Join the Oxfam community
As a Sales Assistant Volunteer you will be at the till, serving customers as the friendly face of your shop. You will help people facing poverty around the world by giving great customer service and making donors, customers, and supporters feel welcome in our shop. We’ll give you ongoing training and support so that you can feel right at home as part of the Oxfam Community!
About this role
We will give you all the training and support you need so you will develop your skills as part of our team. You don’t need to have any experience – we’ve got you covered. You can also get some lunch and travel costs too. Whatever you need, we’re here to help.
As a Sales Assistant Volunteer you’ll develop skills that boost your confidence:
Improving your communication skills in this customer-facing role
Serving customers on the till, handling cash and card payments
Creating a friendly shop environment to make everyone feel welcome
Volunteering that works for you
Volunteering can be very flexible to suit you. So even if your availability or skills don’t match this role, get in touch and we will find something right for you. By volunteering for a few hours a week, you will meet new people and have some fun for a good cause.
If you can’t apply online, please visit the shop for a paper form or contact us on givetime@oxfam.org.uk
Everyone has something to offer
At Oxfam we know that everybody can make a real difference. People come to us for all sorts of reasons, from all backgrounds, and we will do what we can to find a role which works for you. You can find out more about volunteering with Oxfam here.
What happens next?
After you apply the manager will ask you to come in for an initial chat. This is not an interview, just a chance to get an idea of what you'd like to do in the shop. From there you can meet the rest of the volunteer team and get involved with whatever area of the shop takes your interest!
We offer various volunteering roles that requires commitment once a month. The immediate role is to collect donations from organisations in East Lothian who collect toiletries for us, drive them to our HQ in West Lothian then deliver bags of toiletries back to East Lothian to places that hold a Dignity Box. The Dignity Boxes are also refilled once a month and these are what is given to those in need. Anyone interested can visit our premises and have a chat about how we work before committing. Our current volunteers tell us the attraction in part is because they only have to commit to once a month. We would love you to join us.
Are you looking for a rewarding way of sharing your experiences and life skills in order to make a positive impact in your community and help tackle child poverty? This is the opportunity for you!
Part of the Parental Employment Support (PES) programme, Project Scotland is now recruiting volunteer mentors to support an individual in their community to overcome barriers they face in sustaining jobs or progressing in work.
Our PES mentors offer one-to-one support to a local parent (mentee) they are matched with for 1 hour every 1-2 weeks. This role will involve getting to know your mentee and the challenges they may face, discussing their future goals, sharing your own experiences or skills and ultimately champion them to progress in life and work.
Our volunteers do not need to have any specific career experience or qualification – just a positive and empathetic mindset and a passion for helping others to succeed.
Fun, Food and Friendship at Community Spirit is a new group opening in November 2022. Operating from the Community Spirit premises at Fisheracre, Arbroath, it plans to be open from 4-8pm Monday to Friday. Each day a two-course hot meal will be provided and there will be a variety of activities dependent on the requests of those attending. This is open to anyone regardless of age, gender or circumstances and is free of charge. We hope to provide a welcoming and warm space in which people can relax, build confidence and friendships and support one another to build community.
We are looking for volunteers to provide catering assistance to the group. Volunteers will be part of a team of 6. Tasks include:
• Managing, recording and storing donations
• One of a small team preparing and cooking a hot meal
• Ensuring stock of essential items for the following week (either in stock or notify need to purchase)
• Prepare flasks of hot drinks to take away
• Small cleaning tasks in turn with staff
• Providing regular feedback to the team of user’s suggestions and needs
You will need to have:
• A willingness to be part of a team
• An ability to be flexible within the role
• Commitment to the role
Fun, Food and Friendship in Friockheim is a new group opening in Friockheim in November 2022 from 11am-3pm every Saturday. A selection of activities will be provided for all ages, including family films, games and crafts with a soup and sandwich lunch. The group is open to anyone regardless of age, gender or circumstances and is free of charge. We hope to provide a welcoming and warm space in which people can relax, build confidence and friendships and support one another to build community.
We are looking for volunteers to be the welcoming face of the group, meeting and greeting people as they arrive and being available to help where required. Volunteers will be part of a team of 6
Tasks include:
• Extending a warm and friendly welcome to the people we support
• Making a cuppa and providing a listening ear
• Assisting in the serving and clearing away of a meal
• Prepare flasks of hot drinks to take away
• Ensure portable blankets and other chargeable items are ready to take away
• Supporting and encouraging participation in activities
• Small cleaning tasks in turn with staff
• Providing regular feedback to the team of user’s suggestions and needs
With additional training and support:
• Signposting and supporting access to services
• Supporting service users to make phone calls and use the internet
You will need to have:
• A willingness to be part of a team
• An ability to be flexible within the role
• Commitment to the role
Fun, Food and Friendship at Community Spirit is a new group opening in November 2022. Operating from the Community Spirit premises at Fisheracre, Arbroath, it plans to be open from 4-8pm Monday to Friday. Each day a two-course hot meal will be provided and there will be a variety of activities dependent on the requests of those attending. This is open to anyone regardless of age, gender or circumstances and is free of charge. We hope to provide a welcoming and warm space in which people can relax, build confidence and friendships and support one another to build community.
