Opportunities
Collection Box Champion
Becoming a Collection Box Champion involves taking responsibility for one or two Brain Injury Matters collection boxes and distributing them in your local shop, monitoring them and collecting any money donated. This role requires little time, however gives so much back.
Bank/Events Volunteer
Becoming a Bank Volunteer involves being available to help out at one off events, such as helping out at bag packs/street collections/fundraising events such as quiz nights/coffee mornings etc. If you have limited time on your hands but still want to be a volunteer – this may be the role for you.
Adult Arts & Wellbeing Volunteer
Volunteering with the Adult Arts and Wellbeing Service will provide volunteers with the opportunity to assist in offering long term rehabilitation to brain injury survivors, through an arts and creative activity programme to support participant’s psychological, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Admin Volunteer
The Admin Volunteer will support the work of the Corporate Services Manager with secretarial/administrative including letter writing/telephone calls/typing-using Microsoft Word. General office duties (photocopying/filing/franking mail). Preparing various information/application packs when required. Carrying out relevant tasks as required and working as part of the team with other Brain Injury Matters staff and volunteers. For this role you will be based at Brain Injury Matters premises for a minimum of 2 hours per week.
Pedal Power Volunteer
Pedal Power is a physical activity/cycling programme for acquired brain injury survivors partnered with Sustrans NI. The Pedal Power volunteer will “pilot” the side-by-side trike and take participants out for cycles along the weekly route (C.S. Lewis Square – Connswater Greenway – Victoria Park). The role involves assisting participants on and off our “ICE” Trikes and taking part in group cycles. There is also the social aspect to the project: having breakfast and chatting with participants in the café/restaurant at C.S. Lewis Square.
Lead Volunteer
The Lead Volunteer role involves assisting the Volunteer Officer and Project Officers with the induction of new volunteers, as well as reporting to project staff on any issues that may arise during sessions. The Lead Volunteer will ensure service users are participating in activities, with the overarching aspiration to enable service users to become actively and positively involved in community life.
To apply for a volunteer position, download a volunteer application form and return to Brain Injury Matters via email to info@braininjurymatters.org.uk or by post to: Brain Injury Matters, Suite 5C Stirling House, Castlereagh Business Park, 478 Castlereagh Road, Belfast BT5 6BQ
Why Volunteer?
People choose to volunteer with Brain Injury Matters for a variety or reasons.
For some it simply provides them with the opportunity to help others and encourage children, young people and adults with acquired brain injury to participate in activities/interact with their peers and have fun. For others, it can be just something as straightforward as having some spare time that they wish to do something positive with and want to give back to their local community. Whatever your reasons for wishing to volunteer with Brain Injury Matters, we will be more than happy to welcome you onto our volunteering team and will endeavour to find a role suitable for you.
Reasons why people choose to volunteer with us:
Take on a new challenge
Develop new skills
Meet new people from different backgrounds/abilities
To empathise with others
To make someone smile
To help individuals with a brain injury feel they are in safe environment
To have fun and watch others grow in confidence
Make new and long lasting friendships
Gain experience for future career
No specific experience is necessary.
We just ask that you have the following qualities:
Friendly and approachable
Enthusiastic
Patient
Reliable and flexible
Common sense
Empathy
Willingness to help others
Excellent communication skills
Integrity
How available do I need to be and where would I be volunteering?
We ask that volunteers are available to help us a minimum of 2 hours per week. The majority of our volunteering opportunities are within our offices in Belfast (Castlereagh Business Park) during the below times:
Tuesday 10:30am - 15:30pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 15:30pm
Thursday 10:30am - 15:30pm
Friday 09:30am - 12:30pm
We don’t have regular opportunities in the evenings or weekends, but we do sometimes need volunteers to assist us with events/workshops/street collections etc. outside of our usual hours.
For more information on becoming a volunteer with Brain Injury Matters contact a member of the team by phone on 028 90 705 125 or email info@braininjurymatters.org.uk.
We would be more than happy to answer any questions you have.
Our volunteers' stories are inspiring!
