Volunteer driver training
Training 1: an introduction to your role (4 minute read)
Thank you for giving your time to volunteer as a driver with Re-engage. Your contribution is vital in ensuring that our older guests can attend regular monthly tea parties and we are grateful for your support.
How do the tea parties work?
Once a month, normally on a Sunday afternoon, each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver, and taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they join the rest of the group for tea, cake, and companionship. Each tea party group is led by one or more volunteer group coordinators, and the number of older guests per group can range from as low as four to as high as 12. Your role is to drive one or more older guests to their monthly tea party, support them to have a wonderful time with the group, and then drive them home again afterwards.
Reserve drivers
As a reserve driver you would only be asked to help when the regular group drivers are unavailable. This role is very flexible and happens on an ad hoc basis. You might be a reserve driver for just one group, in which case just one coordinator would be in touch with you to ask for help. Or, you might be a reserve for several groups. When this happens, your details will be kept on a list with other reserve drivers and shared with several group coordinators.
Good to know
Our older guests come from all backgrounds and walks of life, and so do our volunteers. We are an inclusive organisation and we will consider every older guest application we receive, even if it doesn't quite meet our criteria. As a general rule our older guests:
- Are aged 75 and older.
- Are lonely, isolated or in need of companionship.
- Struggle to get out and about on their own.
Getting started as a volunteer driver or reserve driver
Following your application to volunteer with us, you will have received a link to our driver declaration form. Once you have completed your driver declaration form, we will be able to start your interview, take up references and process your ID check. These checks can sometimes take a little while, but they are crucial to ensuring the safety of our older guests and volunteers. Your online training can be completed at any point during this process and you can come back to the training.
Once your checks are complete and you’ve signed your volunteer agreement confirming that you have read through all the online training, you will then be ready to start volunteering with us.
Meeting your group coordinator
If you drive for just one group, your volunteer group coordinator will be your main point of contact during your time as a Re-engage volunteer. Some tea party groups have only one group coordinator, but others have two or even three.
Once you’ve passed all your checks and are ready to start volunteering, your group coordinator will get in touch to welcome you into your tea party group and give you all the details for your first tea party. If you don’t hear from them within a month, please let the Re-engage knowledge team know by emailing us at knowledge@reengage.org.uk.
During your time with us as a volunteer driver or reserve driver, your group coordinator(s) will be able to look into any questions or concerns you have about your voluntary role. Please contact them in the first instance if your contact details change, if you’re unsure of what you’re meant to be doing, or if you can’t volunteer one month for any reason.
Good to know
Your group coordinator will send you the annual hosting schedule for your group around December / January time. This will include the dates, times, and venues of every tea party in the coming year. Please make sure you look at the dates and let your group coordinator know if there are any months when you won’t be able to volunteer, for example, if one of the tea parties clashes with a family event or holiday. The sooner you can let your group coordinator know, the more time they will have to make alternative arrangements.
“I am so grateful to this service and all the many volunteers who make the groups possible”
Who reserve drivers keep in contact with if on an area list?
If you are listed to drive on an area list, your main point of contact might not be a local group coordinator. In some areas there could be an area organiser who keeps in contact with you. They would be the person who would contact you if a group needed help and be your main point of contact for any questions or concerns.
With your checks done and your volunteer agreement signed, you’re now ready to volunteer at your first ever Re-engage tea party. We will take you through every step of your role in Training 2: preparing for the tea party and Training 3: your role on the day of the tea party.