Can you help us give people an equal chance in life?

Can you help the Together Trust give people an equal chance in life? If so, consider joining us as a member.

The Purpose: Use your expertise to help us with strategic planning in order to give all those that use our services the very best support possible.

Big heart and love your art? Come and share your passion with our Horwich group.

Arty Activity Volunteer – New Directions, Horwich

The Purpose: New Directions offers a person centred service to adults, and delivers a wide range of creative and vocational activities. Volunteers are a key part of the staff team and, through clear tasking by a supervisor, provide vital support in helping service users enjoy the activities together.

Wanted! Volunteer photographer.

Photography Volunteer – North West

The Purpose: To produce photographs for use by the organisation across a range of different media including newsletters, websites, social media and press releases.

Are you whizz in the kitchen? A diva in the dining room? A champion chopper? Become a volunteer catering mentor!

Catering Mentor – WATT Services, Cheadle

WaTT Services pictured with the former Mayor of Stockport.

The Purpose: Our WaTT Service provides a catering service for the organisation, offering a menu for breakfasts and lunches, and a catering service for events. Volunteer Catering Mentors are needed to enhance the learning and experience of our service users who deliver the service.

Calling any green-fingered folk who fancy getting stuck into a creative gardening project in Cheadle!!

Green-Fingered Giver – Woodlands, Cheadle

Green-fingered Together Trust volunteers.

The Purpose: We need a creative, green-fingered volunteer to help maintain the Woodlands' garden as an ongoing project and help to create new ideas. Woodlands is a respite care centre in Cheadle where children with complex disabilities spend short breaks in a cosy home-from-home.

Support us in Shaw by sharing your skills...volunteer with our New Visions team.

Activity Volunteer – New Visions, Shaw - Oldham

Volunteer Coordinator, Sue Lewis with a volunteer at New Visions

The Purpose: New Visions offers a person centred service to adults and delivers a wide range of creative and vocational activities. Each service user works in partnership with New Visions and their carer to develop a tailored programme of activities that meets the specific needs, choices and aspirations of the individual. Through New Visions users are also able to access community services within the local neighbourhood with the support of highly trained and experienced staff.

It's nearly time for wrapping up warm in those hats, gloves, and high-vis vests and coming to steward at our Bonfire Night!

Fireworks Night Stewards – Central Office, Cheadle

The Purpose: To support us at our annual Fireworks Extravaganza, hosted by the Cheadle & District Round Table

Paint! Swim! Cook! Play! Bowl! Dance! Live!.....Volunteer at SK30+

Activity Volunteer – SK30+, Stockport

Our volunteer, Izzy, at SK30+

The Purpose: Volunteers needed to support service users to enjoy activities and support staff with sessions for adults 30+ with learning difficulties and disabilities at SK30+

Superstar Volunteers from Salford create a Summer of Fun

Throughout August a team of our dedicated Together Trust Volunteers have been supported to lead a holiday club in Salford, providing an exciting programme of activities for children and young people with physical and learning disabilities, complex health needs or autism spectrum conditions.

The Summer Fun Club, funded by Booth Charities, was a massive success and over 15 children enjoyed the club over the four weeks. Activities included a sports day and trips out around Salford.

Salford summer fun club volunteers

We recruited the volunteer team in July and they blossomed through the week-long training programme. Their diversity meant that each and every one of them brought something unique and inspiring to the table and this clearly had a great benefit for the children.

Each volunteer was asked to reflect on their overall wellbeing before and after their volunteering experience and all volunteers reported significant improvements in their self-confidence. Four of the team are now applying for paid work with the Together Trust, having gotten so much out of their experience.

“The thing I am enjoying most is getting to know and spend time with the young people who are so individually special and amazing people! The staff have been great; I have always felt comfortable and supported. It is challenging (and very exhausting!) but every second is worth it” Lauren Davies, August 2013.

The volunteers having a dance on their last day.

The parents who gave feedback rated the club 10 out of 10 on every factor, including the support given by staff and the activities delivered. One parent commented “The service provided by the Together Trust has been a blessing to my and my boys”. ( August 2013)

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the team and I feel determined to get another project with a similar model set up in the future... best get writing those bids...

If you are interested in volunteering opportunities at the Together Trust then please click here.

Give and Gain Day 2013

A team of Employee Volunteers from Lex Autolease pulled together and fought off the rain on 17th May to completely transform the garden at Meridian in Cheadle. 

A shed in Meridian's garden painted
by our wonderful volunteers.

Volunteers Week 2013

The Together Trust embraced Volunteers Week 2013 in June and came together to thank each and every one of our volunteers who give up their time to support us. 

Izzy: Volunteer at Newbridge and Sk30+

Meet Molly...

Volunteers Week 2013 is dedicated to saying a huge thank you to the volunteers who support our services and who contribute their energy and skill to add incredible value to the work we do. We’ve been collecting their stories and they are available here for you to read and find out about what they do...

