ALONE was founded by volunteers and the spirit of volunteerism remains at the heart of our organisation. Volunteers are essential to our organisation and show how people in the community can look after each other.
Interested in volunteering?
Volunteer Roles
Select any of the roles below to see more information, including responsibilities and tasks. For further information, please contact us.
What is Visitation Support and Befriending?
Visitation Support and Befriending is a supported one-to-one relationship between a volunteer and an older person who has been linked in with ALONE. The ALONE Support and Befriending service provides companionship and practical support to older people who would like extra social contact through a weekly volunteer visit. The Support and Befriending service is designed to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, provide assistance to solve everyday problems and enable older people to feel secure at home.
Volunteering with an Older Person might present challenges at times, ALONE staff will always be there to support you in dealing with difficult situations.
Please Note: This is not a supported volunteer role, you will be attending visits alone.
What will you be doing?
- Providing one to one companionship to an older person by visiting them at least once a week
- Providing basic practical support for the older person where necessary, such as helping with assessing information, making a phone call, noting appointments, etc. (Volunteers are not substitutes for home-help, home-care or care assistants, and must not take on these roles)
- Supporting the older person, you are visiting to attend local activities and integrate with their community by encouraging them to join local groups and initiatives for older people
- Login your visits & support requests on the BFriend App
- Contacting ALONE if there are concerns for the older person’s health, safety, or welfare
- Advocating for the older person where necessary. This might mean making a phone call on their behalf or helping them fill in a form
- Attending training and following the ALONE guidelines throughout your time with ALONE
- Participating in ALONE volunteer surveys and potentially assisting with ALONE with delivery/completion of surveys to Older People
- Participating in check-in calls with Volunteer Support Officers to discuss any issues or address any challenges you may be facing in your role
What do you need for this role?
- A genuine interest in the welfare of Older People
- To be patient, reliable and have good listening and communication skills
- To have a caring, understanding and friendly attitude
- To be flexible around visiting times or locations of visits
- To be non-judgemental and respect the confidentiality of the older person and of all records that you come into contact with
- To be able to follow directions and agreed guidelines/protocols and work as part of a team.
- Good level of spoken English
What is involved?
To provide support and companionship to an older person by visiting them at least once a week. All Volunteers must be over 18 years of age. All volunteers must be Garda vetted, reference checked and supply proof of address (for example a Bank statement, a utility bill) and proof of identification (for example: Passport). A minimum of a year’s commitment is required.
What you will receive?
- Support/advice/recognition
- Initial induction and training
- Ongoing training opportunities
- ALONE staff support through regular check-ins.
- Insurance cover (In line with ALONE Policy)
What are the benefits of volunteering with us?
- The opportunity to make a real impact to the lives of older people.
- Initial and ongoing training
- Insights and understanding about social inclusion issues.
- Opportunity to progress into other roles in ALONE
- Opportunity to develop your leadership skills.
- A chance to be part of the ALONE volunteer community.
- Certificate of volunteering (minimum 3 months of volunteering required for the certificate to be issued)
What is Telephone Support and Befriending?
ALONE’s Telephone Support and Befriending is a free friendly, support and information telephone service for older people. It provides personal daily or weekly contact to ensure that recipients are safe and well in their home.
Volunteers provide companionship and support such as appointment reminders, and information on local activities and relevant initiatives. All volunteers are trained and receive support from ALONE staff. Where additional needs arise that require a more hands-on approach, a request for support can be made to ALONE’s support coordination services. The service operates Monday – Friday and the calls are made at a pre-arranged time.
Volunteering with an Older Person might present challenges at times, ALONE staff will always be there to support you in dealing with difficult situations.
What will you be doing?
- Providing support and information to the older person where necessary
- Being mindful of the general wellbeing of the older people and provide a positive experience during the call
- Supporting the older person to integrate in their community – such as encouraging them to join local groups and initiatives for older people
- Reporting to ALONE if there are concerns for the older person’s health, safety, or welfare.
- Working as a member of a team with staff and other volunteers and participate effectively in team meetings when required and respond to the communication from Telephone Support Coordinators
- Attending training and following the ALONE guidelines throughout your time with ALONE
- Participating in check-in calls with ALONE staff in order to discuss any issues or address any challenges you may be facing in your role
- Participating in ALONE volunteer surveys and potentially assisting with ALONE with delivery/completion of surveys to Older People
What do you need for this role?
- A genuine interest in the welfare of older people
- The ability to use phone apps
- Good level of spoken and written English
- The ability to follow directions and agreed guidelines/protocols and work as part of a team.
- A caring, understanding, and friendly attitude
- To be patient, reliable and have good listening and communication skills
- To be non-judgemental and respect the confidentiality of the older person and of all records that you come into contact with
- It is essential that the volunteer has a mobile phone with a plan which allows free calls and access to a space where calls can be made in a confidential and private manner.
What is involved?
It is essential that Telephone Support & Befriending volunteers commit to a minimum of one 1-hour shift per week (Monday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm) for a minimum of 6 months.
Location:
From home
What you will receive?
- Support/advice/recognition
- Initial induction and training
- Ongoing training opportunities
- Named staff support – Telephone Support Coordinator who will provide day to day support to the volunteer.
- Insurance cover (In line with ALONE Policy)
What are the benefits of volunteering with us?
- The opportunity to make a real impact to the lives of older people.
- Initial and ongoing training
- Insights and understanding about social inclusion issues.
