FAQs for Volunteers
What age do I have to be to volunteer for Forget Me Not?
To volunteer in one of our shops, you’ll need to be aged 14 or over.
To volunteer at our hospice, you’ll need to be aged 18 or over, unless you’re volunteering at a fundraising event at the hospice.
We’ll ask anyone under the age of 18 to complete a parental consent form and we’ll complete a young person risk assessment.
There is no maximum volunteering age as long as you can make a useful and safe contribution, the activity is suitable for your age and won’t harm you in any way.
Am I legally entitled to volunteer in the UK?
If you are a UK citizen, you are entitled to volunteer. If you are not a UK citizen, please contact the UK Borders and Immigration Agency to find out if your visa allows you to volunteer.
Do I need particular skills and qualifications?
This depends on the role. For some roles, such as volunteer counsellors, we ask you have a relevant qualification and/or experience. For other roles, we might be looking for someone who can just get stuck in. The requirements for each role are outlined on the role description.
I have recently suffered a bereavement. Can I still volunteer at Forget Me Not?
We will not normally invite you to volunteer with Forget Me Not if you currently have a relative or friend being supported by us.
We will also usually only invite volunteers to volunteer at our hospice 12 months after a bereavement.
We do have other volunteering opportunities not based at the hospice where we will accept volunteers who have suffered a recent bereavement, if they feel ready..
However, this can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. With this in mind, we include a question about bereavement in our volunteer application form.
The company I work for allows me and my colleagues to have time off to volunteer. Can Forget Me Not host a team of corporate volunteers?
Employee volunteering is a great way of team-building while also helping Forget Me Not and we welcome enquiries. Volunteers always get a warm welcome and are very much appreciated.
You might be undertaking tasks such as helping to set up for our events, support on the day of our events (usually weekends), gardening projects, skills sharing, sorting donated stock at our retail warehouse in Brighouse (a short distance from the hospice), making up fundraising packs, supermarket bag packs and working in our shops.
To support Forget Me Not through corporate volunteering please click here for more information, complete our online enquiry form or call 01484 411040.
Some volunteering opportunities are in high demand and so are usually reserved for companies that are members of our 99er Business Club.
I have a criminal record. Can I still volunteer?
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from volunteering with us; this will depend upon the nature of the volunteering role and the circumstances and background of your offence.
How much time do I need to give?
This varies depending on the role. For some roles such as bag packs or bucket collections in supermarkets, you can do as little or as much as you’d like. For other roles such as in our shops, we may ask for a minimum of 4 hours per week. Each role description shows what time commitments are required.
Will I be trained?
Yes, but what this training looks like will be different for different roles. Once you start your volunteering, we will let you know of any training requirements. No matter what the role, your supervisor will give you a thorough induction to your role so that you are confident in what we are asking you to do.
How will I be kept up to date with news from Forget Me Not?
Your supervisor will update you with any news relevant to your role. We would also like to tell you about news, updates and opportunities across Forget Me Not via our monthly volunteer e-newsletter. If you’re happy to receive this, please let us know when you join us as a volunteer. For information on our privacy policy please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Keeping up to date with our news means that you not only have the latest messages and information, but it will help you tell your friends, family, and your local community about us.
How do you reward and recognise your volunteers?
We hold regular events to say thank you for the time, energy and commitment that our volunteers give us. These are always sociable, informative, and hopefully fun! Dates will be advertised in the newsletter, on posters, and through your supervisor. We also celebrate National Volunteers Week in June each year.
We give long service badges to volunteers who have completed 1, 3, 5 and 10 years of volunteering service.
Additionally, we often celebrate our volunteers across our social media channels and feature case studies. Please let us know if you would like to be featured!
Will I be insured?
Forget Me Not’s liability Insurance covers all volunteers.
However, the insurance policy does not cover volunteers aged under 16 or over 70 for personal assault when undertaking cash handling activities such as using a till, bucket collections or manning a tombola. This means that you would not be covered for any injury caused to you in the unlikely event of a robbery. Therefore, for your protection, you cannot undertake cash handling activities if you are under 16 or over 70.
For some volunteer roles, such as complementary therapy, we may ask you to arrange your own professional indemnity insurance.
Do you offer expenses?
Yes, we offer volunteers the opportunity to claim expenses in line with our volunteer expenses policy, which you can view here.
What if I’m already a volunteer? Can I volunteer in more than one role?
The big answer is YES! If you’re already registered with us as a volunteer and you’re interested in another role, please contact the volunteer team or email volunteers@forgetmenotchild.co.uk. You will not be required to complete another application form, however further checks maybe done, depending on the role.
I’d like to volunteer with you. What do I do next?
All our volunteering opportunities are listed here.
Once you’ve sent us your application form, we will be in touch to discuss what happens next.
I’d like to volunteer in an area which isn’t listed amongst your volunteer vacancies. Can I still help?
We love hearing your ideas about how you can help! However, we do need to make sure that there is a need for volunteers in certain areas and that staff are available to support our volunteers.
So, if a volunteer vacancy isn’t listed within a particular area, then we may not have the capacity to take on volunteers within that department. However, we always welcome any enquiries, so if you have any skills that you may be able to offer then please get in touch on volunteers@forgetmenotchild.co.uk or 01484 411040.