Volunteer for Winston’s Wish

We need volunteers like you, so we can make sure that no child or young person grieves alone.

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Home » Get Involved » Volunteering for Winston’s Wish

By volunteering, you can change a life

Not every child or young person gets the help they need when someone dies. That’s not ok. It’s our mission to make sure no child or young person faces grief alone. We can’t do that without you.

Whether you’re championing Winston’s Wish in your local area, cheering on our fundraisers at the finish line or letting everyone know how to get support if they need it, by volunteering you can make a difference. In return we help you boost your skills, connect with new people and give you that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you’re doing something great. Below you will find out current volunteer opportunities and inspiring stories from some of our incredible volunteers.

Together, we can change the lives of young grieving people for the better.

Why volunteer for Winston’s Wish?

Boost

your skills, confidence and wellbeing

Connect

with new people and your community

Change

the lives of grieving young people

Give

back so others can move forward

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Volunteer opportunities

Below you will find our current volunteer opportunities, please click on the button to read the full role description. Any new opportunities will be added here, so please check back regularly. If you have any queries, please email volunteer@winstonswish.org

Woman with a telephone headset

On-Demand Services Volunteers

This is an exciting new opportunity to provide on-demand bereavement support, information and advice to bereaved children and young people, as well as family members and professionals, via phone, email and text-based live chat. No prior experience needed as full training will be provided. Applications are now closed, click the ‘enquire now’ button below and complete the form and we’ll let you know when applications re-open.

Coral Winston's Wish gazebo with two volunteers talking to people

Community Ambassador Volunteers

We need you to champion Winston’s Wish in your local area. As a Community Ambassador, you will be the voice of Winston’s Wish in your local community letting grieving children, young people, families and professionals know who we are and where to find us. By spreading the word, raising awareness and inspiring fundraising in your local area, you will help us ensure that no child or young person grieves alone.

Woman with a headset on in front of a laptop - Winston's Wish Freephone Helpline

Volunteer Counsellors

We are looking for qualified Volunteer Counsellors to join our team. As a Volunteer Counsellor you will have the opportunity to deliver bereavement support to children and young people (up to the age of 25) as well as to their parents and professionals through our immediate support digital services (Helpline, ASK email, Live Chat) or via our direct digital one-to-one counselling service.

Man sat at a desk on a video call on a laptop

Counsellor / Therapist / Psychologist Placements

We are offering placement opportunities for trainee Volunteer Counsellors, Therapist or Psychologists. As a placement volunteer you will have the opportunity to deliver bereavement support to children and young people (up to the age of 25) as well as to their parents and professionals through our immediate support digital services (Helpline, ASK email, Live Chat) or via our direct digital one-to-one counselling service.

Woman sat at a desk looking at a laptop

Office Volunteer

We are looking for an office volunteer to support our admin team with a number of administrative tasks at our Head Office in Gloucester. You’ll get the opportunity to answer the phone, oversee email inboxes, input integral data onto our database as well as posting out key resources to the bereaved families and professionals we support.

Cheer point

Cheer Point Volunteers

We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help us out at some of this year’s most popular runs, marathons, cycle races and more, by cheering on our amazing participants. If you fancy getting involved and showing support for Team Winston and grieving children, young people and families by joining us at a cheer point this year, take a look at the list of events and let us know by filling in our form.

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How do I volunteer for Winston’s Wish?

As a children’s organisation, safeguarding children and young people is at the heart of everything that we do. This means that we ask all volunteers to go through the following selection and safer recruitment process before they can start volunteering.

1. Application form

Complete the online volunteer application form relevant to the role you’re interested in.

2. Informal interview

Once we have received your application form, we will invite you to meet us (either face-to-face or via Zoom). This is so that we can find out more about you, and you can ask us any questions you have about volunteering.

3. Reference check

If your interview goes well, we will ask you for details of two people who can provide a reference for you.

4. DBS check

If we are happy with your references, you will be asked to apply for a DBS check. We will guide you through this process.

Our amazing volunteers

Volunteering FAQs

Have a look at the current Volunteer Opportunities section to see which roles we currently have available, if one takes your fancy then complete the application form and we’ll be in touch.

At the moment, we currently have these volunteer opportunities. If there aren’t roles that suit you, you can email us at volunteer@winstonswish.org and we can let you know when other roles become available.

This is really up to you. The amount of time we ask our volunteers to commit to is different for different opportunities and this information will be specified in the role summary document.

We’re not currently recruiting for volunteers to support our work directly with bereaved children and young people. Keep checking back to our Volunteer Opportunities section to see when we’re next recruiting for volunteers to work in this way.

This depends on the role. For some roles, there are no specific skills required, just a great attitude and for others they’re clearly stated in the role summary document.

Many volunteers have specific reasons for volunteering in the role that they do. For some, they believe in the work of the charity, however there are many ways that volunteering can help you. Volunteering can help with job prospects, allow you to develop new skills, to meet new people and to improve your confidence and self-esteem.

Yes, as a children’s organisation, safeguarding children and young people is at the heart of everything that we do. All roles will need a Basic DBS check, for some roles this might involve an Enhanced DBS check.

We’ll be in touch with you within five working days of receiving your application. If we’re able to take your application forward, we’ll invite you to an informal interview on Zoom. After this we’ll contact your two references and then carry out a DBS and ID check. We hope that this process won’t take too long and will proceed with your application as quickly as we can.

All our volunteers need to provide two documents to prove their identity (passport, driving license, utility bill etc) and the contact details of two references.

Yes, you can. We value our volunteers and want to ensure that there are no barriers to volunteer involvement. We will reimburse reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the performance of volunteer duties as outlined in the volunteer handbook. All information on how to claim these are in the volunteer handbook which you will receive once interviews, DBS and reference checks have been completed.

At the moment, all our volunteering roles, apart from for our Youth Team, are for over 18s only. Some of our roles are for over 21 – this will be specified on the role summary. If you are under 18, take a look at our Youth Team and see if you are interested in joining.

Absolutely! We’d love to hear from you, have a look at the current opportunities available and get in touch.

We are looking for friendly, outgoing and committed Community Ambassador volunteers across the UK to champion Winston’s Wish within their own communities and networks. We need the help of enthusiastic volunteers to help us spread the word of our service and to inspire others to fundraise. Full training will be provided along with a suite of resources.

We’re not in a position at the moment to offer student placement volunteer opportunities.

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

At the moment we are recruiting for the above roles only. Please keep checking this webpage for any new roles advertised.

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Apply to be a Community Ambassador volunteer

Please fill out the form below to apply to be a Community Ambassador volunteer.

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Volunteer application form


About you












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Winston's Wish logo
As an organisation working with children and young people, we require references. Please provide the details of two people who would be prepared to provide a reference for you - your references need to have known you for a minimum of 12 months. Please note these must not be family members.
Reference 1









Reference 2










Do you want to stay in touch?








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Group of smiling teenagers, three boys and three girls - join the Winston's Wish Youth Team
Join the Youth Team

Winston’s Wish is assembling a Youth Team of 13-25 year olds to help us change the future for other grieving young people in the UK. Want in?

Ways to support Winston's Wish
Make a donation

Make a one-off or regular donation and help us ensure that every child and young person can get the help and support they need when someone close to them dies.

Fundraise for Winston's Wish
Fundraise for us

Marathons, bake sales, quizzes… there’s a fundraising event to suit you, whether you want to fundraise with your friends, family, students or on your own.

Connect with us

Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media for all our latest news and advice on supporting grieving children and young people.