| Good evening, everyone. |
| Let me start by welcoming you all to this talk and thanking you for taking the time to consider joining ACE voluntary organisation. |
| ACE offers support to people and services in the local area |
| and we're now looking for more volunteers to help us do this. |
| By the way, I hope you're all comfortable, |
| we have brought in extra seats so that no one has to stand, |
| but it does mean that the people at the back of the room may be a bit squashed. |
| We'll only be here for about half an hour so, hopefully, that's OK. |
| One of the first questions we're often asked is how old you need to be to volunteer. |
| Well, you can be as young as 16 or you can be 60 or over: |
| it all depends on what type of voluntary work you want to do. |
| Other considerations, such as reliability, are crucial in voluntary work |
| and age isn't related to these, in our experience. |
| Another question we get asked relates to training. |
| Well, there's plenty of that and it's all face-to-face. |
| What's more, training doesn't end when you start working for us. |
| It takes place before, during and after periods of work. |
| Often, it's run by other experienced volunteers as managers tend to prefer to get on with other things. |
| Now, I would ask you to consider a couple of important issues |
| before you decide to apply for voluntary work. |
| We don't worry about why you want to be a volunteer - |
| people have many different reasons that range from getting work experience to just doing something they've always wanted to do. |
| But it is critical that you have enough hours in the day for whatever role we agree is suitable for you - |
| if being a volunteer becomes stressful then it's best not to do it at all. |
| You may think that your income is important, but we don't ask about that. |
| It's up to you to decide if you can work without earning money. |
| What we value is dedication. |
| Some of our most loyal volunteers earn very little themselves |
| but still give their full energy to the work they do with us. |
| OK, so let's take a look at some of the work areas that we need volunteers for |
| and the sort of things that would help you in those. |
| You may wish simply to help us raise money. |
| If you have the creativity to come up with an imaginative or novel way of fundraising, we'd be delighted, |
| as standing in the local streets or shops with a collection box can be rather boring! |
| One outdoor activity that we need volunteers for is litter collection |
| and for this, it's useful if you can walk for long periods, sometimes uphill. |
| Some of our regular collectors are quite elderly, |
| but very active and keen to protect the environment. |
| If you enjoy working with children, we have three vacancies for what are called 'playmates'. |
| These volunteers help children learn about staying healthy through a range of out-of-school activities. |
| You don't need to have children yourself, |
| but it's good if you know something about nutrition and can give clear instructions. |
| If that doesn't appeal to you, |
| maybe you would be interested in helping out at our story club for disabled children, |
| especially if you have done some acting. |
| We put on three performances a year based on books they have read |
| and we're always looking for support with the theatrical side of this. |
| The last area I'll mention today is first aid. |
| Volunteers who join this group can end up teaching others in vulnerable groups who may be at risk of injury. |
| Initially, though, your priority will be to take in a lot of information |
| and not forget any important steps or details. |
| Right, so does anyone have any questions... |