Service: Day trips and longer breaks for adults with learning disabilities
Location: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and beyond
Commitment: Occasional days or weekends

About the projects

Guideposts arranges an increasing number of day trips and longer breaks for adults with learning disabilities. Some are arranged as part of a local service such as Friendship 4 All in Hertfordshire, Stroud Community Hub, or Guideposts Learning and Activity Day Service (GLADS) in Oxfordshire, while others are arranged for people from across any areas to take part in.

They might be a day trip to the seaside, to a special event, or to a local attraction or activity. Trips are varied, and arranged in consultation with the service members.

The trips are arranged not only to give the participants a great experience, but also allow them to participate in activities that may be inaccessible to them otherwise – for reasons of finance, practical accessibility, or opportunity. Guideposts is currently running a campaign Never Seen, Never Been highlighting this need.

Find out more about the Never Seen, Never Been campaign.

About the role

We need volunteers to capture the essence of going on a trip for our participants. What is it like to see the sea for the first time, to experience a fair-ground ride or be touched by the magic of a Christmas market?

Could you capture this in photos, text, or both?

You should have a good way with people and enjoy listening and observing.

Volunteers will join the group for the excursion and take records to document the event. This may include verbal quotes, descriptions of the experience, photographs and video. Your content would then be passed to the Guideposts fundraising and communications team to us in their work raising awareness and encouraging support of our work.

What to expect

We hope you will find volunteering with our groups a rewarding experience. You will have the opportunity to develop your communication skills, perhaps try out new ways of capturing people’s stories, and experience days out with our service members. You will also be making a valuable contribution to the charity.

All volunteers receive an induction, training and on-going support in their role.

No personal care is involved and any out of pocket travel expenses are reimbursed.

This role is ideal for you if:

• You enjoy meeting people
• You are a good, active listener and observer
• You enjoy writing and/or photography
• You have free time to go on trips

Volunteer requirements

• No experience is needed – just an open mind and a love of discovering and telling stories.
• Personal experience of learning disabilities or autism, or experience working with people with learning disabilities would be useful but is not essential.
• An understanding of protecting personal data and Data Protection would be advantageous.
• You will need to be DBS checked, which Guideposts will pay for.

Service: Dig n Grow, Forest School
Location: Witney, Oxfordshire
Commitment: Flexible – gardening support is needed all-week round, morning and evening, so any time you can help will be appreciated!

About our Outdoor Wellbeing Hub

Guideposts’ Outdoor Wellbeing Hub is a thriving garden and workshop located in the countryside on the outskirts of Witney, Oxfordshire. From our purpose-built Hub we run two of our services, Dig n Grow and Forest School. Members who attend these services can participate in:

• Planting and growing bulbs, flowers, veg or herbs
• Sowing seeds, pricking out, potting on
• Woodwork, willow weaving and crafts
• Health walks and trips out
• Seasonal celebrations; watering, dead-heading, general plant care
• Composting, weeding, pruning, digging
• Soft wood, hard wood & root cuttings
• Cooking garden produce

A day at the Outdoor Wellbeing Hub provides members with the perfect place to build their skills – and make lasting friendships on the way. We support people with learning disabilities, mental health problems, and children with additional needs.

About the role

Anyone with gardening experience knows the job is never finished – and at the Outdoor Wellbeing Hub there are always opportunities for volunteers to make the place bigger and better! You can support us by:

• Sharing your gardening skills and knowledge with other
• Watering at evenings and weekends
• Helping with planting, bedding and weeding
• Providing general support and guidance on planting

What to expect

You will find volunteering at our day opportunities a rewarding experience and a great opportunity for you to develop your skills and maybe learn new skills such as team working, listening, communication and building your own confidence. The Outdoor Wellbeing Hub is a relaxed and social place, with plenty of laughter and plenty of cups of tea!

All volunteers will receive an induction, training and on-going support in your role.

No personal care is involved and any out of pocket travel expenses are reimbursed.

This role is ideal for you if:

• You want to get outdoors
• You have an interest in gardening, woodwork, or weaving

Volunteer requirements

Ideally you are an experienced amateur or professional gardener – but we welcome anyone who is keen on the outdoors and happy to get their hands dirty!