Why volunteer with us?

Touchstone is committed to supporting people in our local communities to thrive and volunteering is core to this ethos.

Touchstone supports a diverse range of individuals across South and West Yorkshire and, as volunteers, you will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in many different settings. We provide training and volunteering opportunities to support you to gain new skills and experiences and build in confidence.

People volunteer for lots of different reasons – many of our volunteers have lived experience and some may have accessed services as a service user and now want to volunteer to give back and help others. Whatever your reason, we’d love to hear from you.

What opportunities are available?

From supporting at walking and craft groups, to volunteering with the Sikh Elders, to engaging in 1-to-1 befriending and peer support, Touchstone offers many opportunities!

A key part of our work is peer support and there are lots of volunteering opportunities in services where lived experience is vital. These roles allow volunteers to share their stories and support others going through similar challenges. However, there are also plenty of roles where lived experience in that area isn’t necessary, as long as you are open, committed and empathetic towards everyone in the service.

To find out what opportunities are available, take a look at our service webpages below. The below services welcome volunteers and will update their webpages with information on new opportunities and how you can volunteer with them. 

How do I apply?

Please note: Our volunteering inbox is no longer in use and the application process has now changed.

To apply for an opportunity, please visit the webpage of the service you would like to volunteer with. Take a look at the opportunities for that service and then read and follow the information on how to apply. For more support, please contact the service directly or call Touchstone Head Office to direct you to the right service on 0113 271 8277.

Feedback from previous volunteers:

“I think this has given me a platform to pursue my goals in mental health and housing”

“This has kept me busy and on track, providing me with direction and options”

Photographs of our brilliant volunteers!

Frequently Asked Questions

From its foundation as a weekend club to combat loneliness in South Leeds, Touchstone has grown into an organisation where it is committed to supporting and empowering people and communities. It now has over 50 services which support the wellbeing of diverse local communities across Yorkshire.

We are committed to supporting people to thrive. Volunteering is one way in which we support people to do this, including by providing training and opportunities to support people to gain new skills and experiences and enable them to progress as they wish. This could include having access to job opportunities within Touchstone as your time as a volunteer progresses.

We are dedicated to being a safe, welcoming and inclusive organisation focused on transforming lives and inspiring communities.

Most people can volunteer with Touchstone and we’d really appreciate your help. We have many volunteers who have lived experience, which supports Touchstone to provide better and more inclusive services.

We have a range of volunteering opportunities and continuing to find more ways for volunteers to be involved, so keep checking our service webpages for updated opportunities.

Having a criminal history is not a barrier to volunteering or working for Touchstone. All potential volunteers will be asked to do a basic DBS (for admin roles) or an enhanced DBS (for direct roles with service users), following application and an informal interview/chat to assess suitability and what you would like to do. We ask for this personal information in this way as we work with vulnerable people and we use this information to ensure we carry out our statutory, legal and safeguarding duties.

We consider each case on its own merits and work collaboratively to manage risk and ensure you are supported throughout the process, which may include doing a risk assessment in line with the role requirements and safeguarding. We ask that you disclose your spent convictions (and unspent convictions depending on the role) on the volunteer application form. Please be assured your data will be stored in line with GDPR regulations. We have put in place security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, altered, disclosed or accessed in an unauthorised way. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees who have a business need to know.

If you have any questions about this process or would like to discuss it confidentially, please contact our Central Volunteer Coordinator, Katie, on 07760 893904, or via Touchstone House Reception on 0113 271 8277.

Once you have applied to volunteer with a service, the service coordinator will be in touch with you to discuss what volunteer experience/position you would like, their opportunities and how they support their volunteers. Once you’ve discussed this with them they will send out your reference requests and we’ll start a DBS check for you. You can then book on to the next available volunteer training, which the coordinator will tell you more about.

We offer both in-person and online training for volunteers. The training may slightly differ depending on the service you are volunteering for. Typically, the training programme is approx. 15 hours in total which will be delivered across 3-4 days. You will receive a certificate on completion of training.

We require you to have fully completed our volunteer training program, have the necessary DBS check for your role, and for us to have received satisfactory references for you. Once all these are achieved, then your coordinator will speak to you about getting you started in your new role.

We do not provide internships or placements as part of our volunteering program. If you are a student, you can still volunteer with us. Please have a look through our available volunteering opportunities here.

Becoming a volunteer at Touchstone will give you access to any of the many internal job opportunities shared at Touchstone. Over the last few years, multiple volunteers have been successful in getting a job with Touchstone.