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.
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:
It is also important for potential volunteers to know that they do not:
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…”
The National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) is a national child-centred charity that supports Child Contact Centres by:
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.