Volunteering 

SeeAbility was founded by four volunteers in 1799. Our heritage of volunteering is as strong today as it ever was.

Your help can make a real difference. Everyone we support has aspirations and dreams, ideas and goals. Help us enhance the work of our dedicated and professional staff teams.

There are opportunities to volunteer at each of our 11 centres across the South of England with a range of tasks looking for volunteer support. Whatever you do and however much time you can give; it will be appreciated and will make a difference. 

Roles for volunteers

Please click on the roles below to find out more about them.

Activity Supporter
Driver
Employee Volunteering
Escort
Friendship Volunteer
Fundraiser
Gardener
Students and young volunteers
Tandem Cyclists

Meet some of our volunteers and hear about their roles

Read our latest  Volunteer Newsletter Spring 2010 (2662KB)

What Do People Get From Volunteering With SeeAbility?

All our volunteers are provided with information and training to support them in their role and get a sense of pride from what they do, together with:

• A chance to meet new faces, make friends and gain confidence.
• An opportunity to use their skills and experience to help make a difference.
• The knowledge that their support can benefit someone's life.
• The reward of helping someone to achieve their full potential.

Contact Us

If you would like to discuss any volunteering opportunities with SeeAbility, please contact us: enquiries@seeability.org. If you have a question please visit our FAQ's page.

Your gift of time could grow into something really special
Come and join us!

Activity Support - We have four activity centres, at Leatherhead in Surrey, Seaford in East Sussex, Wellington in Somerset and Tadley in Hampshire. These provide a base for supporting people to participate in a wide range of activities, with opportunity for learning and leisure. Activities include sensory, creative, therapeutic, physical, recreational, communication, education and life skills. Volunteers to support our staff in running these activities are always welcome.

Driver - we have a range of transport at our centres, from minibuses to people carriers and small adapted cars. You could be able to drive (subject to meeting certain requirements) one of these vehicles in support of our work. We also rely on volunteers to use their own cars on occasions to take people on trips out.

Escort - many of the people who live at our centres go out to access day activity in the community. We provide staff support for this but volunteers can help by assisting and you might find yourself taking someone to the gym, swimming, shopping, day trips, holidays or adult education classes.

Friendship Volunteer - making the connection with the wider community is vital for many of the people living at our centres. Creating friendships builds confidence and provides continuity. Many of our volunteers visit someone once a week, just to chat and have coffee. Some of our volunteers help by taking people on trips to the shops or places of interest. Others spend some time reading or even playing piano.

Fundraiser - We rely on a steady stream of income to keep all or projects moving forward. We would welcome help from volunteers to support one off events such as the London Marathon, local fetes, village fairs, and street collections. We occasionally need admin help in our fundraising team at our central office in Epsom.

Gardener - Several of our sites have large grounds and several have both sensory gardens and horticulture plots with small greenhouses. Volunteers are vital to keep our gardens looking lovely and bring a sense of individuality to each centre which is of course someone's home. Our horticulture plots and greenhouses need a different approach. You could help people with a visual impairment understand how to plant, nurture, harvest and ultimately cook vegetables in a 'field to fork' learning experience.

Tandem Club Cyclists - SeeAbility Tandem Club provides regular cycling opportunities for up to 16 visually impaired adults, from both within and outside SeeAbility.  We accommodate adults with a wide range of abilities, and aim to give all our members the chance to enjoy the excitement and the fitness benefits of cycling, as well as the fun and friendship derived from a sociable group activity.

Rides take place on Fridays throughout the year, usually between 2 and 4.30 pm, starting and finishing at the SeeAbility Millennium Activity Centre in Leatherhead.  These afternoon rides are to a wide variety of tea stops within a six-mile radius of the Centre.  The support of a minibus means that the distance actually cycled can be varied to suit the individual rider. 

The tandem front riders are all volunteers who are experienced cyclists and have gained the knowledge of how to work with our visually impaired members.  We would be pleased to hear from anyone who would like to help with the practical work of running our activities.  Similarly, SeeAbility would warmly welcome enquiries from any visually impaired adults in the locality who would like to join the Club and benefit from the fitness and fun that comes with tandem cycling.