Families Together Suffolk

Whether you are visiting a family at their home, or helping at one of our family, perinatal or SEND (special educational needs) groups, you will be giving real, practical support and encouragement to families, so that they can provide a strong foundation for their childs’ future. This support is needed now more than ever and is crucial in helping families to cope, develop resilience and stay positive through perhaps the most challenging time in their lives.

I feel my skills and experience lie elsewhere – are there any other ways to help?

We have volunteering opportunities at our successful retail outlets – our charity shop in Eye, and our eBay selling hub in Stowmarket. At the shop you can either be customer facing, or if you prefer you can be in our back office, sorting and preparing donations for the shop floor, or using your IT skills to help with pricing or administrative tasks.

At the eBay selling hub, you can use your interests in fashion, collectibles and unusual items by researching, preparing, photographing and packing items for dispatch. This is a great role for anyone who has had experience of online selling, but this is not essential as training will be given – we are happy to help you learn new skills. There is also an ad-hoc need for a driver to travel between Eye and Stowmarket, transferring donations between the two locations. Even though you won’t be volunteering directly with families, our retail outlets
provide vital funds to keep our services going, supporting families all over the county.

Does it really make a difference? Absolutely! We are currently supporting 661 families across Suffolk through our home-visiting and groups. Here are some genuine quotes from parents/carers we have supported: We would love you to utilise any skills you already have. For groups and home visiting, these can be everyday skills such as budgeting, cooking, arts & crafts, or simply encouraging conversation with an adult or encouraging play with a child. In our retail outlets, you can learn retail, customer service, display, creative or IT skills. We are a
learning organisation, so we hold ongoing training for our volunteers in areas such as first aid, customer service, or in special project work. Full training is given to all of our volunteers. You’ll gain confidence, meet new people, learn new skills, and gain a great deal of personal satisfaction, knowing you are making a difference.

Group volunteers are asked to attend a half day Zoom course (next course takes place via Zoom Monday 12th September, 9.30am to 11am). Home-visiting volunteers are required to attend a 7 session training course (1 per week). The next course starts on Tuesday 13th September and will be held in Bramford, just outside Ipswich, which has easy access from A14 and A12. Retail volunteers receive “on the job” training and support. If interested and want to know more please email or call 01379 678552
for more information. There is a simple on-line form to fill in, we ask for 2 references and we
also do a DBS check for home visiting and group volunteers.