Telephone helpline volunteer
Do you have a few hours a month that you could help others over the phone? Our helpline will be there to listen, support and give information in a friendly, helpful way. We’re looking for volunteers nationwide to help run our Jo’s Trust Telephone Helpline.
What’s the Helpline for?
From a survey of women who come to Jo’s Trust, 90% told us that they would find a dedicated helpline useful. With this in mind, our helpline launched in January 2011 and will play a key part in the services that we offer to women and their loved ones affected by cervical abnormalities and cervical cancer. The helpline provides an opportunity for callers to talk to a trained volunteer about what they are going through and is a source of down to earth, useful and correct information. Anyone can call the helpline whether they are the one with the diagnosis or a concerned friend or relative. All calls are kept confidential and you do not have to tell us your name if you don’t wish to.
What is the role of a Helpline Volunteer?
Helpline volunteers offer support, information and signposting to women, their families and their friends affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. They do not offer advice of any kind, particularly medical or legal.
Volunteers work anonymously from their own homes, generally covering at least one shift a fortnight, with a shift lasting for 2-3 hours.
The most important role of a helpline volunteer is to have the ability to listen and be non-judgemental, have patience, empathy, calmness and keep the details of calls confidential. Going through cervical cancer or cervical abnormalities can be very isolating and sometimes, it’s just good to hear a friendly voice.
Becoming a Helpline Volunteer
To be a helpline volunteer, you must be willing to go through a careful selection process, including a CRB check and follow our training programme. We also expect our helpline volunteers to have had some experience of cervical cancer or cervical abnormality, whether that is through their own personal experience or as the family member/friend of someone who has or a healthcare professional that has had experience working with patients with cervical cancer/abnormalities.
Once trained you will be part of a volunteer network which will be in regular contact to support one another and share good practice.
To ensure our volunteers are equipped to carry out their role Jo’s Trust will provide ongoing support and training including:
- Attendance at a training weekend (paid for by Jo’s Trust), attendance mandatory
- A Helpline Manual covering all aspects of being a Helpline volunteer.
- Dedicated back-up from Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s Service Development Manager.
Timings
Recruitment for helpline volunteershas now closed. If you would like to be considered as a Helpline volunteer you will now need to wait until next year but, in the meantime, please fill out one of our application forms and send to the Service Development Manager. We are particularly keen to hear from people able to volunteer for daytime shifts on the helpline.
Please note that we are still recruiting for Support Group Volunteers.
What do I do next?
If you think that you would be a good person to be in this important role of helping others, please download our application form. For a printable version of the form click here.
Once you have completed your application form either
Post to: Rebecca Shoosmith, Services Development Manager, Jo’s cervical cancer Trust, 16 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3ED
Or save an electronic copy of your application and email it to rebecca@jostrust.org.uk
Or, if you would like to speak to someone before completing your application form, contact Rebecca Shoosmith on 020 7936 7498.
Last updated: 05/12/2011
