Family Supporter

The Alpine Community Development Trust (ACDT), through its operating arm Community Link, provides the Upper Clutha region’s only one-stop community support and connection centre, serving the growing community across the full wellbeing spectrum.

With a vision to ensure local individuals, families, community groups and initiatives thrive, not just survive, this unique organisation aims to provide information and support; connect and collaborate; and build a resilient community. They work to ensure the community development and social needs of the Upper Clutha region are met.

The organisation is aware that parental mental health and lack of support are important issues in the community. With the transient nature of the community, there are many families with young children who find themselves isolated and without support. Current provision for families is limited, with existing providers already over-stretched and unable to provide long-term home support and connection opportunities to mothers.

The Family Support Programme is a voluntary service coordinated by Community Link that offers practical support to parents of pre-school age children in the Upper Clutha. Volunteers provide support to families in their own homes, offering companionship to parents during difficult times and assisting with household tasks, all in the context of a confidential and non-judgmental relationship.

How it works

• Volunteers will be matched with a family
• They will spend two hours in the family’s home at an agreed time each week for the duration of their time with that family.

The support offered to the family will vary depending on their individual needs but may include:

• companionship and general conversation
• day-to-day household tasks (dusting, vacuuming, changing bedding, general tidying, hanging out/folding washing, dishes)
• offering a listening ear
• accompanying the family on shopping trips and to appointments

It will not include maintenance and repair work such as mowing the lawn or spring cleaning, nor running errands or childcare.

As a volunteer, you will enjoy establishing a relationship with a local family and gain satisfaction from offering support at this challenging time in their lives.

Requirements

They are looking for caring volunteers who:

• Are able to communicate simply, clearly and with patience;
• Show empathy, a sense of humour and a non-judgmental approach;
• Are practical and reliable;
• Are honest and will respect confidentiality;
• Are able to work under their own initiative and be confident in making decisions;
• Want to make a difference.

Experience with pre-school age children; people from all walks of life; community or other volunteer work would also be helpful; as well as a first aid qualification.

Due to the nature of this role, all new volunteers must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Be able to provide two satisfactory references (one may be a family friend, but no references from immediate or extended family, please)
• Have their own reliable transport
• Undergo and be cleared by a police vetting process (please note this can take up to six weeks)

A Police background check is required for this role.

Time commitment

As a volunteer, you will commit to the following:

• Complete a 2-hour induction programme
• Be available to provide 2 hours of support every week within working hours (Monday-Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm) for a minimum of 6 weeks with each family. You can indicate your availability in the application form
• Be willing to commit to a minimum of six months
• Be willing to attend occasional volunteer catch-ups

Getting started

The first step is to express your interest by filling out the form below. We will then put you in touch directly with the organisation for more information on the role and how to proceed.

---

Apply for this role:

First name:

Last name:

Address:

AucklandNorthlandWaikatoBay of PlentyGisborneHawke's BayTaranakiManawatu-WanganuiWellingtonTasmanNelsonMarlboroughWest CoastCanterburyOtagoSouthland

City:

Country: New ZealandAfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Phone number:

Email address:

Demographic information:

Used anonymously for statistics to demonstrate our impact to funders.

Gender: Please select...MaleFemaleGender diverseRather not say

Age group: Please select...Under 1515-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970+Rather not say

Ethnicity: Please select...AfricanAsian (other)AustralianBritishCentral AmericanChineseEuropeanIndianJapaneseKoreanMaoriMiddle EasternNew ZealanderNorth AmericanNZ EuropeanOtherPacific IslesPakistaniRussianSouth AfricanSouth AmericanSri LankanRather not say

Labour status: Please select...Full-time employedPart-time employedNot in paid employment by choiceSeeking employmentRetiredStudentSelf employedVisitorOtherRather not say

Other information (optional):

In applying for this position I confirm that I have read the requirements of the position and believe I have the skills and attributes required to carry out this role safely and effectively.