Volunteering for Cecily's Fund

We have lots of opportunities throughout the year for you to use your skills, ideas, energy and enthusiasm to help Cecily's Fund raise funds and to be seen and heard by more people.

Volunteer Get-Together - Saturday 14th August 2010

POEMS IN THE PARK - Near the Rainbow Bridge, University Parks, Oxford, from 5.30pm

If you have considered volunteering for us but are not sure then please come along to this event where you will have the chance to learn more about our work as well as meet some of the team. It is also an opportunity to discuss any interests you have to volunteer. Please follow the link to find out more about what the evening entails.

Our Current Office Volunteers:

Ann Gray - General office work and supporter relations

Hayley Martyn-Fisher - Corporate fundraising assistance

THANK YOU TO:

Gabriel Schenk who is leaving after three months with us at the office. He has been a bundle of enthusiasm from start to finish and we are sad to see him go. He is starting a PHD in September and we wish him every success.

Read Molly's blog about her week of work experience in Cecily's Fund's office.

Whether you're you're looking for a new career or just a break from your normal routine, volunteering is a great way to meet people, learn new skills, get work experience - or just experience something new and different. School leavers and college graduates; impress prospective universities or employers by adding volunteering experience to your CV!.

Whatever your abilities, age and committments and however much or little time you can spare, we can always find something valuable for you to do at specific events in the office, or from home! Scroll down for a few examples:

Find out more!

Email us at admin@cecilysfund.org.uk or call 01993 869005 to discuss volunteering opportunties. We're more than happy to just have a chat before you decide whether or not to commit yourself!

How being a volunteer can lead to managing Cecily's Fund!

"I had wanted to work in some capacity in international development since the age of 14 - long before I knew there was a term to describe it... I spent all of my holidays volunteering in the UK and in Africa."

says Cecily's Fund manager, Caroline Horne in an interview with International Service. Caroline's career in international deveopment began when she took up a voluntary post in West Africa for International Service. Read an interview with her about her experiences and how it helped her get where she is today.

Volunteer at events:

• Nov - Dec 2010: Christmas Fairs - We would love people have stand at their local Christmas Fair to promote the work of Cecily's Fund and sell our Christmas cards. We will provide leaflets and other information about Cecily's Fund. Please get in touch if you are able to help.

• Organise fundraising events. Use your organisational flair and your networks of friends, family and colleagues to organise events - big or small - that raise money... they will also enrich your life experience and boost your CV!

Volunteer in our office:

• If you have specialist skills in fundraising, IT, HR, international development, education etc, we would be interested in hearing from you as we are always looking to improve how we run our organisation.
• There are always jobs to do around the office, including data entry, market research, organising our picture library, and so on.
• Twice a year, we need help preparing our summer and winter mail-outs to supporters.

NB. Our office is in a small rural business centre near Witney in Oxfordshire. You will usually need your own transport to get here, although lifts can sometimes be arranged with staff from Oxford. Some tasks could be done from home.

Volunteer from home:

• Be a networker! Use your network of friends, family, colleagues etc to help increase the number of Cecily's Fund supporters - the more supporters we have, the more orphans and vulnerable children we can help.
• Contact your local press for publicity about Cecily's Fund events or your local businesses about sponsoring Cecily's Fund. Talk to us first and we'll brief you on the most effective way to approach them and what information to give them.
• Become a Cecily's Fund speaker at your local school, community centre, social group etc. We can give you training in public speaking and provide materials for your talks.
• Form a 'Cecily's Circle' - get together with four friends and set yourself some goals for the year; personal goals (eg run a marathon, lose a stone, learn how to organise an event), group goals (eg recruit 20 more supporters for Cecily's Fund, work together to do three fundraising events in the year) and fundraising goals (eg raise £1,000 for Cecily's Fund!).

We're looking forward to hearing from you!