Volunteers Required Read Easy Cornwall

Local Area
Countywide (all of Cornwall)
Minimum Age
18+
Role description

Cornwall
 

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

Read Easy Cornwall launched 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 expand this number during 2025. As a consequence of this we are looking to expand our team and fill some vacancies that have arisen. 

We know that there are a surprisingly large number of adults in Cornwall who can’t read or struggle with everyday reading, and here at Read Easy Cornwall 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 is shrinking, 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 Cornwall 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, an IT Supporter, Safeguarding Champion, Data Protection Champion and someone to fill the Admin /Secretary role, these are all vacant roles and immediately available that the current team are covering in addition to their usual tasks so we really would like your help if you can spare some time.  Some of the roles take up only a small amount of time and could easily be combined. We are also looking for a new Team Leader and Coordinator Supporter to take over from the existing role holders in the near future. 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 

Spreading the word is key to your local community understanding what your Read Easy group does and how people can get the reading support they need or volunteer to help. You will be creative, determined and passionate about communications, and bringing people together. You’ll be confident using local media, social media, and other resources provided by Read Easy UK to help get the message out there into your community about the life-changing journey of learning to read. Once the local community and media hear about the thousands of adults who can’t read in the area, it will be your responsibility to make sure that your local Read Easy group is able to capitalise on this attention

 

IT Supporter 

Are you keen and confident using tech? Our IT Supporters offer their skills to support other local group volunteers when necessary. It is amazing how much difference you could make to your local group by providing IT support. Even the smallest things like setting up email accounts and creating social media accounts can be a real challenge for some volunteers, so your expertise will make the world of difference to helping adults learn to read in your community.Your expertise could make the world of difference to supporting your local group to help adults learn to read in your community. 

 

Safeguarding Champion

Our volunteer Safeguarding Champions ensure that their group implements, understand and follow the Read Easy UK Safeguarding Policy and organises DBS checks. For their local volunteers. This is a valuable role on the team with responsibility for the Reader’s and the Reading Coach’s safety.

 

Data Protection Champion

If you believe the ‘devil is in the detail’ and enjoy working alongside a diverse range of people, then why not volunteer to be a Read Easy Data Protection Champion. You will liaise with members of the Team to make sure that all personal data is stored according to the Data Protection Policy and generally oversee that the group’s records are kept correctly and securely so that more people can learn to read in the community.

 

Admin/Secretary

Are you an organised individual, then your administration skills will be vital to support the smooth running of the local Management Team. By supporting other volunteers on your team with administration as well as taking minutes, keeping records up to date and managing internal and external communications, a Read Easy Administrator ensures that the group functions at its best and works in the most efficient and effective way to help adults in your community learn to read.

 

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. Your Coordinators help interview Reading Coaches, assess and enrol Readers before pairing them with trained coaches; then offer ongoing support to these Reading Pairs, visiting their reading sessions occasionally and maintaining support through regular calls with both Reader and Coach to check all is going well. They call on the group’s Literacy Specialist to respond to any literacy related difficulties a pair may be having. They also help run Coach meetings.

 

To be an effective Management Team member, 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 the majority of the roles, particularly the Publicity Organiser, IT Supporter, Safeguarding & Data Champions & Admin/Secretary 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 in Cornwall or to have a chat about what it entails please contact:

Cathy Smith, Volunteer Recruiter Cornwall 

cornwallrecruiter@readeasy.org.uk. 

 

 

 

Type of activity
Admin and Office
Befriending, Coaching and Mentoring
Teaching and Training
Location for Volunteering Activity
Various
Volunteering days
Flexible Days
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Address

St Austell
United Kingdom

Email address for volunteer applications