Name: Molly

Occupation: Student

Where do you volunteer?
Stockport Network Now

How long have you been volunteering?
2 months

What do you do in your current role?
Volunteering with the adult group for their evening sessions, e.g. discos, bowling, games nights.

How many hours a week do you volunteer?
3 hours, 1 night a week.

Why did you first decide to become a volunteer?
Firstly to make a difference and give something back to the community, but also for the personal rewards of helping those in need.

What made you want to volunteer for the Together Trust?
The Together Trust is a large and well-renowned organisation who I felt would make the most from my time and skills for the benefit of the children and adults who need it. The Network Now scheme allows me to fit volunteering around my work schedule, at evenings and weekends.

What’s the best thing about volunteering at the Together Trust?
The group undertakes a wide range of activities, to keep the sessions fresh and fun.

What would you say to someone who was thinking about becoming a volunteer?
Volunteering is a great platform for personal development, for example in teamwork, problem solving and character building, but equally importantly, it’s a lot of fun.


If you are interested in becoming a volunteer with the Together Trust please contact phone 0161 283 4791 or CLICK HERE to visit our website.

Tenting with a twist!

The 3rd and final workshop for Get There Together supported volunteering project brought together everything that had been covered in the programme.

Get There Together potential volunteers

We welcomed Jenny from Anchorpoint Stockport who came to talk about different volunteering opportunities outside the Together Trust across the borough, which was a brilliant opportunity for participants to be introduced to different volunteering opportunities and voluntary organisations. We then supported those participants who were keen to apply for one of our roles to complete the necessary paperwork.

Meet Isabel...

Volunteers Week 2013 is dedicated to saying a huge thank you to the volunteers who support our services and who contribute their energy and skill to add incredible value to the work we do. We’ve been collecting their stories and they are available here for you to read and find out about what they do...

Name: Isabel
Occupation: Student

Where do you volunteer?
Newbridge and SK30+

Meet Christine...

Volunteers Week 2013 is dedicated to saying a huge thank you to the volunteers who support our services and who contribute their energy and skill to add incredible value to the work we do. We’ve been collecting their stories and they are available here for you to read and find out about what they do...

Christine in the fundraising office

Name: Christine
Occupation: Retired Telecommunications Manager

Where do you volunteer?
With the Fundraising Team at their Head Office in Cheadle.

Get There Together

The last few weeks I've been focussing on our Get There Together supported volunteering project in both Cheadle and Stockport. The project has been funded by Equity Foundation and it was brilliant to welcome Rosie to one of the information drop-ins in early April. Huge thanks also go to Anchorpoint who set up an information event in Stockport for the project.

Manchester Leadership Programme volunteers visit Newbridge

A group of volunteers from the Manchester Leadership Programme at Manchester University invested their time, energy and creativity in designing an Easter Activity Extravaganza at Newbridge - our community day service in Stockport that provides support for adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, complex needs and autism who are aged between 18 to 30 years.

The team came up with six different activities and then gave the service users the choice. They chose Easter basket making and an Easter egg hunt. The day went brilliantly and the service users loved the activities. The students found it hard work but enjoyed every minute and found the whole experience really valuable.

Here's what happened..

Click on the image to see the YouTube film

Bake a difference day 2012

Over 20 prospective volunteers headed down to the charity to learn how to make the perfect loaf under expert guidance from the staff of the Together Trust's WaTT (Working and Training Together) social enterprise. During the session, volunteer coordinator Sue Lewis, also told them all they 'knead' to know about helping out at the charity's various services.

Click on the image above to watch the film

Thanks to old and welcome to new

I’d like to say a huge "hello and welcome" to all our new volunteers and also acknowledge the volunteers we’ve said goodbye to including Anna Stummer, Peter Emms, and Sherine Simpson. Thank you for everything you’ve contributed during your time with the Together Trust.

We are sad to have lost Arthur Scuffam (pictured below) who was a key member of our volunteer team who sadly passed away. The Together Trust will treasure memories of Arthur and his huge contribution to Newbridge for years to come.

Arthur (2nd from right) at our recent 'Bake a Difference Day'

Egg-cellent achievements

 A recent key achievement has been completing the Diversity, Wellbeing and Progression Database. I’ve been supporting a team of three students from Manchester University to design the database for their final year project. It’s been a huge learning curve for me and I think the students have gained a huge amount from it too. The database will monitor equal opportunities and diversity of volunteers and will also monitor their wellbeing and progression. This will give me rich information with which to constantly improve our service to volunteers, and to feed into bids in the future.

Speed-matching

In the spirit of Valentines in February, I put on a ‘speed-match volunteering event’ where staff from across different services within the Together Trust, and new prospective volunteers, had the opportunity to meet.

The Fundraising Team talking to potential volunteers