To support us with these trips and holiday activities, we are looking for friendly, welcoming, enthusiastic and proactive volunteers.
About the Trips and Holiday Activities Project:
Alongside our weekly timetable of term time activities, we run trips across London during the school holidays. These are always chosen and planned together with our community members, and so far have included trips to famous parks, museums, galleries, and the theatre. We know from our community members how important these trips are; they are a chance to explore parts of the city that would otherwise be inaccessible, and to feel more at home in the city.
About the Role:
You will support us practically to ensure the trips run smoothly and on time, but also will be an essential part of our community of welcome – to chat and get to know our community members, and make sure everyone feels included and is having a good time.
We intend to hold 2 trips in the Easter holidays, and up to 5 trips in the summer holidays. These will all be in locations across London, most likely during daytime hours. We will also run a combination of adult-only and child-friendly trips across the year – this is what our community have told us they want! We usually have a group of 10-20 community members and will always have at least one CARAS staff member present too.
Ideally, we are looking for volunteers who are flexible during school holidays and can attend at least 3 trips throughout the year, though we may consider those who might only be able to volunteer on a one-off basis.
Tasks and responsibilities:
- To attend CARAS trips as and when you are available to do so.
- To support with the logistics of travelling to and from the trip location.
- To keep an eye on the general health and wellbeing of our Community Members and report any concerns to the CARAS staff member present.
- To encourage positive connections between people and the places we are visiting, opening up conversations to learn about each other.
- On family-friendly trips, to assist where needed with the supervision of children present (alongside parents)
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An opportunity to connect with and learn from a vibrant and diverse community of people who are new to the city;
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A chance to share your knowledge of the city and places of interest with our community;
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A deeper understanding of the experiences, challenges, and strengths of those seeking asylum here;
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A deeper understanding of language-inclusive practices in multi-lingual groups;
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Develop your skills and competencies;
Essential Requirements:
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To be 18 years or older;
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To be non-judgemental and able to engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds;
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To be reliable and punctual;
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To be welcoming, friendly part of the group, and to make sure our community members have the best and most fruitful time possible at the locations we visit.
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Excellent communication skills, especially with people with varying levels of English;
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Current resident of the UK;
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Able to provide five years’ worth of addresses, and willing to undergo a DBS check;
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Able to complete compulsory volunteer induction training (online) general and safeguarding via 2 self-paced induction training webinars prior to the start of role
Desirable Requirements:
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Knowledge of community languages, such as Farsi, Arabic, Tigrinya, Amharic, Somali and Spanish.
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