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Volunteering

Volunteering is a rewarding and enjoyable way to give your time supporting others and be sure that you are making a difference.

Find out more about the Volunteering opportunities across Norfolk and Waveney…

Volunteers across Norfolk and Waveney make a valued contribution each day, improving experiences for our patients, visitors and staff, in our hospitals and in our communities.

Why volunteer?

Why volunteer?

Volunteering is important not just because it supports people in our health and care settings and in our communities, but because it can have enormous benefits for the people volunteering themselves. Studies have shown that volunteering supports better health and wellbeing, with 77% of volunteers surveyed for NCVO’s Time Well Spent report in 2019 reporting that it improves their health and wellbeing. Volunteering can also be a great way to:

• Gain new skills
• Put your existing skills to good use
• Gain confidence
• See what working in health and care is really like
• Make new friends
• Improve your mental health and wellbeing
• Gain experience to support you get back into work

Most organisations are able to support volunteers aged 18 plus, though some are able to welcome younger volunteers from 16 and above. There is no upper age limit on volunteering, as long as you are well enough and able to take on the role.

What are we doing in N&W?

We recognise the hugely valuable commitment and contribution that our volunteers make across N&W. Over the next 5 years, as well as supporting the amazing roles and volunteers we are already privileged to have, we aim to improve access to an increased number of rewarding, interesting & engaging volunteering activities. We will do this through partnerships with VCSE and education organisations as well as our NHS and social care organisations.

What are we doing in N&W?

What can I do?

There are a huge range of volunteering opportunities available in health and care in Norfolk and Waveney, from welcoming visitors at your local hospital, chatting to patients on the ward or visiting them as they arrive home, to offering staff a helping hand behind the scenes.

Get a taste for volunteering in a hospital environment with volunteer Gilly.

What is involved in getting started?

Most organisations will ask that you apply to them using an application form, which will ask for information about yourself and the type of activities you would like to do. The next step will usually be a phone call or informal meeting, to give both parties the chance to find out more and discuss if there is a mutually agreeable opportunity available. Following that background checks will take place, and then training and support will be provided, so that you can start in your role with confidence.

How to I find out more?

To find out more about volunteering, contact your local NHS Trust directly, or visit your local voluntary sector organisation site, where you can search through a huge range of opportunities local to you.

For more information

For more information

To find out about upcoming Health and Social Care Volunteering events, please click here.

Voluntary Norfolk: Volunteer in your community | Get InVOLved Norfolk

Volunteer Suffolk:

https://volunteersuffolk.org.uk/get-involved

Volunteer Norfolk and Norwich University:

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust » Become a Volunteer (nnuh.nhs.uk)

Volunteer James Paget Hospital:

Volunteer (jpaget.nhs.uk)

Volunteer Queen Elizabeth Hospital:

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust: volunteering (qehkl.nhs.uk)

Volunteer Norfolk Community health and care:

Volunteering | NCH&C (norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk)

Volunteer East Coast Community healthcare:

Voluntary work | ECCH

Volunteer Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust:

Volunteers are important at NSFT to help shape future services | Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

 

To hear stories from our volunteers, and those who have volunteered before, please click here