Volunteer

There are volunteer opportunities for advisers, administrative support staff and Trustees. What do volunteer advice workers do?
• Interviewing - You will learn interviewing techniques, how to listen, and then talk to clients and ask questions to make the issues clear.
• Giving information - Training will enable you to access information from our computer systems and reference books.
• Giving advice - Your job is to give the client all the courses of action available to them so they can decide what to do
• Giving practical help - Completing forms, making telephone calls, writing letters. You will also be trained in calculating benefits, tax and debts.
• Case recording - You will be shown how to record your interviews to enable another advice worker to carry on further work for a client should they return for more help.
• Social policy - Identify issues where clients have been unfairly treated.

Volunteering for the Bureau is rewarding and stimulating work that is so varied it can never be boring. A comprehensive training programme is provided for all advisers which will be tailored to individual needs, including IT training. Volunteering can be a help for those wishing to re-enter the job market by providing experience in a caring supportive environment and a reference for future employers.

What we ask from a volunteer adviser
You will need to commit to 8-10 hours per week, ideally for a minimum of 18 months and be prepared to undertake extensive training. You will need to be willing to commit to our policies on discrimination, impartiality and confidentiality.

If you are interested in joining our friendly team then please contact us by email or by calling 01234 346543. Please note this is an administration line only and cannot be used to obtain advice.

Donating
Any donation, no matter how small, will support our work in the Bedford and District community.

Ways of donating money:
On-line: Please click here to donate on-line through Virgin Money giving.

By Post: Please send your cheque made payable to Bedford and District Citizens advice Bureau, to

Bedford and District CAB
7a St Pauls Square
Bedford
MK40 1SQ

Legacy: You can leave money in your will to Bedford CAB. Please click here to download our Legacy leaflet.

The bureau also keeps a list of items that we need on a regular basis. These are mainly consumables and if you would like to help with these please bring them into the Bureau.