Put simply, The Fire Fighters Charity would not be able to support thousands of beneficiaries every year at its centres and in communities across the UK, without the support of volunteers.
In 2019, volunteers donated a cumulative total of approximately 100,000 hours of their time to support the fire community and to help raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity.
Volunteers contribute to the innovation, effectiveness and efficiency of the Charity, and in some cases, provide us with vital links across our community.
Volunteering at one of our centres for just 3 to 4 hours a week or fortnight makes a big difference, as does helping out with our Living Well Groups or in many other ways. You will be part of a friendly local community and be supporting your local Fire and Rescue Service. These roles are thoroughly rewarding and offer tremendous value to staff and beneficiaries alike.
So, whatever your background, if you are interested in volunteering for the Charity we would love to hear from you.
Current Opportunities
Our volunteer vacancies include:
Living Well Groups Coordinators
Social isolation after retirement can affect many of us, but it can be even more keenly felt after leaving the Fire and Rescue Service.
Our monthly Living Well Groups have a very strong social element; they offer a relaxed environment to chat over a hot drink, have a positive wellbeing focus and enable members to reconnect with each other, the Fire Service and with the Fire Fighters Charity.
The groups are supported by two volunteer Living Well Coordinators who host the monthly 2-hour sessions. They organise for speakers to come along to talk about topics of interest (often guided by what the group want), as well as invite our practitioners along to give guidance on health and wellbeing. Demand is so high that we are looking to develop Living Well Groups across the whole of the UK.
The role would ideally suit someone with a fire and rescue service background, who has a regular weekday morning or afternoon to spare each month – full training and support is provided.
Digital Living Well Groups Volunteer Coordinator
During the pandemic, all of our beneficiaries were offered the opportunity to join Living Well Groups via Zoom. These proved so popular that we will continue to run them even after the easing of Covid restrictions.
In the same way as the face-to-face groups, the digital groups have a strong social element. They are hosted by two volunteer coordinators who offer a relaxed environment where members can chat together over a coffee, share interests and benefit from expert health and wellbeing advice, and/or activities.
Living Well Groups Volunteer Activity Organiser
To support our both our face-to-face and digital Living Well Groups, we are looking for a small team of volunteer activity organisers to source and book speakers from local or national organisations.
For example, Men’s Sheds came to one group to talk about how the concept came about and how members can access a Men’s Sheds club locally. Another group had a taster of Tai Chi, another a talk from a local historian, etc. The list of possibilities is endless.
The role is flexible for the right person and you must have good organisational skills, and be willing to speak to people over the telephone and occasionally across Zoom. Full training and support is provided.
Specialist Living Well Groups Coordinators
Do you teach a skill, hobby or have specialist knowledge that can be shared with others, either as a one-off 1-hour session, or 2 hours once a month on a regular basis? We’d love to hear from you.
Social isolation after retirement can affect many of us, but it can be even more keenly felt after leaving the Fire and Rescue Service, or ‘fire family’ as it often referred to. We are looking to develop special interest groups as part of our Living Well offering for our retired beneficiaries aged 64+. The groups vary in size, up to a maximum of 20 members, and you can choose whether to join a face-to-face or digital group via Zoom. Full training and support is provided.
Visitor Services Volunteers
Penrith, Littlehampton and Devon
Our rehabilitation and recovery centres are looking for people from the local community to join their already successful volunteer teams. Each centre has a team of volunteers who, working in pairs, offer our new beneficiaries a warm welcome, a briefing session on what to expect during the course of their programme and a tour of the facilities before they settle into their stay.
Living Well Groups – Digital Age Champions
Living Well Groups were established for our retired beneficiaries, to build strong retired networks which promote social wellbeing, age resilience and to alleviate and prevent social isolation or loneliness.
For beneficiaries who don’t readily use technology or are not very confident about certain aspects of it, our Digital Age Champions can make a big difference to their lives.
Working in pairs, you will run live digital sessions over Zoom for our retired beneficiaries, demonstrating how to get the most from their smartphone, tablet, or PC.
The sessions are relaxed, informal and provide focus on the simple things such as sending text messages and emails, using social media and online shopping/banking securely, as well as connecting with family and friends via video calling.
Coffee Shop & Snack Bar Volunteers
Harcombe House, Devon
Harcombe House is a specialist health and well-being centre where serving and retired Fire and Rescue Service personnel can seek professional support after physical, emotional or social trauma.
For some, the Coffee Shop & Snack Bar may play an important part in reconnecting with every day life, so it is essential that the coffee shop runs efficiently and maintains the same calm friendly atmosphere that reflects the rest of the Centre.
Volunteers receive training, including using a barista-style coffee machine and are fully supported by the hospitality team.
Garden Volunteers
Harcombe House, Devon
We are looking for volunteers to help cultivate and maintain the beautiful gardens that surround our Devon well-being centre. Ideally, you will have some gardening experience as much of our outside space is designed to relax the senses.
If you are interested in any of the volunteer roles above, or possess skills/experience you believe we may be interested in, please call or email Kate Harrison: 01256 368 866 / 07880 725296 KHarrison@firefighterscharity.org.uk.