Volunteering

Volunteering is a wonderful way to:

• Make a meaningful difference in your local community
• Support children, young people, and families during challenging times
• Gain new skills and experience
• Meet new people and become part of a supportive, friendly team
• Contribute to the work of one of the UK’s leading children’s healthcare organisation

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds, aged 16 and above, who are passionate about helping others. You don’t need previous experience for all our roles – just enthusiasm, commitment, and a caring approach.

Some volunteer roles do require specific skills or availability, but we have a wide range of opportunities suitable for different interests and strengths.

We have the following criteria that you must be able to comply with to volunteer with us:

• Be over 16 years old (please note: some of our roles are only open to 18+)
• Be able to commit to a minimum of 3 hours per week
• Be able to commit to a minimum of 6 months volunteering
• Be able to attend a training and induction session (held on a weekday)
• Be reliable, trustworthy and motivated to fulfil the volunteer role
• Volunteers must abide by all Sheffield Children’s policies including health and safety, confidentiality and safeguarding
• Volunteers must abide by our CARE values – compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Our volunteers support our Sheffield Children’s community in a variety of ways, including:

• Welcoming visitors at reception points
• Helping with play and activities for children and young people
• Supporting staff with non-clinical tasks
• Offering companionship to children, young people and their families
• Helping to gather feedback to enable us to make improvements
• Gardening

… and many more!

New roles become available throughout the year.

All volunteers are required to complete some background checks prior to volunteering with us. This includes:

1. Criminal Record Check (DBS Check)

Depending on the type of role, we will undertake a enhanced DBS check.

2. Occupational Health Check

This check is in place to ensure you are fit to undertake the volunteer role and to identify any modifications required to assist you.

3. References

We require two references of character and ability to do the volunteering role from people who are not close relatives or friends. This could be an employer, another organisation you volunteer for, a teacher or tutor, amongst others.

If you are accepted as a volunteer, you will be asked to complete some essential training prior to starting:

• Online training modules including safeguarding, health and safety, equality and diversity
• Attend an induction and information session
• Attend a local induction in the department you will be volunteering with
• Sign a volunteer agreement and confidentiality statement

Depending on how long you volunteer with us, you may be required to complete refresher training to keep your knowledge and understanding up-to-date.

If you have any access needs or reasonable adjustments we can make to support you to attend or access the training and induction, please let the team know.

Our volunteers are valued members of Sheffield Children’s. We offer the following:

• We will reimburse travel expenses (within a set limit)
• A uniform will be provided for you to wear when volunteering
• We will provide access to refreshments when on shift
• You will receive regular communications from the Volunteer Services Team
• You will have a designated supervisor within the department you are volunteering

Volunteering is different to work experience. If you’re looking for work experience for college, you can find out more about our opportunities by visiting our work placements webpage.

There are also opportunities to volunteer with other charities involved with the hospital:

• Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity – Volunteering for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity is a fantastic way to give something back, gain valuable experience or meet new friends. They are always in search of people to fill a variety of volunteer positions including charity ambassadors, office and events assistants, collection tin co-ordinators and public collectors. To find out more contact the Charity by emailing volunteer@tchc.org.uk or by calling 0114 321 2470.
• Friends of the Children’s Hospital – The Friends of the Children’s Hospital run a shop in the hospital and fundraise throughout the year to support the Trust and its patients. You can contact them directly to find out how to volunteer.