Why are we trialling young volunteer involvment in shops?
After a gap of nearly eight years, we’re delighted to begin trialling the re-introduction of 16- and 17-year-old volunteers in Save the Children UK shops; an incredibly positive step in supporting young volunteers to make an important impact.
Whether you’re a young volunteer applying for the shop volunteer role, or a parent, guardian, or carer wanting to know more before giving your consent, all the important information you need about this exciting trial can be found here.
How will the trial work?
Working with a small selection of shops, the trial will last six months from the first young volunteer beginning their role. The shops have been selected based on their proven ability to meet and maintain high standards. We’ll work closely with the shop manager and volunteer team to understand what’s working well and where there’s room for change in the future. You’ll also be asked to help us to understand how everything is going by sharing thoughts about your own experience as a young volunteer or the parent, guardian, or carer.
Shop Volunteer Role
The shop volunteer role provides exciting and varied opportunities for young volunteers. This includes welcoming and chatting to customers, sorting donations, keeping the shop looking clean and tidy, and handling money at the tills. Young volunteers will be given a warm welcome via an induction and ongoing training, to support them as they settle into the team.
How often can a young person volunteer?
Life can be busy, so it’s important the volunteering hours fit comfortably around other commitments and development opportunities, including school and work. We also have a duty of care to make sure the time young volunteers give meets the standards that allow us to keep them safe. The shop manager will always be on hand to plan a young volunteer’s time and to make any changes if needed.
Could anything about this volunteering opportunity change during the trial?
As this is a trial, there is the possibility of seeing some changes happen. If any of these changes are significant, we may need to pause the young volunteer’s role while we work through what that means for them and the shop team. The shop manager will communicate closely about this with the young volunteer and their parent, guardian, or carer to explain why the changes are happening and to provide opportunity for questions.
Safeguarding volunteers and reporting concerns
Safeguarding means doing all we can to be aware of risks to children and adults and making sure we’re protecting those at risk of harm. All shop managers and volunteers involved in the trial are expected to complete important safeguarding training so that everyone feels comfortable with spotting and reporting concerns, ensuring we’re creating a safe volunteering environment. Our volunteer problem solving procedure also allows us to understand and resolve volunteering concerns promptly and fairly.
Communication
Good communication plays a big part in creating a terrific volunteering experience, as well as respecting and protecting the privacy of staff and volunteers. We have some very clear guidelines in place specifically for how we, the shop manager and the shop volunteer team can communicate with young volunteers in shops, including how we safely use social media.
Parental consent
Last but by no means least, we need to collect consent from every young volunteer’s parent, guardian, or carer before they can begin volunteering. The volunteer application form requests their contact details, and the parent, guardian or carer will be asked to complete an online form confirming they’re happy for their young person to be involved.
Interested to learn more about the trial?
If you’d like to read more detail about what young volunteers can expect throughout the trial, as well as the steps we’ve taken to create a safe and enjoyable volunteering environment, please click on the guidance below to find out more.
Do you still have some questions about the trial? You’re welcome to contact us for more information by emailing [email protected].