Volunteering with The Reader Organisation in Barnet
"I have learnt more about ways to help generate understanding. And I have learnt a lot about some remarkable people." - Volunteer facilitator, Barnet
Staff tell us the group has had a very positive effect on members. They talk about it all week, apparently, and about the texts we have shared. One, whose dementia we thought precluded much understanding, has started reciting with great enjoyment. Even the music events the home arrange do not have the same impact. ‘Mondays have taken on a completely new aspect. I’ve got something to look forward to now, for the first time in years’, one member said to me recently.
I feel very privileged to work with this group. The members are truly inspiring. Some of them say they love the group because it keeps them learning. It keeps me learning too, all the time.
What we're looking for:
In addition to excellent communications skills in English Language, reading group facilitators need to be:
- good listeners and effective communicators;
- able to facilitate rather than dominate;
- willing to allow reading to affect the way they think or feel;
- interested in what life can throw at us all;
- open to new ways of approaching literature
Volunteers are first invited to attend reading sessions to get an understanding of what the role entails and then have an informal interview with the coordinator. All recruited volunteers will receive full induction and training from The Reader Organisation beginning from Thursday 24th October 2013.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Paul Higgins on paulhiggins@thereader.org.uk or 07985 718744
More information can be found on the Working With Us section of our website.
Read more about Ann's experience of volunteering with The Reader Organisation on the Reader Stories section of our website.
Share
Related Articles
November’s Choice From The Reader Bookshelf
The Reader Bookshelf is a carefully curated collection of literature for adults and children, exploring a different theme each year, this…
The Storybarn Selects… From The Reader Bookshelf
The Reader Bookshelf is a carefully curated collection of literature for adults and children, exploring a different theme each year,…
October’s Monthly Stories and Poems
October is brimming with lots of things to see and do, and so we are turning the month’s selection of…
1 thoughts on “Volunteering with The Reader Organisation in Barnet”
[…] We’re currently looking to expand the number of volunteers in our Barnet Volunteering Project in London, where volunteers can read for a minimum of half a day a week in older people’s care and local community settings around the area. More details about the project can be found on our website and here on The Reader Online. […]