Open Hands Community Transport
Office Support Role
Working with another volunteer to communicate with drivers and clients to arrange transport for medical appointments and completing the relevant paperwork.
The office is open from 10am - 12:30pm from Monday to Friday.
At the present time, the role is to help out over holiday periods as and when required. We work on a two week rota, so you may be required to work once or twice in a fortnight.
Location: Poynton Community Centre (opposite the Club on Park Lane.)
Contact: Please leave your details with the office on 01625 878 589 and Administrator Adelle Johnson will return your call.
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Telephone Befriender, Changing Lives Together
We are looking for anyone aged 18 or above who might be able to provide 30-60 minutes a week to call one of our services users who are over 50 and experiencing loneliness or isolation. Our service is dependent on our wonderful volunteers who are looking for a friendly, flexible way to volunteer and change someone's life.
Flexible. 30 mins per week minimum.
https://www.changing-lives-together.org.uk/b-b-volunteer-charter or contact us to arrange an informal chat.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069497523078
Contact Pete Marsden, Lead Volunteer Coordinator: pmarsden@changing-lives-together.org.uk
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Volunteer store assistant, DEBRA
Operating the till
Giving excellent customer service
Sorting donated stock
Keeping the shop clean and tidy
Visual merchandising
Be part of a dedicated team carrying out a wide and varied range of tasks to help make our shops a success whilst helping to raise vital funds to help support people living with the painful genetic skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
Flexible shifts. Location: 3/3a Park Lane, Poynton, SK12 1RD
Contact: Mark Francis, Volunteering Development Manager, mark.francis@debra.org.uk 07501 818423
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Volunteer
Gardener
Poynton in Bloom are a group of volunteers who plant and maintain a number of containers which are mostly to be found in and around the centre of Poynton, with the aim of providing additional colour to brighten up the streets of Poynton.
The bedding plants are changed twice a year in spring and autumn and in between the main tasks are to keep the containers weeded, plants deadheaded, trimmed and watered.
We also maintain some other planters on behalf of the Town Council and the task there is to weed and maintain the more permanent planting within those.
The group are currently looking for new volunteers to help the current group that we have. Even if you don’t already know a lot about gardening we can pair you up with people who do and help us with the planting and/or watering.
If you would like more information then please contact us Poyntoninbloom@talktalk.net.
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Poynton Summerfest Volunteer Organisers Wanted
Until 2019 a group of volunteers successfully ran the Poynton Summerfest. This is a community event held annually in July on Mount Vernon playing fields and the picturesque Middlewood Way platform at Higher Poynton.
The event features local bands, children’s entertainment, pony rides, dog show, climbing wall and funfair together with local produce and handcrafted stalls.
It also had extremely popular licensed bar and a variety of food stalls.
However, since the interruption caused by Covid we have not been able to re-introduce the Summerfest as we no longer have enough volunteers to organise and run the event on the day.
If anyone would like to give something back to the local Poynton community and take on the role of organising this lovely local event please contact the Summerfest group via Facebook, Messenger or email Poyntonsummerfest@gmail.com.
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North East Cheshire Community Partnership - Secretary
(Posted 23rd November 22)
A volunteering role has arisen for a secretary to join the North East Cheshire Community Partnership (NECCP) team. The NECCP represents the communities of Poynton and eight surrounding parishes, and receives annual funding from Cheshire East Council. Grants are awarded from these funds to support fresh initiatives that are judged to be beneficial to residents, generally to promote their wellbeing, and support other community needs.
This role involves circulating an agenda by e-mail (agreed with the Chair) around ten days before each NECCP meeting. The secretary takes a record of the meetings, which generally last around 90 minutes. Those present are encouraged to forward their contributions to the secretary electronically, and so can form much of the record. The draft record is sent by e-mail to the Chair for approval, and then distributed, again by e-mail, to the NECCP representatives.
Meetings take place every two months and then the time required to prepare the minutes and circulate them.
Meetings are held in central Poynton, and occasionally at venues in the other member towns and parishes.
Please forward expressions of interest to Robert Hughes, Chair of NECCP via email cllr.hughes@mottramstandrewpc.org.uk
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Poynton Pick & Tidy (ongoing)
Volunteers following guidance, safely carry out litter pick activities in Poynton, with the aim of improving the environment and helping to maintain Poynton as a great place to live.
If you are interested in volunteering for Poynton Pick and Tidy, email chris.oakes@poyntontowncouncil.gov.uk and follow the Poynton Pick and Tidy Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/poyntonpickandtidy
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Open Hands Community Transport – Volunteer
drivers wanted
What: Open Hands drivers collect elderly and vulnerable residents of Poynton and drive them to medical appointments. This can be locally around Poynton to doctors, dentists, clinics or further a field to hospitals in the surrounding areas. We then return the client home safely.
Where: Our office is based at Poynton Community Centre opposite the Club on Park Lane.
Most of our trips are local around Poynton and to Macclesfield and Stepping Hill hospital. We also have trips to Manchester Royal, Wythenshawe Cheadle Royal. but only accept the trips where you are comfortable to drive to.
