volunteering opportunities
Below you will find a list of the current volunteering opportunities available at RISC
world shop & global refills
RISC’s amazing world shop is just sparkling with delights from the Majority World. We are looking for volunteers to serve customers, restock shelves, keep the shop area clean and tidy, price-up new stock, and to generally be helpful to our customers! Ideally we need volunteers who can commit to a regular four-hour slot each week. However, if you are unable to commit to 4 hours let us know and we can arrange hours to suit you.
current vacancies
shop and global refills volunteers needed
roof garden
Because our roof garden is a perma-culture garden it needs very little maintenance, however, we do need to pull the odd weed from time to time.
current vacancies
sorry no vacancies at the moment
Please check back again soon for updates.
office
Answering telephone, transferring calls or taking messages. Supporting RISC workers with data entry, photocopying, laminating, book-binding & mail-outs. Computer confident, good English and good attention to detail essential.
current vacancies
sorry no vacancies at the moment
Please check back again soon for updates.
food4families
Happy to work outside in all weathers getting hands dirty? Food4Families (f4f) has created a network of food growing gardens across Reading where parents and children can learn how to grow their own food together. F4f has developed family food gardens on allotment sites, school playing fields and communal land. Each garden has its own dedicated tutor and volunteers and the project provides seeds, tools and other equipment to enable them to get growing. However it will local people who will be managing the land in a sustainable way in the long term.
For all f4f opportunities:
- References required
- DBS checks and safeguarding training essential
- Some horticultural experience/knowledge desired but not essential
- Must be a good team player and great communicator
current vacancies
age uk garden maintenance program
This year F4F are working in partnership with ‘Age UK Reading’ to run a garden maintenance program for old/vulnerable adults. We are running a pilot in the Southcote area on 9thMay, 23rd May, 6th June. Each day will take 4/5 hours and will involve grass cutting and basic weeding/pruning.
The following F4F gardens are looking for volunteers:
• Amersham Road – Saturdays 10.30 to 12.30
• Coley Park allotment starting 5th May Thursdays 1 to 3pm
• Cookery course helper – starting Friday 10th June for 6 weeks – Fridays 10.30 to 12.30
And if you don’t fancy getting your hands dirty we also need an office based volunteer to input monitoring data onto spread sheets ASAP – preferably working Mondays or Tuesday.
committee support roles
Do you live in Whitley? Want to get involved in your community? Whitley GrowAllot is one of RISC’s food4families community allotments based at Meavy Gardens, Brixham Road, Whitley. Their management committee is newly formed and would benefit greatly from volunteers who are experienced in management committee/trustee roles to either get them started, and/or to become management committee members. You will work along side residents as they learn to take on committee roles, we are particularly looking for a treasurer, plus other members to make up the management committee team. Experience of being on a committee preferred, however, not essential.
community garden volunteers
F4F has community allotment sites where regular sessions are ran supporting local residents in growing their own fruit and veg in communal spaces. We need volunteers to support an F4F tutor at these sessions working one-to-one along side a resident to give them confidence or support, or to help with general maintenance tasks.
monitoring & evaluation volunteer
F4F need a volunteer to attend the various garden sessions and help participants complete monitoring questionnaires, this information is needed to measure the impact of the project
Excellent communication skills needed
When (morning/afternoon/weekend): various but not evenings, 1 to 2 hours a week for next month and then again in the autumn to do follow up evaluations
school garden volunteers
F4F presently runs food growing sessions at 4 local primary schools, 2 after school with children and their families, and 2 during the school day just with children. A Food4Families tutor organises and runs the sessions with the support of a member of school staff but the more adults the more the children manage to achieve.
reading food growing network (rfgn) events volunteer
Reading Food Growing Network is for any groups/individuals in the wider Reading area who are interested in promoting the local growing of fruit and vegetables. The network organising events such as seed / plant swaps in local communities, share knowledge, organise speakers/training and plan community-cooking sessions. We are looking for a volunteer to help the RFGN development worker plan the logistics and publicity for upcoming events. This role will be based at the RISC office or from home for a couple of hours per week.