Single Parent Gingerbread Group Lead Volunteer (this role is for single parents)

Gingerbread is the leading national charity working with single parent families in England and Wales. We want a society in which single parent families are treated equally and fairly and have the support they need. To get there, we provide information to help single parents support themselves and their family through our information pages, digital community and Gingerbread friendship groups both in the local community and workplaces. To create lasting change, we campaign for policy change to reduce stigma against single parents and make services more accessible to all families.

Group leads are essential in the running our Gingerbread Groups, which ensure single parents have the space to build a community, share coping strategies and build lasting connections.

As a Group Lead Volunteer, you’ll play a vital role in creating a welcoming, supportive space, both in-person and online. Where single parents can connect, share experiences, and access valuable resources.

Your role is to set up and run a local group, facilitating monthly meetups in the community and ensuring ongoing engagement with group members through the Gingerbread Community.

You will also encourage members to access other services such as our wellbeing workshops on the Gingerbread Community App and to liaise and maintain regular communication with Gingerbread, promptly raising any Safeguarding concerns and sharing information about the group for Gingerbread’s monitoring and evaluation needs.

The aims of the Gingerbread group are to develop meaningful connections and friendships between local single parents and to facilitate access to peer support through sharing experiences, coping mechanisms and our online community.

The main activities to achieve this are to hold monthly meetups in the community for local single parents and to engage with group members within the online Gingerbread community by welcoming new members, answering questions, signposting to relevant information and sharing upcoming Gingerbread events.

The aims of a Gingerbread Group are to increase the wellbeing of single parents through developing meaningful connections and friendships and facilitating access to peer support through sharing experiences or coping mechanisms and accessing our online community

Monthly meet ups: varied day, times and hours to suit individual and group needs.

Meet-ups can be at local attractions (e.g. parks, museums, soft-plays, football field, nature trails etc.) or at a regular venue such as a library, community centre or church hall

Creating engagement within the group on the Gingerbread Community, such as posting meetups or local information, welcoming new members, answering questions, moderating, and signposting group members to monthly workshops and sessions on themes such as wellbeing; mindfulness; CV building; self-compassion; parenting; relationships; and finances

After the initial set-up of your group you can expect to be volunteering for between 6 to 8 hours per month depending on your group size and meet-ups (6-8 hours is based on a 4 hour monthly meet-up and 2 hours of admin time).

We ask you agree to aim to volunteer with us for a minimum of 6 months

• Set up a local Gingerbread Group on the App using Gingerbread templates
• Undertake induction, safeguarding training and any further training as required
• Promote the group locally using digital / paper flyers, social media and sending to local organisations
• Welcome each new members individually
• Arrange and promote monthly meet ups face to face, or with some online options if requested by group
• Cascade information from Gingerbread to group members
• Promote engagement and communications between single parents - including facilitating regular online connection through the App, encouraging members to both suggest their own meetups and attend Gingerbread workshops
• Signpost group members to Gingerbread information pages for any formal information, advice or guidance ·
• Contact Gingerbread with any Safeguarding concerns and follow our Safeguarding policy
• Communicate with Gingerbread and the Groups Manager regularly, informing them of your activities, any concerns or support needed
• Attend drop-in support sessions and/or online national volunteer meetings every 3 months
• Feedback monitoring and evaluation data every 2 months and participate in occasional focus groups
• Follow our policies as outlined in training and toolkit: Code of Conduct ; Community Guidelines ; Confidentiality Policy ; Equity and Inclusion Policy ; Health and Safety Policy ; Safeguarding Policy ; Whistleblowing Policy

Skills

As a single parent, you’ll know the challenges that being a single parent can bring, so you already have the main qualification!

You will also need the following:

• A friendly, proactive and professional attitude
• Clear communication skills and the ability to communicate with a wide range of people
• An inclusive and non-judgemental approach
• Strong community ties with an ability to build networks
• Reliable, well-organised and collaborative
• Empathy and understanding of single parents’ experiences
• Willingness to take part in an induction, safeguarding training and additional training opportunities
• Able to embrace Gingerbread’s values which include being trustworthy, supportive and inclusive