Volunteering is about bringing residents and members of the community together. Helping promote a good quality of life by forming new friendships and enjoying a variety of experiences and shared interests.
Why volunteer?
As an Osborne House volunteer you will play a significant role in promoting the health and well-being of the residents in the care home. You will become part of our family.
You time will help forge lasting links between Osborne House and the local community, whilst facilitating the delivery of high quality, person centred care. This could involve supporting residents to take part in one of our daily activities, sharing your passion for gardening or just spending time having a chat and building friendships over an afternoon cream tea. Not all our residents have family or friends who can visit them regularly, and as direct result of your time at the home you can make a positive impact on someone’s life, whatever your skills. We appreciate that volunteering is a two-way relationship, therefore we want to understand what you want to get out of the experience. Maybe you have a particular interests and knowledge that you feel would benefit specific residents? Together it is our mission to ensure that we enrich the lives of those in our care, and as a volunteer you become a vital part of that mission.
What are we looking for?
Whether you can spare a couple of hours a month or a few hours a week, any amount of time you have to offer is valued and appreciated by every member of the Osborne House family.
You don’t need specific skills or experience to volunteer with us, as we will provide any necessary ongoing support and training. Just bring along your caring and empathic personality. The Osborne Family prides itself on being inclusive and every volunteer application will be considered individually on merit. There may be some age restrictions that apply based on our insurance such as minimum of 16 years, although please check with us for further details.
The first step is to gives us a ring, or send us an email, and we can arrange a time for an informal chat with the manager. These can take place over the phone, on computer via zoom or skype. You’ll be asked to fill out an application form and be invited to come and have a look around Osborne House to get a feeling for what we are about. We can then consider your skills, experience and interests to ensure we best match these coupled with our team members in order to enrich lives together.
Volunteering FAQs
Although the same regulations around employment is not applicable, all our volunteers are put in a position of trust with our residents. You are therefore expected to undertake a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). We also ask that you are able to confirm your address and provide two forms of Identification. We do also request that you are able to present details of at least one person (preferably two) who would be willing to provide a reference.
Absolutely not, we have volunteers of all age ranges, and there is no upper age limit on volunteering. There may be some age restrictions that apply based on our insurance for a minimum age limit, but please check with us for further details.
There is no set number of hours a week you are required to volunteer for. However, an agreement with the manager on the level of commitment from the outset would be beneficial, given the time to conduct the background checks and bringing you into the Osborne family through initial induction and training.
What's it like to volunteer?
'Volunteering at Osborne House has always been a pleasure. The staff and the residents are always very friendly and cheerful. I have been volunteering for a long time up there and it’s a great atmosphere to chat to people. One of my old neighbours is (a resident) there now, whose husband was our postman many years ago. All the people that I speak to are very friendly.'
Colin Johns, Volunteer
Want to find out more about volunteering?
Get in touch for an informal chat