Volunteering?

My daughter has volunteered at animal charities since she was 16. The one she spent most time at shut to visitors for lockdown and hasn't needed her back yet but she has found another one now she is 18 - this was in response to a call for help on a local facebook group.
Volunteering demonstrates a work ethic, commitment, reliability, being responsible, all sorts and if you can get a reference even better.

Maybe teaching at a local school. I did at my skl and they didn't ask for anything.

Thanks! sorry, may I ask what skl is?

Thanks! sorry, may I ask what skl is?

It was at my secondary school.
I was 17 as well when I did it.

Have you been volunteering at the care homer recently or during the lockdown. I'm not sure whether to ask to volunteer at care homes as it might be dangerous due to corona.

unpaid obviously, I want to contribute but I'm very confused with how to apply and whether they will require training. I also have never had a job before so would I need to have experience? I'm 17 btw if that has any relevance.
Thanks in advance

I've been volunteering at a care home for the past year up until COVID-19 (I'm 17 too). I got into through justdoit.org where there was an advertisement so I registered my interest and then got invited to have a mini interview. My understanding is that volunteering where you are interacting with vulnerable people will be very difficult to find as most places are minimising contact. On the other hand, if interacting with people in a caring role is less important to you, there are lots of fundraising opportunities that you can be part of for various different charities as a form of volunteering. As someone has already said, charity shops often look for staff.

You could try ringing local nurseries to see if you could volunteer for them but they may be minimising contact too. Hospitals are difficult to get into under 18 but you can do some stuff if you ask them. I was meant to be taking a mobile snack trolley around wards again until COVID. The best thing to do although I'm not sure how possible it will be at the moment is to approach people in person.

There are all kinds of different things you can do depending on what you're interested in. I'd suggest looking at websites which advertise volunteering to get an idea of what's available but if you can't find something online, asking in person can also work. Have you been on NCS?

You asked about qualifications. For the hospital, I had a DBS check and vaccination check which involved getting a few extra ones and then there would be some additional training to complete online. If you are being supervised at all times, there is very little you need in the form of training you'll probably need a reference and that's about it. In both cases I didn't need any job experience you just have to present yourself well to them as someone who's gonna be helpful, especially if they're taking on extra responsibilities to have you there.

Thank you very much for your help! I will make sure to check NCS, and justdoit.org
If I would also like to do volunteering at a hospital if possible, what website did you use for the additional training and what was your experience like?

I think you can still sign up for NCS for this year but I'm not sure. For the hospital it was actually by chance that I got the place. My sister went in for an appointment and they had a poster up asking for volunteers. As we're both hoping to do medicine she exchanged both of our emails and then we had some forms posted to us a few weeks later and emailing the coordinator. It took quite a while to get rolling so I'd definitely recommend starting up early. Vaccinations take a few weeks especially as they have to fit you into clinics. A DBS takes a few weeks to process and then you have to be put on the system and given the training videos. I started applying in December and up till now due to things like the vaccines are still pending before I can officially start. It may be different where you are but at my local hospital they have a kiosk for snacks as well as a mobile trolley and volunteers who direct outpatients where they need to go so lots of roles for volunteers. My sister went and spoke to the other volunteers at the kiosk where she got the information of who to contact. From there we went in once to submit ID and forms for the DBS and to be registered on the system.

I went on an induction morning with one of the senior volunteers before COVID and I personally enjoyed the experience a lot. I chose the trolley because I thought it would give the best interaction with patients. It was a very independent role and a fair amount of responsibility as some patients ask you to help find their money etc. Reflecting on it now any of the roles offered would have been good and some require less time commitment. Overall, it confirmed to me I liked the hospital environment but it was certainly eye-opening and a lot to take in when remembering how to get around and where you can and can't go. Having said that, my work with the care home has been my favourite and the one I'm most eager to restart after COVID. I'm biased because I've been at the care home for 9 months or so vs the hospital where I've only done one proper shift but I felt I was doing more at the care home and there's a greater sense of continuity because you get to see some of the same people each week. I'm not sure how much help that is to you right now given the pandemic but if you're aiming to get the most out of your experience I'd recommend asking around care homes when they're able to have visitors in.

In terms of additional training there's nothing you can do in advance in particular. If its formal volunteering like in the hospital, they will send you the necessary videos from their internal source a bit like job training. The same goes for a DBS as you need their info to apply for the right one. My best advice for formal volunteering is to find out everything you need to have done before you can start there and be persistent asking how you can do them e.g. if you know you're missing a vaccine, ring them up and get booked in a clinic instead of waiting for them to flag it up on your form. If you can find a more informal opportunity I'd advise applying for that too as you'll probably be able to start sooner.

Have you worked at the hospital during lockdown?

I like helping people out and I want to put it on my CV later
I see... so I have to be 18

I think you can still sign up for NCS for this year but I'm not sure. For the hospital it was actually by chance that I got the place. My sister went in for an appointment and they had a poster up asking for volunteers. As we're both hoping to do medicine she exchanged both of our emails and then we had some forms posted to us a few weeks later and emailing the coordinator. It took quite a while to get rolling so I'd definitely recommend starting up early. Vaccinations take a few weeks especially as they have to fit you into clinics. A DBS takes a few weeks to process and then you have to be put on the system and given the training videos. I started applying in December and up till now due to things like the vaccines are still pending before I can officially start. It may be different where you are but at my local hospital they have a kiosk for snacks as well as a mobile trolley and volunteers who direct outpatients where they need to go so lots of roles for volunteers. My sister went and spoke to the other volunteers at the kiosk where she got the information of who to contact. From there we went in once to submit ID and forms for the DBS and to be registered on the system.

I went on an induction morning with one of the senior volunteers before COVID and I personally enjoyed the experience a lot. I chose the trolley because I thought it would give the best interaction with patients. It was a very independent role and a fair amount of responsibility as some patients ask you to help find their money etc. Reflecting on it now any of the roles offered would have been good and some require less time commitment. Overall, it confirmed to me I liked the hospital environment but it was certainly eye-opening and a lot to take in when remembering how to get around and where you can and can't go. Having said that, my work with the care home has been my favourite and the one I'm most eager to restart after COVID. I'm biased because I've been at the care home for 9 months or so vs the hospital where I've only done one proper shift but I felt I was doing more at the care home and there's a greater sense of continuity because you get to see some of the same people each week. I'm not sure how much help that is to you right now given the pandemic but if you're aiming to get the most out of your experience I'd recommend asking around care homes when they're able to have visitors in.

In terms of additional training there's nothing you can do in advance in particular. If its formal volunteering like in the hospital, they will send you the necessary videos from their internal source a bit like job training. The same goes for a DBS as you need their info to apply for the right one. My best advice for formal volunteering is to find out everything you need to have done before you can start there and be persistent asking how you can do them e.g. if you know you're missing a vaccine, ring them up and get booked in a clinic instead of waiting for them to flag it up on your form. If you can find a more informal opportunity I'd advise applying for that too as you'll probably be able to start sooner.

Wow this must have taken a long time to write! Thank you so much for this, you've really helped me out, I wish I could give you more reps.

You can try volunteering at your local charities/charity fundraising activities (If they have any). It looks really good in your cv as it shows you have done some form of community work, which is relevant in many professions today.