Refugee practical support volunteer

Role description 

Support people from refugee backgrounds access essential support. This role involves assisting in our clothing room providing quality second-hand clothes to newly arrived families and sorting donations at our service centre to ensure appropriate stock and quality. 
 
Become a refugee practical support volunteer and be a part of our humanitarian work with a real impact on people’s lives. 

Your tasks 

You will assist people from refugee backgrounds who have recently arrived in the country to find quality clothes they need. The main tasks include:   

• Helping clients to find clothes and shoes, based on their needs and our stock availability.  
• Ensuring the clothing room stays clean, tidy, and well-stocked.  
• Assisting in sorting clothing donations.  

Location 

The role is based at a partner location in Māngere East and some tasks are carried out at the Manukau City Red Cross Service Centre. 

Volunteer requirements and training 

There is no training required for this role, but you will receive induction from one of our staff. For this role it is essential that you bring a calm and kind personality and feel comfortable working in a busy environment and engaging with people from different cultures, with various levels of English proficiency. 

Refugee practical support volunteers work in teams with other volunteers or staff to cover pre-set, 4-hour shifts to meet the needs of arriving clients. Some shifts take place at our Manukau service centre and can be arranged among volunteers based on their availability. You’ll need to be able to commit to at least one 4-hour morning shift per week, for a period of six months. 

If you want a rewarding experience where you can foster a positive start to the resettlement journey, join us as a refugee practical support volunteer.   

Health, safety and wellbeing (HSW) 

• Make sure your actions (or lack of actions) don’t harm your health, safety and wellbeing, or harm anyone else. 
• Take part in a HSW induction, training, programmes and activities. 
• Follow all instructions given to you about health, safety and wellbeing. 
• Follow all New Zealand Red Cross HSW policies, standards and procedures about health, safety and wellbeing. 
• Make sure you have the right training for any activities you are doing. 
• Use personal protective equipment (PPE) for any work activities that may need it to stay safe. 
• If you spot a hazard, or you are involved in an incident or near miss, report this straight away.