Volunteer
Age UK York relies on volunteers to help us offer vital services in the local community. Would you like to lend a hand?
Would you like to join our team? Read some of the volunteer stories towards the end of this page to find out what volunteering at Age UK York means to our volunteers and those they support.
Current Volunteering Opportunities
We have a wide range of volunteering roles on offer and aim to match you with a role that you will find interesting and fulfilling. Our current opportunities are summarised here, with more details about the roles and services below.
- Befrienders, to provide companionship. We have vacancies for face to face and telephone befriending.
- Retail assistants, in our Fossgate, Burton Stone Lane, Haxby and Bishopthorpe Road shops.
- Outreach volunteers to organise and staff an Age UK York information and advice desk, at venues across York.
- An outreach volunteer to liaise with parish councils and high footfall organisations, to display posters and collate information on local activities.
- Information volunteers, who work with staff to update information resources and maintain the leaflet collection.
- Minibus driver, to transport older people to an Age UK York day club or activity. MIDAS qualification required, or Age UK York may fund.
- Car drivers, to transport older people from their home to an Age UK York day club.
- Day club volunteers, particularly to help in our dementia sessions.
- Day club food preparation volunteers.
- Trustees.
Keep Your Pet
KYP urgently need dog fosterers to take an animal into their home, typically whilst an older person is in hospital. Please contact us for an informal chat about what's involved and the support and advice that's available.
We also have a occasional vacancies for dog walkers and cat feeders.
Befriending
Our befriending service provides companionship and support to housebound older people living alone in the community. Many older people have few social contacts and feel socially isolated and lonely. We try to alleviate this by matching the older person with a carefully selected volunteer who agrees to visit or telephone regularly, usually once a week
Our keeping in touch service provides regular monitoring calls throughout the year to older people with more limited social contacts. These calls provide friendship and the opportunity to raise any questions or concerns the older person may have.
We are currently looking for a volunteer to provide administrative support to the befriending service, for one to two mornings or afternoons a week. Details of the role and the experience and skills required, are outlined in the role description below.
Role Description Befriending Volunteer
Information and Advice
We have five roles available within our information and advice service.
Administration support for the information and advice service.
Outreach volunteers organise and staff the Age UK York information and advice desk at venues across York, which will be a gateway to the information and advice service.
The outreach volunteer- parish councils and high footfall organisations, will liaise with parish councils and other high footfall organisations, such as supermarkets, to display Age UK York posters and information. They will also collate and feedback to us, information on activities taking place in these areas.
Information volunteers, who work with staff to update information resources and maintain the leaflet collection.
Online buddy, to support older people to get online.
Role Description Information and Advice Outreach
Role Description Parish Councils and high footfall organisations
Befriender Shoppers
Shopping volunteers will work with clients to help them to access shopping services, such as supermarket deliveries, or if this is not suitable, they will undertake the shopping for them.
Shops
Our shops in Fossgate, Bishopthorpe Road, Burton Stone Lane and Haxby are looking for shop floor volunteers. Tasks are varied and include greeting customers, advising and helping with sizes, operating tills (training provided), putting out stock, reducing stock and displays. If you are welcoming and friendly and can spare anything from a couple of hours to half a day a week, please contact us. We have a particular need for volunteers in our Fossgate shop, to cover Saturday afternoons (weekly or every second week), Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.
Day Clubs
Volunteers support our day clubs, which run every weekday in different venues throughout the city. The clubs offer local older people an attractive social meeting place, hot lunch, refreshments and interesting activities. If you can spare one to five hours a week to support older people, then why not join our friendly team? If you have an interest in dementia we have a number of specific clubs. We are also looking for volunteers to help with lunchtime food preparation.
Keep Your Pet
Keep Your Pet is a short term support service for domestic pet owners. Volunteers offer short term support for older and vulnerable pet owners by providing fostering, dog walking, taking the pet to the vet, animal feeding etc.
Community Events
Community event volunteers support Age UK York staff at a community event, such as a café drop in, film afternoon or other social event, socialising with attendees and encouraging conversations. They may also support with drinks and arranging chairs.
Drivers
We are looking for minibus drivers and car drivers to transport older clients to our days clubs and outing venues, so that they can partake in social activity.
Minibus drivers must be over 25 years of age and either have a MIDAS qualification or be happy to undertake one. Car drivers will have a car, have fewer than six points on their licence and expenses will be paid.
Full details of the roles, including time commitment, can be found in the role descriptions.
