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Volunteer Gardener

Role Location John Hall Wellness Garden, Leek, Staffordshire
Location {Advertised Location}
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Mergefield Title {Mergefield Value}

This is a voluntary, Flexible vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.

Amazing, giving, inspiring and awesome are just a few of the words we would use to describe our volunteers.

Our volunteers play an integral part in the services we provide and the people we support. If you are looking for a rewarding role where you will really make a difference whilst gaining experience along the way, then join us here at Rethink Mental Illness.

About the role

We are looking for Volunteer Gardeners to support our service at John Hall Wellness Garden in Leek, Staffordshire, where we have varying gardening and maintenance roles available. These are flexible roles and anytime you can commit to volunteering at the Wellness Garden will be appreciated.

You will receive training and regular supervision to ensure you feel confident in your role.  You can read more about the benefits of volunteering on the full advert on our website.

We have various roles available such as activity leads, admin roles and hospitality. Please get in touch for more details, using the contact details below.

About the service

Our service is open on Monday- Friday 9am- 4pm, and Saturdays 9am- 3pm. The wellness garden is a pilot project which opened in April 2022 and is funded by Rethink Mental Illness. Our garden is a beautiful walled garden, and we are in the early stages of developing the grounds and activities. The vision is to provide a wellness garden for the community as a way of improving mental health and wellbeing. We welcome groups into the garden and individuals can also register to become Friends of the Garden. We also have activities and sessions taking place around gardening skills and planting.

What you will be doing as a Volunteer Gardener:

Plants Team

  • Support/Facilitate “Friends of the Garden” in peer support group work and activity sessions - taking on a guiding role under the supervision of the Volunteer Co-Ordinator
  • Help to maintain the garden and propagate plants
  • Complete tasks such as weeding, lawn care, planting, sowing and raising seeds and young plants
  • Help with growing vegetables
  • Organise plants so they are ready for sale
  • You will have the opportunity to liaise with the public regarding the sale of plants and to provide advice on plant care

Maintenance Team

  • Keep hedges and trees trimmed
  • Ensure the pathways are clear and in good condition
  • Maintain the display units
  • Keep the polytunnel clean and fix it when necessary
  • Take care of the pond area
  • Maintain the Wildlife area and create interesting areas in the garden for wildlife and for the public to enjoy
  • Take care of the gardening tools
  • Paint and repair garden furniture when required

If you have any particular skills which you feel would be useful to the role, we would be happy to discuss other garden-based ideas. In addition, you will also support people to use gardening as a way of improving and maintaining their mental health and wellbeing.

What will make you a great fit for this role?

  • Gardening or practical skills would be useful, although you do not need to be an expert
  • A willingness to guide/take a leading role with the “Friends of the Garden” in gardening groups and planned activity sessions.
  • You will have a passion for the great outdoors
  • You will be empathetic, understanding, and sensitive to the needs of others
  • Basic computer skills to access training

The Volunteer Manager recruiting is Nicola Pazir. If you have any questions about the position, please feel free to drop her an email at nicola.pazir@rethink.org

 

Who are we?

We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.”

We welcome applications from everyone, applicants with lived experience, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ ), people with a disability, or those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are actively encouraged to apply. We are proud to have also been awarded Disability Confident employer status. We have an ambition of becoming an anti-racist organisation and we recognise there is more to do in ensuring our recruitment is fair and inclusive, which is why we are recruiting new roles in helping us to achieve this.

The Company has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years. We have a vast number of employees, and provide support to clients from all over the country.

Passion

We are passionate about leading the way to a better quality of life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.

Commitment

We work tirelessly to provide support for everyone severely affected by mental illness.

Openness

We are open and transparent in all our work with beneficiaries, supporters, partners and the public to achieve change for people severely affected by mental illness.

Hope

We offer hope of a better quality of life for all those severely affected by mental illness.

Expertise

We constantly use our expertise to provide practical and personal support for people who are severely affected by mental illness.

Understanding

People who are severely affected by mental illness are at the heart of everything we do in our organisation – our membership, our governance and our workforce.

Equity

We believe that in a world where discrimination and disadvantage exist, treating people with equity is critical to ensure justice and fairness for all.

Openness

We are open and transparent in all our work with beneficiaries, supporters, partners and the public to achieve change for people severely affected by mental illness.

We understand that people volunteer for many different reasons and whatever your reason is for volunteering we’ll be there to support you every step of the way. You will receive an induction to ensure you feel confident in your role as well as regular supervision. Other benefits of volunteering include:

"If I could highlight the best part of being a Volunteer Bereavement Counsellor, I would mention it is because I idolise being part of Rethinks fantastic caring support team. I love being able to make a positive, life changing difference to all those effected by mental health, bereavement, and suicide and at Rethink Mental Illness I get to do exactly that. I enjoy conducting my sessions virtually, as-well working face to face with my clients. I also like the flexibility and professionalism of the organisation."

"As a Volunteer Mentor I have been given the opportunity to co-facilitate mental health awareness workshops for young people and professionals. My tasks include discussing sensitive topics, supporting the wellbeing and development of young people and regularly reporting back to the project manager. Volunteering with Rethink Mental Illness is extremely rewarding; I have learned many new aspects of mental health and improved my communication skills. I’m also very grateful for the insightful training I received, such as First Aid Youth Mental Health Awareness and Public Speaking training."

"I am currently completing my training for my volunteer advisory role. The training I have received over the last three months has been fantastic. I have learnt so much which I can use to help friends and family too who are experiencing problems associated with their mental health. The support I have received from my trainer has been faultless. I know this great support will continue beyond my training when I start my new advisory role soon. I highly recommend joining Rethink."

"I lead one of Rethink's Carers Support Groups. Connecting with the carers that attend the Carers Support Group is rewarding and educating. Listening to group members as they share their experiences, in the safe, supportive environment provided is a positive cycle. We learn from each other. We support each other. The group and I have the constant and ongoing support of the kind, caring and experienced Rethink team. Volunteering for and contributing to the wellbeing of others is something that to me, feels meaningful. I value that."

Please be mindful that we may need to close adverts early if we receive a high volume of applications, we, therefore, encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

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