Purpose of the role
The Chatty Café Scheme connects volunteers with those experiencing loneliness and social isolation to receive a weekly telephone call. We truly believe having a chat can brighten someone’s day, and a simple weekly chat over the phone to someone experiencing loneliness can make a big difference to a person’s well-being and happiness.
What will you be doing
After being matched with your 2 people (beneficiaries) to call, you will be required to phone them both for 30 minutes each, for 12 consecutive weeks. Once those calls have ended, you’ll be matched to your second set of beneficiaries for another 12 weeks and so on, for 12 months. You can decide with the beneficiary, the day and time you call, as it needs to be convenient for both of you.
We are looking for Volunteers with the following skills and attributes:
- Enjoy chatting to new people
- Good at listening
- Very reliable
- A friendly, patient, and empathetic approach
- Ability to complete an online application form and access zoom virtual meeting
- Basic computer literacy (including the ability to use email)
- Passionate about our vision
When and where
You can do this role from home, over the telephone, and do not need to travel anywhere.
You need to be able to call your person from a landline or a mobile phone. We cannot reimburse you for the calls you make so it is important that you check you have unlimited free calls on your phone contract.
It is very important that you call when you promise to and provide regular feedback to your Volunteer Supervisor, with an update on how your calls are going and to relay any concerns you might have.
Support offered
We provide training before you start your calls and run through all the rules that are in place to keep you and the beneficiaries as safe as possible. We also ask you to watch a safeguarding video and attend an onboarding session on zoom.
Once you start your calls, you will be matched to a Volunteer Supervisor who will check in with you once a month to ask for an update on how your calls are going.
What you could get out of it
Volunteers often say they enjoy talking to someone new and learning new things through the conversations. The feeling of knowing that you are making a positive difference to another person’s life, through a simple phone call, can be very rewarding.
Requirements from you.
- Agree to obtain an enhanced DBS check
- Attend 1 x 30-minute onboarding session
- Attend 1 x 30-minute safeguarding training session
- Complete a virtual ID check
- Provide 1 x reference name
- Inform your Volunteer Supervisor/Chatty Café Scheme Designated Safeguarding Officer of any safeguarding concerns or issues you might have
- Maintain confidentiality about the person you are calling
- Follow all guidance in your Chatty Telephone Volunteer training to ensure that the experience for all parties, as much as possible, is enjoyable, appropriate, and in line with our mission, values, and policies
DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate
All our telephone volunteers are required to have an Enhanced Adult DBS certificate, less than 2 years old. The cost to obtain a DBS check is £16. If you do not have one already, we can help you apply for one.
Other relevant information
You need to be able to access Zoom video conferencing, as this platform is used to run our volunteer onboarding sessions and identification and DBS checks.