- Opportunity to progress into other roles in ALONE
- Opportunity to develop your leadership skills.
- A chance to be part of the ALONE volunteer community.
- Certificate of volunteering (minimum 3 months of volunteering required for the certificate to be issued)
What is the National Support and Referral Line?
On 9th March 2020, ALONE launched a new National Support and Referral Line (NSRL), as part of our support to older people, who may have concerns or are facing difficulties in Ireland. The NSRL is open Monday to Sunday, 8am-8pm by calling 0818 222 024. The role requires taking calls that come through to the NSRL and acting as the first point of contact to ALONE.
As an NSRL volunteer, you will provide a listening ear, information, and support for older people in a warm, friendly, and professional manner. Please note there may be challenging calls including issues regarding mental health and suicidal ideation. ALONE staff will always be there to support you in dealing with difficult situations.
What will you be doing?
- Helping access information for the older person as required
- Logging all calls into a computer logging system
- Logging support requests for ALONE’s other services such as Support Coordination or Telephone Befriending
- Reporting any concerns regarding an older person’s health, safety, or welfare to the NSRL Coordinators
- Acting in a friendly but professional manner on the NSRL; thus ensuring it is a positive experience for the older person
- Being mindful of the general wellbeing of the older person and provide a positive experience during the call
- Working as a member of a team with staff and other volunteers and participate effectively in team meetings when required
- Attending training and following the ALONE guidelines throughout your time with ALONE
- Participating in ALONE volunteer surveys and potentially assisting with ALONE with delivery/completion of surveys to Older People
- Participating in check-in calls with NSRL Coordinator to discuss any issues or address any challenges you may be facing in your role
- Helping answer queries from older people regarding provision of official information from the HSE or other official sources. This will be provided to you
- Signposting to other relevant organisations
What do you need for this role?
- A genuine interest in the welfare of Older People
- A caring, understanding, and friendly attitude
- Good level of spoken and written English
- A competency in using different software systems. You will receive training in Salesforce, Teams, IP Telecom, but will be expected to know how to navigate Outlook Email. You will have to be able to use all systems during each shift
- To be non-judgemental and respect the confidentiality of the older person and of all records that you come into contact with
- Ability to follow directions and agreed guidelines/protocols and work as part of a team
- To be patient, reliable and have good listening and communication skills
It is essential that the volunteer has a laptop / computer and high-speed broadband (Calls are answered through the laptop / computer so it must be compatible.) and access to a space where calls can be answered in a confidential and private manner.
What is involved?
It is essential that NSRL volunteers commit to a minimum of one 2-hour shift per week for a minimum of 6 months. The shifts are Monday – Sunday – One x 2-hour shifts between either 8am – 10am / 10am – 12pm / 12pm – 2pm / 2pm – 4pm / 4pm – 6pm/ 6pm – 8pm
Location:
From home
What you will receive?
- Support/advice/recognition
- Initial induction and training
- Ongoing training opportunities
- Named staff support – NSRL Coordinator who will provide day to day support to the volunteer
- Insurance cover (In line with ALONE Policy)
What are the benefits of volunteering with us?
- The opportunity to make a real impact to the lives of older people.
- Initial and ongoing training
- Insights and understanding about social inclusion issues.
- Opportunity to progress into other roles in ALONE
- Opportunity to develop your leadership skills.
- A chance to be part of the ALONE volunteer community.
- Certificate of volunteering (minimum 3 months of volunteering required for the certificate to be issued)
Individuals offer their specialist or professional skills in a voluntary capacity. This can be for a particular project or on an ongoing basis. These roles may include: administration support, finance, maintenance, gardening, driving, IT support, legal advice, etc. We try to embed volunteers into our service and all departments.
Volunteers participate in time-defined projects with ALONE that are organised by other bodies or agencies. These include corporate volunteering opportunities, student placements and other volunteer referral programmes. In these cases, a special agreement must be in effect with the body or agency that identifies responsibility for management and care of the volunteers.
Volunteer Testimonials
Volunteer Benefits
Meet our Volunteers
For more Volunteering stories click below
To find out more about the impact of ALONE Services and Volunteers on the wellbeing of older people read our HALO research
Process for applying
- Make an expression of interest
You will receive an email with the role description you applied for and be set up on our database.
- Complete an information session
You will receive a short presentation from ALONE about our organisation and the volunteering programme. - Take part in an interview
Our volunteer team will contact you to ask you a few questions and answer any of your queries. - Fill in our volunteer form and provide all the necessary documents
You will receive an e-mail with a form from us. We will require from you two forms of identification (one photographic, one proof of address). This is a compulsory requirement for the Garda Vetting application.
- Attend the Induction to the Role training
- Undergo Garda Vetting & references check
Once all paperwork is completed, you will be informed that you are ready to begin your role.
- Begin role
Please note that if you apply for our Visitation Support & Befriending Role it can take some time before you will be matched with an older person.
This depends on the locations where matches are needed and the availability and areas that suit volunteers to travel to.
Note: These steps may alter slightly depending on the role you have applied for.
Time commitment
We would ask that all our volunteers commit to at least:
- a year of volunteering for the Visitation role
- 6 months of volunteering for the Telephone and NSRL roles
This commitment gives the volunteer the opportunity to have a meaningful experience while ensuring continuity of service for older people.
Click above to hear from Alan & Kevin about their experience with ALONE’s Volunteer Support & Befriending Service
Volunteer Resources
Quality Standards held by ALONE Volunteer Programme
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