.