Volunteers

Volunteering is crucial to the hospice movement in the UK. St. Mary's Hospice would not survive without the extraordinary commitment given by local people. Men and women throughout Furness give their time and energy to support their local hospice and it is through their generosity that the hospice is able to keep providing its vital services. The skills that volunteers bring to the Hospice are varied and invaluable. They are of great benefit to St. Mary's.

Volunteer helping out in reception

Can you help?
A few hours a week makes a huge difference to the care given to people with life-threatening illnesses, their families and carers, and helps keep St. Mary's functioning. There are many different opportunities and a wide range of activities you can become involved with. No previous experience is required and full training will be provided wherever necessary. Your hours as a volunteer can be arranged to fit in with your other commitments. Volunteering for St. Mary’s Hospice is rewarding, however you may choose to help.

Ways to Volunteer
Wondering how you can help? At the Hospice there are many areas in which your skills are needed. These can include manning the reception desk, working in Day-care, providing transport for patients, fundraising, gardening, befriending, complementary therapies, and many other jobs, all of which are considered valuable to the running of the Hospice.

St. Mary’s Hospice also runs charity shops in Grange, Barrow-In-Furness, Dalton, Ulverston and Bowness. These shops rely on volunteer staff. Duties for the shops include serving behind the counter, sorting and pricing clothes, maintaining stock control and helping to create window displays.

Volunteer Training
At St. Mary's we offer a series of Volunteer Training opportunities to help extend and develop the skills used by individuals in their role as hospice volunteers. Through our Volunteer Training Programme we aim to enable groups`/individual volunteers to improve the quality of care they give to patents, families or carers in the hospice community.

Go on, give it a try! What have you got to lose, and think of what you will gain.

Joining us
Joining our volunteer team is easy. All we ask is that you complete and return our application form. On this, you will need to provide basic details about yourself, such as your name, address, work history and any skills you may have that you feel may be relevant. You will also need to provide the names and addresses of two referees. Referees may be your Manager, a work colleague, friends or neighbours, but should not be a family member. We would also like to ask you to take a moment to read our policy statment.

Once we have received and processed your Application Form, we will contact you to arrange an informal chat. All Volunteers, except those working in retail, will also need to complete a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Application Form. Don’t let this deter you - it is not as bad as it sounds, and our friendly staff will help you complete the form if needed. As long as you are over 16 years old, age is not a problem, so whether you are 18 or 80, there is a job to suit you.

How do I join the volunteer team?

1. Download the PDF Application form

• Click here to download the application form (63 KB)

Please note that you must have the PDF reader software installed on your machine. If you do not have this installed, then please click here.

2. Print out the form and fill in your details, then Post for FREE to:

St. Mary's Hospice,
FREEPOST NWW 10273,
Ulverston,
LA12 7ZZ

3. Once we have received your volunteer application form we will proceed to contact you.

Volunteers

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