Why volunteer Volunteering is very rewarding and many of our volunteers find their role supports self-management of their bipolar symptoms – plus their desire to raise awareness of an important cause and the chance to give something back. It can also be a fantastic experience to work with like-minded people, learn new skills and develop confidence if perhaps you are seeking to change career, or to get back into the workplace. During periods of ill health, whether physical or mental, our CV can take a bash and gaps can appear, along with a lack of recent references. A volunteer placement can be a great way to bridge these gaps and enable you to find the ideal work role following on from volunteering. Some people also like to volunteer whilst working, this we also welcome and appreciate the time people take to support others with bipolar. Our volunteers have gained permanent employment in roles such as peer support with the NHS, following volunteering with us. Bipolar UK offers great opportunities to share lived experience in a range of roles: whether you would like to use your creative skills to help us with design; be a positive ambassador for the charity, or help others providing peer support through our support groups as a peer co-facilitator; on the telephone call-back service; or join our office team as an admin volunteer. When we re-open our offices we’d love to hear from you. What training is there? As with any role, we offer volunteers regular training, including regional events and workshops. For delivery of our peer support, we also encourage people to use their skill-set and personality, for example during video links, podcasts, blogs or Facebook live streams – check out April Kelley on a Wednesday afternoon, who is one of our ambassadors. What will I need? To volunteer you will need to complete an application form, have two referees and a DBS check. We will also carry out a brief telephone assessment as part of the process. Update on volunteering with Bipolar UK during Covid-19 During the outbreak of Covid-19 we have seen wonderful support our volunteers have given us and their communities, plus have been exceptionally helpful in moving our online support groups forward and supporting the charity through events and fundraising online. We have not been able to process all applications during this period and appreciate your patience whilst we adapt to the new services we offer and increase our capacity again to process volunteer applications.