Volunteers Required Read Easy Cornwall

Would you like to help adults learn to read in your community here in Cornwall? 

Read Easy launched in Cornwall in late 2022 and we are now into our third year. Looking back on the previous years we are thrilled to have been able to successfully set up a number of new Coach/Reader pairs, spread throughout Cornwall from Penzance to Bude to Liskeard, and are aiming to considerably expand this number during 2025. As a consequence of this we are looking to expand our team and fill some vacancies. 

We are hoping to help more adults in Cornwall who need reading support. We know that there are a surprisingly large number of adults in Cornwall who can’t read or struggle with everyday reading, and we’re passionate about transforming more lives in the community through our proven, confidential programme of free, one-to-one, volunteer-led adult reading coaching.   

It is believed that 2.4m adults in the UK cannot read, while 2.5m struggle to read, on a practical level, this means that even carrying out everyday tasks can be challenging, if not impossible. Many of our new readers struggle with the everyday situations that most of us take for granted such as doctor and hospital visits, filling in forms, reading with and to their children. Sadly, statutory provision, provided by local authority adult education, does not look likely to improve, with funding increasingly cut. Even where such classes are available it can be challenging for potential readers to come forward for help in a classroom environment where they are likely to have to explain their difficulties to staff. We know from experience that people who cannot read are nervous and embarrassed about joining adult learning groups. This is the motivation behind the Read Easy model: to provide accessible, free, and confidential one-to-one reading coaching wherever the need is greatest. And this why we need your help!  

Becoming a Management Team volunteer for Read Easy is fun and fulfilling and requires commitment and passion. You’ll be given lots of support, meet a diverse range of people, and be part of a genuinely life-changing organisation. We know that learning to read really does change lives and being part of that process is special. 

Volunteering is an exciting chance to play a key role in bringing your community together, and to make a real difference in your area, whether you’ve got existing skills you’d like to put to good use, or are looking to develop new ones, becoming a Management Team Volunteer can be a great chance to learn something new. 

We are looking for a Publicity Organiser and an IT Supporter and are always pleased to hear from volunteers interested in becoming Coordinators for various areas of Cornwall as the more Coach/Reader pairs we have the more Coordinators we need, currently we are specifically looking for a Coordinator for the St Austell & Newquay area. We are also anticipating the requirement for a new Team Leader and Coordinator Supporter later in the year. Please get in touch if you think any of these current or future vacant roles may be of interest to you. Brief outlines of the roles are shown below:- 

Publicity Organiser 

We are looking for a new Publicity Organiser to join our team. Are you highly organised with strong communication and people skills. Are you looking for a rewarding and flexible volunteering opportunity to be active & engaged, adding value to your local community? In this role you will amongst other things be: 

• Liaising with the Management Team to decide on the group’s publicity needs
• Creating content for your group’s page on the Read Easy website
• Creating content and maintaining the Read Easy Cornwall Facebook page and other social media platforms to raise the group’s profile
• Organising the printing and placement of posters, leaflets and other publicity materials 

IT Supporter 

Your expertise could make the world of difference to supporting your local group to help adults learn to read in your community.  

What you will be doing  

● Be the first port of call for any IT queries and troubleshooting for your local group  

● Support members of the Team to set up Read Easy email accounts when required  

● Assisting volunteers with accessing online training if required   

● Supporting the Publicity Organiser with setting up social media accounts for the group  

Coordinator – a vital role but not a member of the Management Team 

We are looking for a new Coordinator to join our team. Read Easy Coordinators are central to the running of each Read Easy group. Are you highly organised with strong communication and people skills. Do you have time, energy and enthusiasm? 

Are you looking for a rewarding, flexible and challenging volunteering opportunity? In this role you will: 

• Enrol and assess new Readers
• Match Readers with Coaches
• Visit and provide ongoing support to Reading Pairs
• Collaborate and use initiative
• Keep records and use your IT literacy 

Management Team Leader  

If you’re inspired to lead others and be part of a genuinely transformational charity, then why not volunteer with Read Easy and use your leadership skills to guide and support a team of local volunteers. You will manage meetings, set agendas, take responsibility for the project, network within your local community and be a passionate spokesperson for your local group. This is a hugely important role in the Management Team, and you will be responsible for ensuring the proper and effective direction of your local group from the front. This role will appeal to people who are motivated by managing a team of diverse volunteers, and by the challenge of ultimately helping hundreds of adults in their community who can’t read.  

Coordinator Supporter  

The Coordinator Supporter is the main point of contact on the Management Team for Coordinators. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the Coordinators feel well supported, so that they in turn can support Readers and Coaches.  

What you will be doing  

● Holding regular Coordinator meetings where current issues are discussed together  

● Supporting your Coordinators with all matters that are non-literacy related, providing any ad-hoc administrative support they may need  

● Collating Reader enrolment and graduation numbers, sharing these with your team  

● Receiving your Coordinators’ written reports and sharing these with the Management Team 

● Attending and inviting Coordinators to attend Management Team meetings (typically every 6-8 weeks)  

● Supporting the Volunteer Recruiter with the recruitment of further Coordinators 

To be an effective Management Team member or Coordinator, volunteers will be committed and enjoy using their own initiative. Ideally, they will also be confident, as well as passionate about helping others and bringing their community together.  In general our volunteers are likely to need to have the equivalent of around one day per week to spare and some of this time needs to be within the working week in order to network with other organisations. Though some roles, particularly the Publicity Organiser can require less of a time commitment. 

The impact of learning to read is tangible for both volunteers and new readers. The phrase we hear from our new Readers time-and-time again is ‘life-changing’. But for our volunteers too the process of helping adults learn to read can have a profound effect on their lives. If you’d like to play a key part in helping to transform the lives of adults near you, while developing existing skills and learning new ones in a supportive environment, then why not get in touch? 

To learn more about becoming a Read Easy Management Team Volunteer or a Volunteer Coordinator in Cornwall or to have a chat about what it entails please contact Cathy Smith, Volunteer Recruiter Cornwall on cornwallrecruiter@readeasy.org.uk.