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Volunteering

We always need more volunteers! There are various ways you can get involved in creating a culture of welcome in Swansea – please see below.

 

Volunteering through our Management Committee

Could you help with organising events and promoting our vision? We need people on the Management Committee itself, so if you are a whizz at finance or strategy, or just have good sensible judgement, we would love to hear from you. Our Management Committee meet monthly, and make the majority of the decisions about how we run our organisation. Take a look at the about page and our vision page to see the range of things you could get involved in, or contact us for a chat. We especially encourage people with lived experience of seeking asylum to apply. We invite people to observe our meetings if you’d like to get to know more about the Management Committee first.

We are also actively looking for a Chair and Secretary. We recently had two long-standing members of the committee step down from these roles, so are currently looking for people to take on these positions. You can read more about these roles on our vacancies page.

 

Volunteering outside of our Management Committee

We know many people cannot commit to monthly meetings, so there are other ways you can get involved. You can support the Committee by being a part smaller sub-groups, some of which are busier at certain times of the year and quieter during other times (which may suit you more)! Below are some of the groups you could be involved with:

  • Campaigning – help build the campaigning group, create a platform for marginalised voices to have their say about the issues being faced, collaborate, and speak up for sanctuary.
  • Fundraising – apply for funds and grants, or suggest new ways to gather more donations from our supporters.
  • Events – support us to organise, budget, promote and facilitate various events.
  • Exhibition – revising the information on our panels, organising and booking venues for our exhibition to visit, set up of our exhibition in different locations.
  • Sanctuary Awards – be part of the appraisal team, liaise with local schools and organisations, organise site visits, and help plan annual Awards Ceremony.
  • Arts, Gardens, Sports, etc! – facilitate projects and liaise with local groups to initiate more inclusive events and activities within a range of areas. Your personal passions are what enables us to thrive in specific areas! Get in touch with your ideas.

If you prefer to volunteer on a more ad-hoc basis, we have a Volunteer WhatsApp group you can be added to, where upcoming events will be posted in which we will need support (handing out leaflets, stewarding etc). If any of these ideas appeal to you, or if you have ideas of your own on how to create a culture of welcome in Swansea, please fill our our volunteer form.

 

Volunteering with ‘A Better Welcome to Swansea’ Project

Could you give a sanctuary seeker a warm welcome? If so, why not become a Volunteer Mentor? Many asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in Swansea may not be familiar with the city and with how things work, how to make connections with other people or how to access services. Some of the individuals will have very low English levels, which can make it even harder to integrate. The ‘A Better Welcome to Swansea‘ Project provides training for volunteers to become a Mentor, and to support people who are new to the area.

If you would like to get involved, please contact [email protected]

 

Volunteering with SASS or UiD

Our friends at Swansea Asylum Seekers Support (SASS) and Unity in Diversity (UiD) are always looking for new volunteers. Both groups provide weekly drop-ins were they offer food, support and learning opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees in Swansea. Please see their websites for more information about how to get involved.

 

Other ways to support us

You can also support us by actively engaging with our social media, to spread the message of welcome!

We also welcome regular or one-off donations (including GiftAid) via our LocalGiving page! Thank you very much to our generous donors; we are what our supporters do.