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Are you thinking of becoming a volunteer?
Believe it or not, Pathway Project was founded on volunteer hours back in the early 90s, with the start of our 24-hour helpline all from our founder Kathy Coe’s bedroom. Due to the lack of help for domestic abuse victims in the area, Kathy took it upon herself to do something about this. Without Kathy’s determination and dedication to the Pathway Project, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Pathway Project has an incredible team of dedicated volunteers who go above and beyond in their roles to help improve the lives of the adults and children we work with.
Without our volunteers, we would not be able to provide the support we do. Volunteers are an integral part of our charity, helping with everything from helpline to fundraising to administration.
If volunteering with us sounds like something that interests you send an email to talktoeve@pathway-project.co.uk
If you have any questions regarding volunteering please call us on 01543 442 610.
As I volunteer we will expect you to…
- Always carry out your role to the best of your ability, following the Pathway Project mission and values.
- Uphold the policies and standards of service delivery when carrying out your role.
- Keep up regular communication with line manager to discuss your role.
- Abide by safeguarding principles when working with vulnerable adults and children.
- Behave responsibly regarding your own and others’ safety.
- Always act in a non-judgmental, non-discriminatory and inclusive manner to all of our staff and service users.
- Keep client information confidential and secure, in line with our GDPR and data protection policy and procedures.
- We will not tolerate any abuse towards our staff or service users.
- And most importantly enjoy your time with us.
FAQ’s
The quick answer is no you don’t.
All we ask is that you are non-judgemental, kind and compassionate about helping others, and are willing to learn more about domestic abuse.
Yes, you will.
All roles require an element of training, including induction to get you settled into your role.
Pathway Project will provide you with the basics you will need to carry out a volunteer role with us at Pathway, such as basic domestic abuse awareness, training and adult and child safeguarding. There will also be opportunities along the way to get training in other areas such as fundraising and helpline.
This depends entirely on what you can offer and the role that interests you. We have volunteers that contribute a few hours a week and others that contribute hours as and when they can. We have a range of opportunities across the charity during daytime, evenings and weekends – there’s something for everyone – but this is something we will be able to discuss at the interview stage.
We are happy to look at applications from those over the age of 18. However we do ask if you have been a service user, you have a six-month break away from the service before applying as a volunteer.
All you need to do is complete our online application form which can be found on the Home Page. Upon receipt of a completed application form, a staff member will be in touch
We have a range of exciting volunteering opportunities including general day-to-day administration at our Hope Centre offices; this could include helping keep our systems up to date or typing up client notes to name but a few of the tasks.
Helpline – providing emotional and practical support over the phone on our busy 24-hour helpline.
Fundraising – this is one of the most important roles at Pathway as this is how we make a lot of money that goes towards running our service.
Peer support – 1-2-1 direct domestic abuse support work for those who are at the end of their journey with Pathway Project.
These are just a few of the different roles you will be able to do with us at Pathway.
We believe you should never be out of pocket if you volunteer with us, so we’ll pay for all of your reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including travel. However, we cannot pay childcare expenses or a lunch allowance.
A criminal conviction doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t volunteer with us. Depending on the nature of your criminal record, there may be certain roles you will be unable to do with us.
It’s best to discuss any criminal record issues with us before filling out an application form, as this will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, you will. We carry out a full DBS check on all of our volunteers.
Pathway may be able to offer you placement hours but this is entirely dependent on whether we can accommodate you at that time as sometimes we just don’t have the time or staff to assist with monitoring placement hours.
At the moment we are only accepting counselling placements. This section will be updated regularly so check back in the future.
Yes, but you must be on a BACP-accredited course.
Contact talktoeve@pathway-project.co.uk for information on counselling placement opportunities.
Volunteers Stories
Over 30 years ago I was in a very abusive marriage, and couldn’t see a way out for myself and my three children. There were very few services and I felt too ashamed to talk to anyone or ask for help. That was when I became a volunteer as I set about trying to start a service myself. I think that the work I was doing strengthened me, and things at home reached a really bad point. One night I moved in with a friend and her husband and although there was a great deal of pain and worry it was the start of a new life.
I worked as a volunteer for Pathway Project, as I set up the charity, which took seven years. I set up a 24-hour helpline, with a rota of wonderful volunteers, myself included. Finally, Comic Relief funded my salary and so my full-time hours were paid, but I still did helpline shifts which were done as a volunteer. The rest as they say is history.
Volunteers have always played a really important role in Pathway. They have supported the staff in delivering a gold-standard service, and have acted as helpline support, refuge support, peer mentoring, counselling, McKenzie Friends, children’s support, and admin support. They remain so very important part of Pathway and we are so proud to have built up a family of amazing volunteers.
In 2019 I retired from my full-time job and immediately became a volunteer. I help with fundraising, training, and peer mentoring and I also run a drop-in once a week in Burntwood. I love Pathway and will always be part of it in some way. It is impossible to say how much you get back from volunteering – it gives back far more than it costs you. No one should live in fear because there is no way out. With the help of our wonderful volunteers, we aim to always offer a way out and support to build a new life.