This is really up to you – there is no limits on the amount of time you need to volunteer. All of our volunteers help for different lengths of time, depending on what they can offer and fits in with their schedule.

We have opportunities that only take a few hours per month, to five days a week - or more. Some roles are for one-off events, some are short term and others might need a longer-term commitment due to the nature of the role. Once you apply, one of our voluntary services officers will ring to go through some informal questions and will discuss your availability and what roles might be suitable.

Registered volunteers at Demelza do need to be over 16 years old, and there is no upper age limit to join us.

Some of our opportunities do have age restrictions. That's typically because of the type of role, or because of our insurance requirements. Our roles directly helping families and children are restricted to 18 years and above. Also volunteering in our warehouse is also restricted to volunteers aged over 18. The voluntary services team will discuss any restrictions with you at the informal questions chat, to help with any decisions.

All training Demelza has in place is to ensure the safety of yourselves as well as our staff and families, and to enhance your skills in your role.

All volunteers are also required to undertake some mandatory training every 3 years, usually via e-learning, to ensure you are up to date with the health and safety information, safeguarding and data protection information you need for your role. You will be supported in your new role by the department manager, who will help you learn any new skills needed to undertake the new role. Finally, there are some roles that are hospice based that need further training, such as food hygiene for our catering volunteers, and care training for volunteers helping directly with families.

Yes, Demelza will always pay volunteer expenses, so long as they have been agreed by your department manager first. These can include reimbursement for travel to and from your place of volunteering, such as petrol, bus or train fare, as well as out of pocket expenses such as postage, equipment purchased etc.

Yes, of course. You are under no obligation to keep volunteering for us if you are not enjoying your role. It is always worth talking to somebody before stopping – this could be your department manager or someone from voluntary services – if there are any issues that need addressing and what could improve your volunteering. We are also more than happy to look at changing your role or department if you would like to try something new.

Upon leaving, the volunteering team will send an exit questionnaire where you are able to provide any feedback. These are all received by the Head of Volunteering who will contact volunteers if they wish to discuss anything further. If you feel something is seriously wrong, or you are not being treated as you should, there is a complaints procedure in place that can be found on the Demelza website that will ensure any concerns are escalated.

Demelza will always try to support any volunteers with additional needs. The Voluntary Services team ask all applicants whether you have any additional needs you need support with, and whether there are any reasonable adjustments we could put in place to improve your volunteering experience. We would discuss your needs and try to find you the most suitable volunteering position, and will liaise with department managers to fine the best opportunity for you. Unfortunately there may be a delay in confirming a volunteering position, or in some circumstances we may not be able to support a role. For example if we do not currently have any capacity as the manager is already supporting others with additional needs there would not be enough supervision in place to provide a fulfilling and safe experience. We will always strive to offer a suitable placement to all applicants when possible.

Yes, you can! Although a lot of our opportunities are for individuals, there are some opportunities to help with others you know. A lot of our events and fundraising in the community can be done as part of a group, the more hands the merrier!

If there is space in our shops, there may also be the opportunity to help on the same shift. Obviously at the moment we have to be careful of limiting the number of people in a space, but when we can accommodate this we will.

In our hospice based and family facing roles, volunteers do need to undertake a DBS check before volunteering. Because we are a children’s hospice, any volunteers helping on site on a regular basis need an enhanced DBS check in place before starting. Volunteers that help directly with families and children, like our care and practical support volunteers, have a higher-level check undertaken that includes the adult and child barred lists.

Demelza has a Safeguarding assurance committee that regularly reviews volunteer and staff roles and the DBS and training requirements for each of these.

Demelza believes in people’s ability to turn their lives around and to move past and learn from mistakes. Having a criminal record will not necessarily stop you from volunteering with us. We are committed to being an inclusive organisation to all people and comply fully with the Code of Practice set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Demelza does not ask applicants to disclose any details of convictions or cautions at application. One of our trained voluntary services officers will give you the opportunity to declare any relevant convictions at our informal questions interview.   Unless the nature of the role allows Demelza to ask about your entire criminal record, we will only ask about unspent convictions and pending prosecutions, as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. If you are concerned about anything which will appear in your DBS Check and voluntary disclosure, please contact us so we can provide the framework by which we might make a decision to remove an offer of employment/volunteering opportunity.

Any declarations will be followed by an open and measured discussion, and are considered on an individual basis in regards to the role you are interested in undertaking. This information is only seen by those who need to see it in order to complete the registration process. Any decisions would be confirmed by the Head of Volunteering and Deputy Director of People Services.

We are always happy to have a chat with anyone about volunteering, so please do get in touch with a member of the team, whether you have a specific query or just want to check volunteering is the right thing for you. Our main volunteering phone line is 01795 845170, or you can email volunteering@demelza.org.uk and a member of the team can contact you.