Volunteering

St John’s Hospice aims to offer patients the highest quality of physical, psychological, spiritual and social care in a supportive atmosphere which is knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. We believe this is best achieved by a multi-disciplinary approach where different professional and non-professional carers work together to provide consistent care and advice. For this reason the input of the volunteers at St John’s is considered invaluable.

Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, ranging from students to people who have retired. Some people volunteer their skills related to their jobs, some relish the opportunity to try something completely new. The one thing all of our volunteers have in common is that they give their time and enthusiasm freely to take on a role that they know makes a huge difference.

Volunteers work as extended members of the hospice team, and work with the support of our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Sophie McEwen. Volunteers work in a wide range of areas in the hospice, including the in-patient unit, in day services, with the fundraising team and the hospice shop.  They also work as drivers for day services, as escorts on our ambulance and as befrienders, visiting people in their own homes.

When working with patients we ask you to give a minimum of one session per week (normally three hours) on a regular basis. Within the shop and the fundraising department, the times and hours worked are more flexible.

We provide induction training for new volunteers, as well as regular refresher training (including mandatory fire training and moving and handling sessions). We hold a quarterly volunteer meetings, which serve as a support network as well as offering regular opportunities for volunteers to share their experiences ideas and suggestions. We have recently started a regular volunteer peer support group.

We take our commitment to volunteers very seriously and were delighted to be awarded the prestigious Investing In Volunteers standard in October 2009 for our Befriending Service.

We are currently looking for volunteers to help support the Hospice shop on St John's Wood High Street. In particular we hope to find a Volunteer eBay Coordinator, Volunteer Retail Assistants, Volunteer Sorters, and Volunteer Pricing Coordinator.

If you are interested , please contact our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Sophie McEwen on 020 7806 4049 or by email.