Volunteer

We are looking for family carers who can offer some time to help the CBF reach more families of people with severe learning disabilities and offer them support and information. Perhaps your family have benefitted from our work and you’d like to give something back, or you may be new to the CBF and looking for something rewarding to get involved with.

You could volunteer for us in these two roles:

Local Champions– you would share our information and resources in your local area, by attending events and joining networks. We aim to have a wide network of Local Champions who can spread the CBF’s work to all corners – have a look at our map to see if we need a volunteer in your area. This project focuses on England but in the future we hope to spread our reach even wider!

Maureen, who is already a Local Champion for us, said this about one of the events she attended on our behalf:  “I loved running the stall as I felt proud representing the CBF… This also gave me an opportunity to attend the conference which was excellent and very informative.”

Family Link Volunteers – you would be a ‘link’ for family carers, offering them a listening ear from someone who understands. Caring for someone with severe learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges can be very stressful and isolating, so having someone on the end of the phone offering support can make a huge difference.

Carol describes her experience of this role, “Listening without giving constant advice is a skill I have had to cultivate, and it can be invaluable for someone who is struggling with problems related to challenging behaviour”.

If you are a parent, brother, sister, or other relative and would like to help, then we’d love to hear from you. You don’t have to have any specific experience or qualifications, just the experience you have from supporting your family member. We provide training, induction and support for these roles; this is enabled by funding from the Big Lottery.

To volunteer in this project you must live in England. If you live outside England or would only be able to commit a small amount of time to the CBF, there are other ways you can help us so you are welcome to get in touch.

Volunteers are vital to the work of the CBF; we could not achieve the things we do without the support of our volunteers, both in the office and around the country.

If you would like to volunteer for the CBF please email our Volunteer Coordinator or call on 01634 838739.

To apply as a Local Champion or Family Link Volunteer please download the application and monitoring forms here.