Become a tea party group coordinator
As a tea party group coordinator, you’ll plan, organise and schedule monthly tea parties in your local area. This is an administrative role that requires communicating and socialising with older guests, volunteer hosts and drivers from all walks of life.
Each tea party group usually last for around two hours and take place on a Sunday afternoon.
Tea parties provide a lifeline of friendship for socially isolated or lonely older people. The warm, regular, and friendly companionship provides a vital link with the outside world from which they’ve become isolated.
To become a tea party group coordinator you’ll need to:
- Have a 30-minute induction call with a member of the Re-engage team
- Submit a DBS check (England and Wales) or a PVG check (Scotland)
- Provide a reference
- Complete online volunteer training modules
- Although many tea party group coordinators are also tea party drivers, this is not a requirement of the role.
Tasks include:
- Welcoming and supporting new volunteers into the tea party group so they can start volunteering with confidence.
- Welcoming new older guests to the tea party group and contacting them before their first tea party group so that they feel welcome and comfortable.
- Arranging the annual tea party schedule so the hosts know when it’s their turn to host and older guests and drivers know where the tea parties are each month.
- Matching older guests to volunteer drivers, so the same drivers collect and drop off the same older guests each month.
- Keeping in regular contact with the tea party group older guests and volunteers, and sharing any updates from Re-engage that are relevant to them.
- Responding to any issues and queries from the volunteers and older guests in the tea party group.
- Following the guidance in the online volunteer training so that the tea parties are safe, enjoyable, appropriate and in line with our charitable aims.
- Keeping in regular contact with Re-engage and reporting any concerns to the team.
- Promoting the tea party group in your local area so we can recruit more volunteers and support more older people.
- Completing a short online report about the tea party group four times a year.
- Keeping your knowledge and training up to date by reading our monthly volunteer newsletter – Re-engage Matters.
Could you be our next tea party group coordinator?
- This is a flexible voluntary role that can easily be fitted in around your own lifestyle and availability.
- Planning and organising the first tea party is likely to take several hours of your time, but once the tea party group is up and running, you’ll be volunteering for around four hours a month – roughly broken down into two hours planning and two hours attending the tea party.
- We’re looking for tea party group coordinators who can commit to volunteering for at least 12 months.
- Expenses are paid for certain activities.
- Please note that you must be at least 18 years old to become a Re-engage volunteer.
This is a fun, flexible and rewarding role which will really suit someone who likes planning and organisaing. It will also enable you to connect with, and make a real and lasting difference to, the lives of older people who are experiencing social isolation or loneliness.
As a valued Re-engage volunteer you’ll receive training, support and regular updates and communication from the Re-engage team.
We’re looking for tea party group coordinators who have:
- Good admin and organisation skills
- Good problem-solving skills
- A friendly nature
- Good listening skills
- Good conversation skills
- Patience and understanding
- A passion for improving the lives of lonely and isolated older people
- Basic computer skills (our checks, training and tea party reports are all online and our charity is paperless)
If this sounds like you, then we’d love to hear from you. You can apply to be a tea party group coordinator by completing our online application form.