Volunteer Q & A

When Do I Work?

• If you are a part-time volunteer we are aware that you are probably helping us on top of your already busy life.  We have noted the days that you prefer to work from your application form but it is completely up to you when you work during the week. 

• There might of course be occasional tasks that need to be done on a certain day.  Eg: contacting an MP who is only available on Fridays.  If this is on your day off we will of course get somebody else to do that job.

 

What Work Will I be Doing?

• This will be different for everybody.  You could be doing social media posts, emailing editors with Press Releases, researching the latest technology used to determine the gender of a fertilised egg or even creating online vegan recipes!

• When you complete your volunteer application form you get to tell us about your skills, experience and jobs that interest you.  We then agree a job that suits both your personal goals and our organisation’s needs.

• Please see the section entitled “Your Volunteer Support Staff Role” in your Volunteer Induction Page.

 

What If I Want to Change Roles?

• We believe volunteering should bring benefits to both parties.  We are very keen to help Volunteers progress by changing roles.  This allows you to gain insights into different job roles, and bolster your C.V.

• We would however encourage a minimum of 6 months doing one role to get the most out of it.  We would then time it so that you switch roles once the campaign you are on is complete. 

• If however, you want to increase the number of hours you are working, we would happily get you working on a second project or a different role in tandem with your original role.

 

How long do I work?

• This may fluctuate depending on what is going on in your life but it helps to keep momentum and enthusiasm going if you commit to a minimum number of hours each week.

• We try and agree what hours you feel comfortable committing during your induction stage and we encourage you to think carefully about this.  We don’t want you overcommitting and feeling stressed that you cannot do everything or disappointed that you have failed to do something.  We really want you to enjoy your time with Verify Humanity.

• You may of course just be volunteering for a one off project.  Eg: writing an article, going to an event to take photos or doing some art work for some publicity.

 

What If I Can’t Volunteer One Week?

• Just contact your agreed Point of Contact  (listed in your Induction and Training) and let them know that you cannot do your usual work that week.  We are very understanding and appreciate that your kids may be ill, you have a holiday booked  or you are moving house etc. etc.

• We obviously prefer to have some warning as this helps us ensure important work is carried out by somebody else.

 

Will My Expenses Be Covered?

• Of course we will cover your expenses.  We really appreciate that you have donated your time free of charge and we would struggle to be effective without this incredible kindness.

• However, we try to keep things like expenses to an absolute minimum as we are a young organisation with little funding.  So if your contact point has not flagged up potential expenses, could you just double check it first before spending any money. 

 

What Expenses Am I Likely To Have?

• Well this again depends on how you are supporting us. 

  • It could be travel expenses if you are photographing and filming for Project Co-Existence. 

  • You may have found a very compelling stock photo on somewhere like Shutterstock for an important publicity project.

  • You may need to access some research papers for evidence based reports to support a campaign.

 

I have a problem.  What do I do?

• The one thing we can guarantee is that you will have some sort of problem during your time with us.  Problems are after all a normal part of everyday life. 

• It could be anything from not understanding or feeling comfortable doing a task, being diagnosed with a health problem or stressed about managing all your life commitments.

• Please don’t feel you can’t discuss any problems with us while volunteering.  Even if you think we don’t want to hear it! We believe the only real problem is something you don’t feel you can talk to us about.

• Even if we have got something wrong or you think it could be done better, we genuinely want to know.  Transparency is actually one of our organisation’s values as we believe understanding our mistakes is an excellent way to learn.

 

Do I need To Give Notice to Stop Volunteering?

• It would be really helpful if you could give us as much notice as possible.  A month would be wonderful although we appreciate this is not always possible.