This is a useful website for volunteers who are new to a telephone befriending role and want to learn how to guide conversations and deal with sensitive issues and promote physical and mental health and wellbeing. You have to enrol to see videos and access the presentations but it is free of charge.

CVS Community Response Volunteer - Travel Cover Letter Template [Word Doc]

Find organisations in your area  

Cheshire East Council, AGE UK Cheshire East and CVS Cheshire East have been working together to map existing organisations that are facilitating volunteer support to the public. 

The best way to engage is to link up with one of the organisations that are already established, this may be your local Town or Parish Council, or a community organisation.

Furlonteer: Matching furloughed staff to charities needing volunteering support. https://www.furlonteer.com/

The Fore: Provides a platform to be matched up with ‘Skilled’ volunteers and request Pro-Bono support. They are UK wide but you can search by region.
www.thefore.org

As we all get used to new ways of working, video calls are the obvious solution. They’re fun accessible and immediate. They can really help people feel connected. However, we should also be aware that for volunteers and clients and those of us who don’t have broadband, this isn’t “free” – even if we are not paying to use the apps themselves.

The IPC is working together with many organisations, to provide a single place where all NHS staff and care workers can go to find locations where free parking is available.

The government has introduced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and many organisations are now taking the difficult decision to furlough staff. Shaun Delaney has written about what this scheme means for furloughed workers who may wish to volunteer and for organisations hoping to take on new volunteers. Two important points to bear in mind are that:

Cheshire East Council has launched a service that offers support to thousands of unpaid carers across the borough during the current Covid-19 crisis.

An unpaid carer is described as someone who provides their time and support, without payment, to family or friends who couldn't manage without help. This could include day to day living tasks or personal care to a family member or friend such as helping them to wash, get dressed, eat, taking them to appointments, or keeping them company when they feel lonely or anxious.  

It can provide facilities of up to £5 million for smaller businesses across the UK who are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cash flow. It supports a wide range of business finance products, including term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance.