Volunteers

Do you have spare time? Could you help children be re-united with a parent at our Child Contact Centre? Or perhaps you could give some time to help raise vital funds to keep the centre open?

Volunteers in Child Contact Centres need to be impartial, caring, tolerant, sensitive, flexible, discreet and reliable. They must always put children’s needs first and not take sides with either parent or any other adults involved in the contact.

The Andover Child Contact Centre is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays each month from 10am to 12 noon. The volunteers are normally organised into teams and each team is on duty once every four to six weeks.

New volunteers join a team and are given training either in advance of, or shortly after they have started working int he centre. All volunteers receive ongoing support from their team leaders and/or the centre co-ordinator.

What will I have to do?

A volunteer at a Child Contact Centre is primarily responsible for facilitating meaningful contact between a child or children and a non-resident parent, by:

• Helping to prepare the centre before children arrive
• Welcoming families and showing them around
• Listening to adults and children without judging, advising or taking sides
• Making refreshments
• Tidying up once the centre is closed

It is also important for potential volunteers to know that they do not:

• Counsel families using the centre
• Supervise the children – they remain the responsibility of their parents at all times
• Get involved with the families away from the centre

People who are already volunteers in Child Contact Centres have commented that:

“It has made me more adaptable and open minded.”
“The rewards outweigh the problems and disappointments.”
“We need to support children in developing successful relationships…”

Who Supports Child Contact Centres?

The National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) is a national child-centred charity that supports Child Contact Centres by:

• Promoting a greater awareness and recognition of their work locally, regionally, and nationally
• Valuing the skills and commitment of their volunteers and staff
• Supporting good practice through the application of consistent standards of service delivery
• Networking in partnership with its member centres and other agencies so that they understand and learn from each other
• Responding and being accountable to its membership and funders

If you would like to help make a difference for children in Andover, or to find out more about the work of the Andover Child Contact Centre, please contact us.