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Welcome and thank you for your interest in being part of our brilliant team of volunteers! Before you get started, we’ve put together some information that will help you understand the role of our support practitioners and what’s expected of you if you sign up.
What does it mean to volunteer with the Family Support Service?
We’re looking for volunteers to support families of twins, triplets or more who need help in times of difficulty. We need practitioners who can help families by modelling how to care for their babies and empowering them to be confident, capable parents.
The Support Service offers two types of support – remote and at home. Remote (e.g. phone, email) support is for those families who are in less severe situations, but who are struggling with specific parenting concerns. For more severe cases of need, volunteers offer short-term, practical support at home.
What sort of issues do parents struggle with?
- Establishing a routine
- Sleep
- Feeding/weaning
- Behavioural difficulties
- Babies with medical needs
- Family bereavement or a parent with a medical condition
How does it work?
We receive a referral from a family or a health professional. We contact the family and assess what level of support they need i.e. remote or at home. We summarise the details of the situation and send out a request for support to our volunteers. We then match a family with a volunteer and arrange a time with the family for that volunteer to be in touch.
What you’ll get out of it:
- Experience to add to your CV
- Experience of working with twins, triplets or more
- Understanding around the uniqueness of caring for multiples and the challenges families face
- The opportunity to make a genuine difference to the families you support
- The opportunity to attend exclusive Twins Trust volunteer events
Helpful things to consider:
The following questions are designed to help you consider some of the more practical aspects of being a volunteer with the Family Support Service. There are no right or wrong answers. It’s a tool for you to think about whether this role is right for you.
- Are you able to initially commit to one year?
- Are you able to commit to either one call a month or one home visit a month (some of you will want to do both home and remote support, or one and not the other, but we still ask that you have the commitment to volunteer in some way once a month)
- Are you able to commit to responding to emails about volunteering opportunities?
- Are you able to join our volunteering WhatsApp group?
- Are you able to keep us up to date with your availability by completing monthly availability requests?
- Are you able to keep us up to date about a change in your circumstances, and informing us if you no longer wish to be a volunteer?
Getting started
Our volunteer pack tells you everything you need to know about becoming a support practitioner and volunteering with our families. Download it to read stories from other volunteers, meet the team and find out more about the process of supporting a family.
Equity, diversity and inclusivity
Our vision is for equity, diversity and inclusion to be at the heart of what Twins Trust is about. We're committed to developing an inclusive and diverse organisation, where everyone feels supported, valued and able to be themselves.
Our staff and volunteers are key to the support that we provide to families of twins, triplets and more. Their lived experiences, ideas and perspectives will help us to achieve our vision of a world where all twins, triplets or more - and their families - feel supported and empowered, whatever they may face.
We encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. If we can make any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact us by emailing [email protected].
Policies and documentation
Before you begin volunteering with us, we’ll contact Norland to confirm your DBS and First Aid certificates are up to date. If you don’t have your current certificates logged with Norland, we’ll put you in touch to update them.
We’ll also send you a copy of our policies to read and return, which are linked below for reference.
Code of Conduct
Social Media Policy
Volunteering Policy
Safeguarding Policy and Procedure
Safeguarding Process
Getting to know each other
Once you’re all signed up we’ll arrange a time to speak to you, to get to know your interests and skills, and answer any questions you have about volunteering. You’ll also receive two emails from us with further advice for speaking to families.
Register below
If you’ve read through the information and you’d like to join us, please complete our registration form. One of the team will get back to you to complete the registration process.
Or, if you have any questions about volunteering at this stage, you can contact Sophie on 07542224821 or at [email protected] for more information.
Norland trained nanny volunteers for Twins Trust
Lorna Marshall began volunteering as soon as she qualified as a Norlander.