volunteering@changesbristol.org.uk

Are you a people person? Do you have an ear to lend? If you are able to commit to 2.5 hours per week, this might be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you. 

Changes runs peer support meetings for people experiencing mental distress. . Our groups are open to all (18+), offer free support with no requirement for a referral, a mental health issue (or formal diagnosis), or a limit to the number of sessions anyone can attend. The sessions provide members the opportunity to share anything that is on their mind, if they wish to do so, whilst the group listens and supports each other. The group provides acknowledgment, reflection and acceptance to each member after they have shared. In order to run our meetings effectively, we need volunteers to facilitate them. This is where you come in!

Facilitating is an extremely rewarding role in which you help to run our peer support meetings. This involves being responsible for creating inclusive, safe, non-judgemental and empathetic spaces that enable members to connect and support each other. We will provide full training and supervision. After 3 training sessions, you will be expected to commit approximately 2.5 hours of your time, the same time every week. We need volunteers to be dependable and committed when taking on the role.

As we operate from a model of peer support, we value lived experiences of mental health challenges, so while this is not a requirement for the role, it can be to your advantage when running the groups.

If you would like an information pack to apply for the next training course please email  volunteering@changesbristol.org.uk

 The Welcome Space Wellbeing Groups have a similar premise to our other support meetings with the additional element of being spaces to get support on the emotional impact of cost of living issues and the option of being signposted to other organisations that may be able to help if required.

As a volunteer you would the opportunity to be part of something meaningful and to develop and learn new skills. Our volunteer facilitators will be responsible for creating inclusive, safe, non-judgemental, empathetic spaces that enable members to connect and support each other. Members who have attended our wellbeing groups have said it has helped them to feel empowered, build resilience, connection and helped them to make changes in their lives for the better.

Being a facilitator is a responsible position, where vulnerable adults rely on our service, therefore we need volunteers to be dependable and committed when taking on the role. Being a facilitator is an extremely rewarding and challenging role.

 If this sounds like the position for you, please send an email expressing your interest to volunteering@changesbristol.org.uk.

We’re currently looking for volunteers to help us with our telephone Befriending Service

This is a crucial service that offers support for people that may not be able to make it to our group meetings and are experiencing feelings of isolation or mental distress.

This is an incredibly rewarding role that offers people a safe and empathetic listening ear, allowing them to talk about their feelings or share what is going on in their lives and start making changes for the better.

We are looking for volunteers that can support one or two people for at least 1 hour a week and offer comprehensive training and ongoing supervision for the role. Get in touch to find out more information – Befriending@changesbristol.org.uk

If you are looking for a voluntary role where you can learn fundraising and events skills within a friendly and sociable team, then this position is for you! We are on the hunt for volunteers to help us organise and run our events that raise essential funds for the important work our charity does. From clothes swaps to pub quizzes, our fundraising team are responsible for coming up with creative ideas to engage the community through exciting events. 

This role is perfect for someone looking to gain experience in fundraising or events or simply to get stuck in to a worthwhile grassroots project.

We are flexible in terms of how much time you can give. Please send an email expressing your interest at volunteering@changesbristol.org.uk

We are looking for a creative and enthusiastic marketing and design volunteer who would help us to create inspiring and engaging materials and content for social media and print.

As a small charity we aim to reach more people across Bristol who can benefit from the service we provide, enabling people to meet, share, connect and strive towards better mental health.  The Marketing and Design volunteer will provide valuable support to our small team and especially support our Fundraising and Communications Officer to raise awareness and vital funds needed to run our mental health service across Bristol.

It’s a fun role where you can get involved in running online fundraising campaigns and building up our social media presence knowing that you are helping a local peer led charity to progress and offer more support to those in mental distress.

This role is perfect for someone who already has experience in marketing and design and is keen to gain more experience in the charity sector, or someone looking for a career change or simply to get stuck in to some worthwhile grassroots projects.

The role will mainly be office based and ideally an hour or two every week. If you are interested or for more information, please contact volunteering@changesbristol.org.uk

We are looking for talented sewing enthusiasts to join our team at our unique fundraising sewing event Mend For Good.

We host our pop-up clothing alterations and repair service at offices and sports clubs to help raise awareness and funds for our vital support groups. If you are a dab hand on a sewing machine and can fix zips, rips and hems then we’d love to hear from you! We couldn’t run this event without the commitment of our excellent sewing volunteers who give up time to take part.

Find out more about volunteering at Mend for Good here

We are always on the lookout for interesting and engaging content to feature in our monthly newsletter.  If you have an idea for an article you’d like to write, images you’d like to share or a story of how Changes has helped you, get in touch!

Changes Bristol is a thriving, dynamic and expanding mental health charity, and we are often looking for new people to join and improve our skills base within the Board of Trustees. We are especially keen to diversify the range of people who our board represents.

We are particularly interested in accepting applications for the board from prospective trustees who have a background in the law, HR or experience of working in the charity sector at a middle management level and have held trustee/ board positions in the charitable or public sector.

Being a trustee is a responsible and rewarding position and involves a commitment to the charity of several hours a month to attend trustee meetings and help make decisions to improve the charity for the future.

Could you be someone that could help our charity?  If you would like to become a trustee then please complete a Trustee Application Form and send it to chairoftrustees@changesbristol.org.uk