The are many rewards of being a Samaritan, and we hope to give the opportunity of volunteering to anyone willing to give their time and energy. What’s being a Samaritan like? Find out more below!
Why Sevenoaks Samaritans?
Volunteer hours that fit into your lifestyle.
Sevenoaks Samaritans recognise the diverse commitments we all juggle daily, and look to accommodate our rotas to work with your diary. Once you’re trained, you can easily remotely book shifts online at times that suit you, so you don’t have to compromise time with your professional life, holidays or the school pick up!
It’s flexible. There’s no rigid rota. It’s a friendly and supportive environment.
- Mike
The shift package fits with my work/family commitments.
- a Sevenoaks Samaritan
Continued training and support.
We provide our volunteers with excellent training, mentoring and ongoing support to ensure you feel confident in your new role. We will be with you every step of your Samaritans journey.
It’s the support you get if you have a difficult call - it’s absolutely amazing.
- Anne
I enjoy receiving constructive feedback and being with people who are non-judgemental.
- a Sevenoaks Samaritan
Join a supportive community and make life-long friendships.
With over 100 friendly faces already volunteering, many of us have made some of our greatest friendships here at Sevenoaks Samaritans. Great for meeting people if you’re new to the area, or just a fantastic place to meet like-minded people; we would love to welcome you into our Samaritans community!
The spirit of mutuality in 105 - it’s a real gift.
- Barbara
I have made friends through the Samaritans. There’s huge support. It feels like home to me - it’s wonderful.
- Lindsay
Learning valuable new skills
Volunteering with Samaritans isn’t just emotionally rewarding, it can also be a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. Develop your communication, listening, leadership and empathy skills, it might surprise you how much you learn!
I have learnt a lot about myself and feel that my work as a Samaritan has given me a confidence boost, enabling me to recognise that everyone has different skill sets.
- a Sevenoaks Samaritan
Find a role that matches your passion
Whether you are interested in listening to our callers, outreach programmes, or IT support, Samaritans offers a variety of roles to match your skills and passions. Find a niche where you truly shine!
It’s been an absolutely amazing experience.
- Keryl
I’ve really enjoyed using my marketing skills to support Samaritan’s work and help make a difference.
- Tilly
Be part of something bigger than yourself
Each volunteer is integral to the Samaritans mission, giving their time and energy to be there for people struggling to cope. The work we do can be life-changing, and our volunteers find this a deeply rewarding experience that provides us with incredibly special moments.
Working as a Samaritan helps me put life into perspective and I enjoy working with a lovely bunch of wonderful people.
- a Sevenoaks Samaritan
Being a volunteer does a lot for me and I consider it a privilege and honour to be part of the Sevenoaks branch.
- a Sevenoaks Samaritan
So,what can I do?
We want to find the right volunteer package for you, and give everyone the opportunity to volunteer. We offer regular, flexible and night owl volunteer packages, and look to meet any individual needs. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and accessible volunteer community, catering for all ages and abilities.
There are many different types of volunteering roles, including:
- Listening Volunteers: Our listening volunteers support those who are in despair by answering calls. Being a Listening Samaritan also means being there to listen to those who need us and being there at night is an important part of delivering an effective service.
- Night Time Listeners: Night time is when many of our callers need us the most. We ask all volunteers to do a night duty around once a month unless there is a particular reason for not doing so. Night duties last for 3 or 4 hours and we class a night duty as starting after 10.00 pm. If you are a night owl, we even have a special package for volunteers who want to volunteer exclusively at night.
- Support Volunteers: Our Support volunteers play a key role in enabling the operation to function. There are lots of technical, operational, marketing and fundraising roles you could try - it all depends on what you want to do, what you are good at and how much time you want to give.
If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering with Sevenoaks Samaritans we would love to hear from you, simply email [email protected]
We look forward to hearing from you!