Ability Dogs 4 Young People – Volunteering Opportunities
Do you have some time on your hands? Ability Dogs 4 Young People is looking for some enthusiastic people to join our team of volunteers. We currently have a fantastic team of volunteers, who we are extremely grateful for, but we are always on the lookout for more. It is a great way to make new friends and learn new skills. We have plenty of interesting volunteering opportunities:
Charity Shops: Can you help in one of our three thriving charity shops? We have one in Newport and two in Shanklin. We have many different roles, from sorting donated items, setting up displays and serving customers.
Volunteer Puppy Parents: We are looking for Puppy Parents to love and train our puppies. We provide food and equipment for the puppy and cover all veterinary costs while the Ability Dog puppy is with you. As part of the team, you will be fully supported at weekly puppy training classes and at home. You can enjoy the fun of watching each puppy grow as he or she learns what it takes to be a fully trained Ability Dog. As all of our Ability Dogs stay on the Island, you will always be able to follow their progress when they move to their recipient and become a working Ability Dog. We also need Foster Puppy Parents who can look after a training Ability Dog puppy for short periods.
Delivery drivers and helpers: We are looking for volunteers to help once a week, to help with deliveries and collections. This involves collecting and delivering bags, boxes and furniture to and from our three Charity shops and people’s homes. We also need to do regular tip runs. We are also looking for someone confident in driving a manual Trafic van.
Fundraising events: We are looking for some more volunteers to help on our stand at fundraising events. The Charity attends multiple events a year, including the Garlic Festival, Chale Show, County Show and Wolverton Garden Fair, in order to raise funds for and awareness of Ability Dogs. We would love some volunteers to help setting up and packing down the stand (including gazebos), as well as running the games on the stand itself. The games normally include a soft toy tombola, bottle tombola, mystery boxes and a lucky dip. We also host our own annual Open Weekend at our Training Centre at Sandown Airport – this year it is the 8th & 9th June.
If you are unable to help with these roles, but are able to spare us some time, we are looking for volunteers to help at our Training Centre with fundraising, admin and general maintenance. Within any of these roles, you would be joining a passionate and sociable team who were recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2018.
Ability Dogs 4 Young People IoW is an Island charity which trains assistance dogs to improve the lives of physically and mentally disabled young people and children on the Isle of Wight. If you think you can help in any way please get in touch. Visit www.abilitydogs4yp.org.uk, email info@abilitydogs4yp.org.uk or phone 01983 216246.
