As a charity, our volunteers are extremely important to us. We’re looking for volunteers who are available to attend the same session most weeks for several months; because our group members benefit from building relationships with people they know will be reliable. All you need is an interest in working with people with mental health issues. No specific qualifications are necessary, although it helps if you have a good level of spoken English. It’s much more important to you are open-minded, non-judgemental and a good listener.

We work with asylum seekers and refugees and we welcome applications from people with these backgrounds. You do not need a work permit or visa to volunteer with us. All volunteers will have a DBS check (paid for by SAGE) before they start.

Why volunteer with SAGE:

We believe volunteering should be a rewarding experience all round. We couldn’t manage without the support of our brilliant volunteers so we are really committed to helping you get the most from your time at SAGE. In return for your support, you will get:

• Experience of supporting people with mental health issues. Previous volunteers have progressed onto paid work for other horticultural projects, advice work and mental health support.
• Physical activity
• Conversation in an enjoyable environment
• The chance to improve your skills in gardening, DIY, art & crafts, communicating with people and singing.
• The chance to make a real difference in people’s lives.
• The chance to make a positive contribution to the local community
• Training – for example, local organic gardening courses, mental health courses, as well as first aid training
• Occasional socials with staff and other volunteers

So if you…

• Are interested in mental health
• Can support people through a creative process
• Like spending time outside
• Enjoy gardening, DIY, crafts or singing

…then you could be just what we are looking for.

Gardening Volunteers

Support the social therapeutic gardening group by:

• Gardening
• Cooking -  see below for details
• Art and Craft activities
• DIY tasks

We're looking for volunteers to work alongside group members, some of whom speak languages other than English, doing a variety of gardening tasks. You can also help out with cooking, or other DIY or arts activities. We grow fruit and vegetables organically, and use some of our produce in our lunches as much as possible. This is a great opportunity to learn about gardening organically whilst supporting people with mental health needs.

Volunteer Cooks support workers' at SAGE will cook a range of healthy vegetarian meal is cooked at one of our groups to be shared with our members (service users) at the end of each session.  You will need to be confident in, and enjoy cooking nutritious vegetarian meals for groups of up to 20 people.  You will need a flexible approach by using as much fresh produce from our allotment as possible, and be able to work to a tight budget for any additional ingredients you may need. If you don’t currently hold a valid food safety certificate, then we would ask you to undertake the appropriate training (paid for out of the SAGE volunteer training budget).

The time commitment is from 10:30 to 2:30 one day per week on Mondays (Women only), Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Singing Volunteers (Women only)

Support our singing group by:

• Words
• Words
• Words
• Words

We're looking for regular female volunteers to work alongside group members, some of whom speak languages other than English, doing a variety of tasks.  All volunteers would be required to fully participate in the group activities throughout, including the warm-up activities, break and singing. We would like volunteers to arrive 15 minutes before the group starts to prepare drinks and welcome the women into the space. At the break volunteers collect the weekly donations, and support/talk to anyone who looks like they’re on their own. We have a short debrief at the end of each session.  If a woman expresses that they would like support in going to other community events we might ask our volunteer team if they are available to support them on a 1:1 basis for the first time. We offer regular supervision, relevant training and have an established interview process, including DBS checks. Please note that although our current singing group is women only, we are considering running a mixed group so we welcome any expressions of interest from potential male volunteers.

The time commitment is from 11:30 to 2:30 on Mondays