We are looking for volunteers to be the welcoming face of the group, meeting and greeting people as they arrive and being available to help where required. Volunteers will be part of a team of 6
Tasks include:
• Extending a warm and friendly welcome to the people we support
• Making a cuppa and providing a listening ear
• Assisting in the serving and clearing away of a meal
• Prepare flasks of hot drinks to take away
• Ensure portable blankets and other chargeable items are ready to take away
• Supporting and encouraging participation in activities
• Small cleaning tasks in turn with staff
• Providing regular feedback to the team of user’s suggestions and needs
With additional training and support:
• Signposting and supporting access to services
• Supporting service users to make phone calls and use the internet
You will need to have:
• A willingness to be part of a team
• An ability to be flexible within the role
• Commitment to the role
Fun, Food and Friendship is a new group opening in November 2022 in 2 places – Monday-Friday in Arbroath at the Community Spirit building at Fisheracre and on a Saturday in the Community Hub in Friockheim. In Arbroath a two-course hot meal will be provided, whilst in Friockheim, it will be a soup and sandwich lunch and there will be a variety of activities dependent on the requests of those attending. The groups are open to anyone regardless of age, gender or circumstances and are free of charge. We hope to provide a welcoming and warm space in which people can relax, build confidence and friendships and support one another and to build community.
We are looking for someone to provide administrative support to the groups. The role would include:
Volunteering
• Creating and maintain a volunteer database
• Preparing and informing volunteers of the rota
• Providing a point of contact for volunteers to call if they are unable to be present and sourcing cover for them.
Food Provision
• Collating the menus on a week-by-week basis
• Ensuring all items for food provision are sourced (from volunteer updates) and collected/delivered
• Liaising with finance to ensure payment is made
This role could be done by one person or split into two separate roles.
You will need to have:
• Willingness to be part of a wider team
• Ability to be flexible within the role
• Commitment to the role
Fun, Food and Friendship in Friockheim is a new group opening in Friockheim in November 2022 from 11am-3pm every Saturday. A selection of activities will be provided for all ages, including family films, games and crafts with a soup and sandwich lunch. The group is open to anyone regardless of age, gender or circumstances and is free of charge. We hope to provide a welcoming and warm space in which people can relax, build confidence and friendships and support one another to build community.
We are looking for volunteers to provide catering assistance to the group. Volunteers will be part of a team of 6. Tasks include:
• Managing, recording and storing donations
• One of a small team preparing and cooking a hot meal
• Ensuring stock of essential items for the following week (either in stock or notify need to purchase)
• Prepare flasks of hot drinks to take away
• Small cleaning tasks in turn with staff
• Providing regular feedback to the team of user’s suggestions and needs
You will need to have:
• A willingness to be part of a team
• An ability to be flexible within the role
• Commitment to the role
Help those in need by collecting donations of food and stocking the food store in central Duns, or delivering food by car throughout Berwickshire west of the A1 corridor.
Role Description : In the year to end April, Duns Food Bank made 281 deliveries, helping 574 people including 219 children. This represents a major increase in demand compared to the same period in 2020/21. With this increase in workload and the retirement of a number of volunteers, the Food Bank is in urgent need of new recruits.
The Food Bank is supported by two teams of volunteers. The Quartermaster’s team collects donated food from drop off points, shops etc. and stocks shelves in the food store, and the Delivery team takes food to clients throughout mid-Berwickshire.
As referrals from agencies (e.g. NHS, Social Services, Berwickshire Housing Association etc.) come in, volunteers on the Delivery team go to the food store in Duns and make up boxes according to the needs of the family or individual. They can then contact the client and ask what fresh goods they need, before going to buy these items from a local shop. Currently a pharmacy voucher can also be included with each delivery. This is about dignity, giving people some choice and control over their specific needs.
Members of the Quartermaster’s team are expected to be on duty for around one week in seven and work in and around the food store in central Duns. Members of the Delivery team can expect to be on duty for one week in eight or nine. Members of the Delivery team are asked to use their own cars and can claim back petrol costs along with the cost of buying fresh goods etc
.
If you would like to know more or join one of the Food Bank’s teams please contact dunsfoodbank@gmail.com