Q.) How did you go about volunteering with Brain Injury Matters?
I am a member of the community choir and the choir leader who facilitates choir sessions at brain injury matters announced that more volunteers were needed for wellbeing programmes at the charity. After gaining more information on the specific roles available I submitted an application. I have to admit I was initially taken aback by the thought of completing a fairly detailed application, Access NI checks, getting references and having an interview but the process turned out to be straightforward, informal and worth the effort.
Q.) What do you enjoy most about volunteering?
Volunteering with Brain Injury Matters is very rewarding. I feel privileged to have met the service users, their carers and be able to share their journey with them as they embrace challenges and face the day to day. To observe them experiencing new skills, reigniting old ones, developing friendships with other services and regaining self confidence and self-esteem is humbling. The facility is amazing and provides a safe, friendly meeting place for everyone.
Q.) Do you feel volunteering helps with future job opportunities?
Volunteering can help develop skills which can be beneficial for many jobs. In particular it will develop the ability to communicate with people from different backgrounds and abilities.
Q.) What would you say to someone considering volunteering with Brain Injury Matters?
Go for it without hesitation! Brain Injury Matters offers an extremely enjoyable, varied, worthwhile programme contributing greatly to the wellbeing of those affected by acquired brain injury. The service users are so grateful for the support empathy and friendship given by volunteers and the role is thus very fulfilling and rewarding.
Q.) How did you go about volunteering with Brain Injury Matters?
I am a member of the community choir and the choir leader who facilitates choir sessions at brain injury matters announced that more volunteers were needed for wellbeing programmes at the charity. After gaining more information on the specific roles available I submitted an application. I have to admit I was initially taken aback by the thought of completing a fairly detailed application, Access NI checks, getting references and having an interview but the process turned out to be straightforward, informal and worth the effort.
Q.) What interested you about volunteering with Brain Injury Matters?
I had always intended to take on a volunteer role to help others after I retired. Although I worked for many years as a clinical physiotherapist specialising in fractures and orthopaedics my experience with acquired brain injury (ABI) was gained in more personal ways as both my parents suffered significant strokes and lived for many years with their conditions. I witnessed first-hand the many and ongoing issues they faced in their day to day existence. The physical limitations, the loss of confidence, lifestyle changes and the altered relationships with friends and family who took on the role of carers were visible.
The ethos and holistic approach adopted by brain injury matters to empower and support the psychological, physical and emotional wellbeing of those affected by acquired brain injury appealed to me greatly and in a way volunteering has helped me come to terms with the life changing events my parents embraced.
Q.) What’s a typical day like?
I volunteer with the Tuesday arts and wellbeing group and have started volunteering on Fridays with Pedal Power to coordinate the cycling programme.
Every day is different, enjoyable and passes by very quickly. Tuesdays are busy with different morning and afternoon activities. I assist the programme co-ordinator and facilitators to set up work spaces, tidy up, support and encourage service users to take part in various activities, assist with pushing wheelchairs, transfers to and from seats and help with service user’s general needs. I also chat and banter with participant, carers and family members during tea breaks too!
Pedal Power on Fridays is affectionately referred to by the service users as freedom Fridays. Along with other volunteers and family members we ‘buddy’ the service users, many of whom have limited mobility and other limitations either on ICE trikes which are self-propelled or on side by side tandem trikes around the Victoria Park and the Comber greenway. We meet at the Sustrans hub at CS Lewis Square and afterwards there’s a lot of chat in the local coffee shop. The volunteers help set up the bikes and get the opportunity to complete cycling proficiency training, gain sills in basic first aid and bicycle maintenance.
Q.) What skills have you learned?
Through supporting the service users in a wide range of activities including craft activities, creative writing, yoga, drama productions, gardening, visits to offsite exhibitions, pedal power cycling etc I have developed my communication skills and ability to be patient and offer encouragement. I have also learned how to be adaptive and modify various activities to enable service users to fully participate in them.
Apply to become a volunteer
Please complete a form and return via email to info@braininjurymatters.org.uk