When: Open Hands ask for between 3 - 5 day notice on all appointments to give us time to locate a driver. So you can fit your time with us around your commitments. The time you give is entirely up to you whether you can commit to one or two trips a month or 2 to three a week the choice is yours. We appreciate all the help you can give.
Contact us: Please call in at the Community Centre between 10am and 12.30pm for more information and to leave your details or phone 01625 878589 and we will call you back.
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Re-engage - Volunteer tea party group co-ordinator
Tea parties provide a lifeline of friendship for our older people, and the regular, warm, friendly chats and companionship provide a vital link with the outside world from which they have become isolated.
What: As a tea party group coordinator, you will ensure older guests know when and where the next tea party will be held and who will be collecting them each month. This is an administrative role that requires planning and scheduling, you must be comfortable organising monthly events with volunteer hosts, socialising, communicating with people and resolving issues that might arise. You will need a DBS for this role.
Tea party group coordinators will have the following skills and attributes:
Excellent communication skills
Good administrative skills and IT literacy
Enjoys socialising and meeting new people
A friendly, empathetic approach
Able to solve problems
Patience and caring
A passion for improving the lives of lonely and isolated older people
Tasks include: Welcoming new volunteers and ensuring they have the right checks in place.
Checking ID documents for a DBS (England)
When: This is a flexible, homebased voluntary role that can easily be fitted in around your own lifestyle and availability.
Arranging the first tea party for your group is likely to take several hours of your time; once your group is up and running, however, you will be volunteering for around four hours a month (roughly broken down into two hours for a tea party and roughly two hours mostly on admin and some travel).
This is a long-term voluntary role, so we are ideally looking for individuals who can commit to volunteering with us for at least 12 months. Expenses are paid for certain activities.
Where: This is home based, but hoping a tea party group can be set up to cover Poynton and the surrounding area.
Re-engage - Volunteer tea party host
Tea parties provide a lifeline of friendship for our older people, and the regular, warm, friendly chats and companionship provide a vital link with the outside world from which they have become isolated.
What: Re-engage needs enthusiastic volunteers to work as tea party hosts.
As a volunteer host you will run a local Re-engage tea party one to two times a year. You will host a group of four to 12 people (which includes drivers, the group coordinator as well as older guests) in either your home or a community venue. The tea parties will last around two hours and will usually take place on a Sunday afternoon. You must be comfortable socialising with people and providing guests and other volunteers with refreshments.
You will need one reference and to complete an ID check for this role.
Tasks include: Welcoming a group of older guests and volunteer drivers into your home or to the community venue.
Providing and serving refreshments for your group – usually food and drinks for afternoon tea.
Liaising with your group coordinator to ensure dietary requirements and the older guests' needs are met prior to the tea party.
Informing the group coordinator of any safeguarding concerns or issues you might have.
Following all guidance in your host training modules to ensure that the tea parties are enjoyable, appropriate, and in line with our charitable aims.
The number of older guests attending your tea party will be confirmed by the group coordinator prior to the group meeting so you have plenty of time to plan. It is important for the older guests to have access to a downstairs toilet. They will also require seating; a combination of lounge chairs and hard back chairs is fine. Don’t worry if you don’t have chairs for all the drivers as they will be circulating and helping you if required, so you can enjoy the afternoon too. A lot of stairs can present problems, although just a few steps are usually manageable. You will be volunteering for around two hours plus setting up time once or twice a year.
When: Hosting one to two tea parties a year but more if willing! No expenses will be covered for this role.
Re-engage - Volunteer tea party driver
Tea parties provide a lifeline of friendship for our older people, and the regular, warm, friendly chats and companionship provide a vital link with the outside world from which they have become isolated.
What: Drivers take older people to the parties and stay with them to enjoy the get-together. Over time, drivers and older guests get to know each other well and together you will spend many hours full of fun, laughter, and stories.
As a tea party driver, you liaise with your group coordinator and take older guests to and from the tea parties each month. Staying at the tea party is part of your role, so it’s much more than being a driver.
You will need to have a full, clean, driving license, and a DBS. You will also need to check that you are covered by your regular motor insurance policy to do this role.
You will drive them to either a host's home or a community venue for an afternoon get-together to socialise and enjoy some refreshments.
Please note that you must be at least 18 years old to volunteer as a driver.
Volunteer drivers with the following skills and attributes:
Organised
Good conversational skills
Considerate driving ability
Ability to navigate to new addresses
A friendly, and empathetic approach
Patience and understanding of supporting older people
Basic computer literacy (including the ability to use emails)
Driving one to two older guests using your own car to a tea party venue and returning them home again after the event.
Staying at the tea party to help with conversation and serve refreshments.
Liaising with the group coordinator to confirm which older guests you will pick up.
Informing the group coordinator of any safeguarding concerns or issues you might have.
Following all guidance in your driver training modules to ensure that the tea parties are enjoyable, appropriate, and in line with our charitable aims.
When: This is a flexible, voluntary role that can easily be fitted in around your own lifestyle and availability. As a tea party driver, you will be responsible for picking up one or two older guests from their homes usually on a Sunday afternoon once a month. The parties last around two hours after which you drive them home again.
Where: Home based but hoping a tea party group can be set up to cover Poynton and the surrounding area.