Role Description Day Clubs Driver (car)
Role Description Day Clubs Driver (minibus)
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Age UK York.
Thank you for considering Age UK York for a volunteering role. We have 250 volunteers supporting us to deliver services to older residents in York.
We aim to match volunteers with a volunteering opportunity that will be both enjoyable and rewarding. As such, we undertake a comprehensive recruitment process, taking six to eight weeks and comprising of an application form, interview, references, criminal records check (for most roles) and induction training. For most volunteer opportunities, we ask our volunteers to be in a position to commit to regular and longer term volunteering of at least a year. This is to allow us to provide ongoing support to our older clients. We are only able to accept your application if you are 18 years or older.
You will be joining a commited group of volunteers who provide invaulable support as we deliver services in York and we very much look forward to welcoming you to our team.
Becoming a trustee
If you are interested in becoming a trustee, you can find out more information here.
Application Forms
If you would like to progress your application, please download the application form and return to the email address below, or send to our office.
If you would like to find out about a trustee role, please contact the volunteer manager. Contact details below.
Download our volunteer application form (Word)
Download our volunteer application form (PDF)
To find out more about these opportunities or volunteering generally, please contact our volunteer manager.
Office 01904 627995 Direct 01904 933611
volunteering@ageukyork.org.uk
Volunteer Stories
Some of our volunteers describe what being a volunteer at Age UK York means.
A long standing befriender
As a volunteer with Age UK York, over several years, I am sure I get as much pleasure out of the exercise as the people we visit. The obvious pleasure on their faces is enough for me to know it is all worthwhile. I particularly remember one gentleman, whose daughter sent me a letter following his death, saying how much he enjoyed my visits. I can recommend volunteering to the "older " generation. At age 88 years I can exchange "chat" with my friends, who are usually advancing in years - WW2, National Service, no mobile phones, computers, etc., etc., etc., even before TV and travel to sixty countries!
Volunteering is a two-way blessing, and all in name of Age UK York.
A new retail volunteer
Having nursed my husband for 2 difficult years and then experiencing his passing in the summer of last year, I found that volunteering with Age UK York enabled me to focus on something new and different. Making an effort to get up and out of the house to go to 'work' was a great incentive for me. Once I began working with Age UK York I met new people and am currently working with a fantastic team at my local (Age UK York) shop. Everyone is so friendly and supportive and the job I do gives me a great sense of satisfaction. It's been a pleasure to become a volunteer and join a team that does so much good for others!
Louise describes what being a befriending volunteer means to her
Befriending has shown me that friendship has no boundaries. I have visited my lady for ten years and we are best friends regardless of the 34 years age gap! Volunteering is definitely a two-way fulfilment and most rewarding. During coronavirus loneliness was brought to the forefront and many of the elderly were looked after by friends and neighbours, it’s a shame that it took a pandemic to raise awareness of the feelings of detachment many of the elderly suffer from.
An hour visit or phone call once a week makes such a difference to those who often don’t have so much as a conversation with another person for days or even weeks. My lady and I have made many memories together and she is very much part of my family. Joining the befriending team was certainly one of my best life decisions!
Kate, one of our Keep Your Pet volunteers, on her role
I have volunteered for Keep Your Pet for a few years now and in that time I have had the opportunity to meet several people whilst walking their dogs. I love dogs but can’t have one of my own just at the moment, so for me, to be able to help someone whilst being able to spend time with a dog is a win-win situation.
Whatever kind of day I've had at work, the moment I see a wagging tail it instantly lifts my mood, as well as getting me to spend time outside and moving after a day in the office. It really does give me a good feeling. I also help out in my capacity as a graphic designer with things like posters and newsletters, so I would say to anyone, whatever your skills, whatever time you have available, there is some way you can help and it really does make a difference.
Shaan, volunteer befriender
As a volunteer befriender, I visit my older friend weekly for a chat and catch up. I am lucky as my older friend only lives 5 mins away so I get to see him every week and if I cannot see him (I had an operation and couldn't drive for 6 weeks) back in February, I could still speak to him. We swap plants and gardening tips and always put the world to rights. I do love my time with him. What I love about volunteering in this capacity is the difference you can make in someone's life. I didn't volunteer to have someone make a difference in mine, but they did. I consider my ‘client’ a friend, and I always look forward to our Friday catch-ups.
We've signed the York Citywide Volunteering Pledge to show our commitment to contributing towards a thriving culture of volunteering in York.
