THE GARAGE TRUST VOLUNTEER ROLE DESCRIPTION ‘SUPPORTING’ VOLUNTEERS WHO WE ARE The Garage Trust is a creative and performing arts charity established in 2002, working across Norfolk. Since then, we have been building a hub for the performing arts, a creative playground – from first steps to professionals. We work with local and national partners to provide high quality performing arts programming, outreach, participation, education and training for all ages. The Charity has a strong focus on those who face challenging circumstances, and uses art as a targeted intervention to change peoples' lives. Through participatory work in the creative arts, we support the development of transferrable skills, confidence, self-belief, trust, communication and the building of resilience to help people overcome challenges. We seek to empower individuals and create opportunities from which they can grow, make improvements in their lives and in turn strengthen their communities. We have a proven track record over 20 years of delivery in high-quality arts provision, cultivating safe, inspiring and supportive spaces for participants to learn at a pace that suits them. Our mission is to ‘transform peoples lives through the arts’. WHO YOU ARE Our volunteers are as varied as the community around us; however, they will likely have most of the qualities below: Interested in the arts • • Energetic, dynamic, motivated • • Community-minded • Self-sufficient and flexible Interested in the learning and development of children and young people WHY ARE WE UTILISING VOLUNTEERS? Utilising volunteers helps us to work more closely with our community, deliver better experiences for customers and brings more people to our team with inspirational stories and practices. Currently, we are looking for ‘Supporting’ volunteers to support participants on our class programme as well as at larger community events. The Garage Norwich Charity 1098975 1 We believe that the help of volunteers will enhance the quality of our services. As an example, in our classes, it is not always possible for the tutor to provide 121 support to a young person taking part. If a supporting volunteer is present in a class, it can completely change the experience of a young person who may be anxious / overstimulated, or feeling self-conscious, helping them to achieve the best results possible. We are excited about the opportunity that utilising volunteers brings us to connect in a deeper way with our community, enhance the diversity of our teams and access independent feedback on our services. WHAT WILL A SUPPORTING VOLUNTEER DO? A SUPPORTING volunteer might: • Support in classes or on productions (being a supportive presence for young people taking part in classes or our Summer Production, some of whom will have emotional or special educational needs, ensuring equal access and a positive experience in our studios and on our stages) • Chaperone at events such as our annual Dance or Theatre Showcases, the Lord Mayors Show, or the Jenny Lind picnic (enhancing the wellbeing of our participants, enabling them to fully take part in memorable and exciting larger- scale events and performances, and supporting The Garage to reach out to our wider community and engage more people) • Support our education team (e.g invigilating exams, enabling young people to gain accredited qualifications and exceed their own expectations) WHEN WILL WE NEED VOLUNTEERS? We appreciate that volunteers’ time is precious, and that’s why we offer a range of options from weekly term-time support to ad-hoc, annual events. A Supporting volunteer may be involved from between once a week (class support) to once a year (chaperoning or supporting on productions). You can indicate the type of involvement you’d like to have on our Volunteer Application Form. WHERE WILL VOLUNTEERS BE BASED? Generally, our volunteers will be based at our Norwich site next to Chapelfield Gardens, and occasionally out and about in the community. HOW WILL VOLUNTEERS BE SUPPORTED? The Garage Norwich Charity 1098975 2 Volunteers will be inducted, trained and supported by a member of our management team. There will be a ‘settling in period’ of 1 month for each new volunteer, at which point a review meeting will be held. Supervision meetings will then take place once per academic term. Informal supervision and catch-ups will be available on request. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? Volunteering at The Garage offers a range of benefits, such as: • The chance to give something back to your community • Option to meet new people • Get experience and build skills, which could be useful in future professional or other volunteering contexts • Chance to connect with the arts on a deeper level than as an audience member • Opportunity to support vulnerable young people to achieve amazing things • To be part of a team and connect with other volunteers and Garage staff • Chance to develop confidence • Be part of exciting arts and civic events in our city • Experience live performance • To be physically active and up on your feet supporting some very energetic young people! In addition, we also offer: • Travel expenses (within Norwich) if volunteering after 9:30pm during the week, or on Sundays • Free walk-in tickets to shows in our theatre • Free hot or soft drink and biscuit / snack in our cafe before the start of your volunteer shift • Volunteers wristband, and a Garage T-shirt for larger-scale community events • Access to training relevant to your role • Dedicated Volunteers’ summer and Christmas gathering • • Occasional visits and trips in collaboration with our local partners • DBS check and potential Chaperone License which can be used in other settings Invitation to our Annual General Meeting RECRUITMENT PROCESS Interested? If so, we would love to see an application from you. Simply download and return our application form to info@thegarage.org.uk with the subject line ‘VOLUNTEER APPLICATION’, and someone will be in touch with you. The Garage Norwich Charity 1098975 3 Please note that any offer of volunteering will be subject to a successful Enhanced DBS check. The Garage Norwich Charity 1098975 4