Volunteering

Volunteering With Dacorum Mencap

Volunteering in your community is your chance to make a difference locally to the lives of people with a learning disability. One of the things all our volunteers say is that it an extremely fulfilling experience and one they would encourage people to undertake.

Dacorum Mencap offer a range of volunteering opportunities.  These opportunities are to work with members through our ROAR scheme and our monthly Gateway Club.  You can find more information about these schemes on the relevant pages.

If you volunteer with Dacorum Mencap, you will be working with individuals who have varying degrees of learning disabilities, and may also have other special needs.  They love socialising, and our aim is to provide activities that they all enjoy.

We offer a wide range of activities to our members, which are organised and led by Activity Leader and supported by our Volunteers.  Our aim is to have fun, and provide members with a wide range of activities.

Here are just some of the activities we have organised recently:  kite flying, easy bikes, zoo trips, canal boat trips, weekends away, seaside trips, theatre trips, social events – the list is endless!

We also get involved in various fund-raising activities. 

Frequently asked questions about volunteering

Dacorum Mencap offer a range of volunteering opportunities.  These opportunities are to work with members through our  ROAR scheme  and our monthly Gateway Club.  You can find more information about these schemes on the relevant pages.

To volunteer  supporting someone with a learning disability you will need to be 18 or over.

There is no upper age limit for our volunteers.

A DBS check is a Disclosure and Barring Service check and looks at whether you have a criminal record. DBS checks are free for volunteers.

 

Yes, but you need to tell us when you apply for a volunteer role. You may be asked to complete a DBS check if your role requires it.

If you have a criminal record we will make a case–by–case decision about whether or not you can volunteer in the role.

Yes! Some of our volunteering opportunities are for one-off events, some are for set amounts of time, but others are flexible.

Volunteering should not affect your benefits, but we suggest you ask for advice from the Job Centre or your employment advisor.

No.

Dacorum Mencap will pay agreed out-of-pocket expenses that you may have whilst volunteering (e.g. for travel, meals or activity costs whilst volunteering). 

We will have an informal chat about the role of volunteering

As your volunteer role involves supporting people with a learning disability, we will ask you for two references.

 

Yes. You can ask for a reference upon leaving, or sooner if you need one for a job or college application.

We hope to have volunteers starting within 4 weeks of application, but sometimes DBS checks and references mean it can take longer.

Depending on your role, volunteers may be required to attend an online or in person induction.

 

Volunteer Application

Please complete this form as fully as possible.

Emergency Contact Details
Personal Information
DBS (previously CRB) check

In the interests of the people we support, it is Dacorum Mencap’s policy that all volunteers undergo a criminal records check. This is free, and you will be told how to apply.


(This information is treated in the strictest confidence and will be considered only as it relates to the voluntary work undertaken. By virtue of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, in particular the Exceptions Amendment order 1986 regarding people working with the mentally disabled, spent convictions must also be disclosed).

References

Please give the names, addresses and telephone numbers and email adddress of two people (not relatives or partners) who know you well and whom we may contact for a reference. We may wish to speak to referees personally.
Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

Dacorum Mencap is committed to Equal Opportunities and aims to welcome users of its services and volunteers from across the whole community. To help us check that we are reaching the widest possible range of people, we ask that you provide the following information, which will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. We will store this information securely and will not pass individual information about you to anyone outside Dacorum Mencap. We may use the information to compile reports and statistics about our work to show our funders and others how our schemes are performing.
Thank You for Completing our Form

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