Sighted Guide Volunteers

  • Sighted Guide tags
Thomas Pocklington Trust logo. Large TPT letters with the words Thomas Pocklington Trust underneath enclosed in a rectangle. Letters, words and the rectangle border are a dark blue. Within the P of TPT is a small round eye looking upwards.

Closing date: Saturday 07 October 2023
Location: Birmingham
Hours: 1 or 2 days (7 and/or 8 October 2023)
Contract: Volunteer

Get involved with our 2023 Volunteer Conference

This October around 80 blind and partially sighted volunteers from around England will meet at Conference Aston Birmingham to discuss issues that matter to them.

The conference will take place on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th October 2023 in Birmingham.

We need your help

Our volunteers give up much of their time to campaign on improving services for blind and partially sighted people, can you spare some of your time to support the conference?

Thomas Pocklington Trust provides volunteer programs which create a forum for blind and partially sighted people to have a voice on matters important to them and their communities.

Sighted Guide Roles

Sighted Guide Volunteers will guide blind or partially sighted delegates around the venue, e.g., to workshops, photo shoots, and meals. There may also be the opportunity to support at transport hubs in Birmingham!

How you will make a difference

You will be part of an exciting team helping to ensure the smooth running of the conference from start to finish. This will be a special event in which you will play a part in bringing people together.

You can hear about how Anela benefited from having a sighted guide on our Facebook page Benefits of having a sighted guide – Facebook.

Skills, experience, and qualities needed:

  • Confident communicator.
  • Great people person!
  • Friendly and approachable!
  • Reliable, with excellent time management skills.
  • Have a good level of mobility to be able to guide another person.
  • Sighted guide training will be provided.
  • Willingness to be around assistance dogs.
  • Good levels of mobility.

How you will benefit:

  • Opportunity to network with others.
  • A chance to understand more about disability.
  • Opportunity to complete our online learning for this role and be trained as a sighted guide.
  • You get to volunteer as part of a great team and be part of something special!

Niamh has been a volunteer for the last two years at a conference, here she talks to Anela about how it benefits her – Do you know you can volunteer as a sighted guide – Facebook or you can read her previous experience here Volunteer voices – Thomas Pocklington Trust.

Level of commitment

You must be available to volunteer on Saturday and/or Sunday at Conference Aston Birmingham. We will be looking for people to volunteer for various parts of the weekend. There may also be an opportunity to volunteer within Birmingham’s transport hubs to assist delegates arriving in Birmingham.

Learning requirements:

  • Sighted guiding
  • Involvement/Boundaries
  • Safeguarding
  • Attend briefing before the conference.

For more information about the training we provide you can watch this short clip What training is needed for becoming a sighted guide – Facebook.

Expenses

Travel expenses will be paid for in accordance with our expense policy. For people travelling from outside of Birmingham – please contact us to discuss this.

How to apply

We have an online application form you can complete. You will be prompted to provide your availability for volunteering on the form. Please select the option ‘No’ for applying for a Sight Loss Council role, and then choose ‘2023 Sighted Guide for Volunteer Conference’.

You can contact our Volunteering Team via email volunteering@pocklington-trust.org.uk for more information or complete the online application form.

Many thanks for your continued support.

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