Volunteer FAQs

Yes, there is. For anything volunteering related, please email volunteers@rsbc.org.uk and our friendly team will get back to you as soon as possible.

It’s always good to understand which volunteering opportunity would be the right one for you. You can start by looking into our available volunteering opportunities, and then deciding how much time you’re happy to commit to. If you need support from us at any point, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to guide you through different volunteering options.

Great, you’ve found a volunteering role that you feel fits your skills, experience, development needs, time availability, and your life generally!

Now you can start by filling in the online form and we’ll be in touch to arrange a time for a virtual chat. We’ll talk through our volunteering opportunities, and will answer any questions you might have. This can take anything from 15 to 45 minutes. depending on what you’d like to do and how much you need to know.

After the call, we’ll ask you to complete a DBS check and provide contact details for two references. We’ll give you all the information and instructions that you’ll need to be able to do that.

Once these are completed, you’ll have to attend volunteer training consisting of two parts – a General Volunteer Induction, and training relevant to your role (such as specific training, sighted-guide training, or mentor induction training). At the moment, our training sessions are held online, and you can be attend in the afternoon, evening or on a weekend.

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you’ll become an RSBC approved volunteer and will be able to join in with our volunteering opportunities.

Please note that the whole process can take anything from two weeks to a month, depending on the type of volunteering role you’re interested in.

No, your volunteering commitment depends on how you want to support us, your lifestyle, and your other commitments (such as work, university, hobbies, family and friends). You’ll always have control over your volunteering time, as most of our volunteering opportunities are very flexible.

This really depends on the time you have available, based on your other life commitments. You have the option to volunteer just once for one-off events, which can be for short periods of time – even an hour can help us and the children and families we support. Or you can volunteer regularly, say once a month, or several times a week. It all depends on the time you can spare, and you can increase or decrease your volunteering involvement at any time.

Once you’re approved as an RSBC volunteer, we’ll regularly share volunteering opportunities with you, and you will be able to sign up for the dates you’re available. There are no rules – our volunteering opportunities are designed to fit around your own personal commitments and schedule.

Yes, we do. We reimburse travel expenses of up to £10.

Volunteering opportunities can happen across London and across the areas in that are covered by our services (England and Wales). In London, many activities are held in venues across the city, and when volunteering you can choose which part of the city works best for you.

Yes, it will! We’ll provide all the training you need.  This includes a General Volunteer Induction, where you’ll learn all about RSBC (who we are, what we do, and what our values are), and about vision impairment, safeguarding and volunteering. For certain roles, additional training is required, such as Sighted-Guide training where you’ll learn techniques to help guide blind or partially sighted people. Training may also be specific to your role, and cover topics like mentoring or fundraising.

Some roles do require a DBS certificate to allow you to volunteer. As we work with vulnerable children and young people, anybody who has direct contact with them needs to be DBS checked.

However, if you volunteer as One-Off Event Volunteer on our Fundraising events, then no DBS check is needed.

We’re all human, and there’s always a chance that we may say or do something ‘wrong’. But don’t worry, before you start to volunteer, we’ll equip you with the tools, guidance and knowledge you need to minimise any risks. We spend quite a lot of time during our volunteer training talking about sight loss – how to talk about it and how to behave. And we’ll always trust your common sense and good judgement to know what to do.

Fill in our online form to start your volunteer journey! Once we receive your enquiry, we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a virtual chat.

Alternatively, you can send us an email to volunteers@rsbc.org.uk and our friendly team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Yes, you can. We already have volunteers with vision impairment, and that doesn’t stop them from volunteering! While some of our volunteer opportunities require some vision, others don’t. So please get in touch with us so that, together, we can find the best volunteering opportunity for you!

Yes, you most certainly can! So please contact us, and we can discuss which volunteering opportunities would work best for you.

Yes, volunteering is a great way to enhance your career or to boost your employability. Besides learning something new, volunteering will give you self-confidence and new skills that you can use to develop your professional experience.