Help us offer a free, in-person drop-in service for people who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus, or want to get their hearing checked.
Here’s what our RNID Near You volunteers do and the requirements we ask for.
- Where
- Various community settings across the Scottish Borders
- When
- Weekdays, minimum commitment of 3 hours (one session) per month
What you’ll be doing
RNID Near You volunteers do 6 main activities to help us make life fully inclusive for deaf people and people with hearing loss and tinnitus.
You don’t have to do all 6 of these activities – you can pick the activities you find most interesting and match your skills and experience.
Learn about the services our volunteers provide at RNID Near You sessions by watching our video.
Main activities
Our volunteers support hearing aid users by cleaning their hearing aids and replacing batteries and tubing. They provide tips for getting the most from hearing aids.
Don’t worry if you don’t have experience maintaining hearing aids. We give our volunteers full training so they’re knowledgeable and confident setting up and using the hearing aid maintenance kit.
Our volunteers help people take the RNID online hearing check. They take people through the steps in person on a digital tablet.
It usually takes 10-15 minutes and will suggest if the person’s hearing is in a normal range or if they may have hearing loss.
Our volunteers help deaf people and those with hearing loss and tinnitus find information about:
- getting used to hearing aids and getting the most out of them
- using technology and assistive devices
- applying for benefits
- finding employment
- finding support with employment
- and many other important topics.
This might be information from RNID or information from other or organisations or charities, such as:
- NHS
- Citizen’s Advice
- Tinnitus UK.
You’ll be given full training so you know what information to give to people and what other organisations or resources might be helpful.
Our in-person volunteers welcome people to our services. They have a chat with visitors, find out what service or information they’re looking for and direct them to the right place.
Our volunteers do important work to help us find people who can support our services and people who can donate money to help us fund our services.
If you’re interested in helping us find supporters and donors, we’ll give you full training so you feel confident and prepared.
Our volunteers help us run our services by doing administrative tasks. This might include something like data entry or managing copies of leaflets.
Requirements
You must be at least 18 years old.
We have a legal duty to make sure that all volunteers working either in person and/ or online with children and adults at risk on a regular basis are suitable.
In addition to requesting references, we’ll carry out appropriate pre-volunteering checks in-line with regulations such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in England and Wales, and equivalents in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
For applicants in Northern Ireland that will be undertaking hearing support activities, we will carry out an AccessNI Enhanced check. For applicants that will be undertaking Meet and Greet activities or Community based administration, we will carry out a basic AccessNI check.
A copy of our policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders; our policy on the Secure Handling, Use, Storage and Retention of Disclosure information and the AccessNI Code of Practice is available from [email protected].
You may need to be able to travel by car or public transport to different places. We’ll reimburse your expenses, according to the RNID Travel and Subsistence Policy.
Training and support
You’ll receive a full induction and training so you feel prepared and confident before your first session. You’ll also get our volunteering handbook and volunteering policies to refer to.
You’ll be assigned a supervisor who will provide ongoing support and we’ll also introduce you to our community of volunteers.
Read more about training, supervision and support
What you’ll get in return
As a volunteer, you will:
- make a real difference to the people you support
- help us run this important service
- receive training and learn new skills
- meet people in different situations
- raise awareness of deafness in the community
- have reasonable, out-of-pocket and pre-approved travel expenses repaid.
This volunteering arrangement is not intended to be legally binding or to create a contract.
Our commitment to safeguarding
At RNID, we take very seriously our responsibilities for the safety and welfare of the people who use our services, our volunteers, staff and the organisation as a whole.
All applicants successful at interview will be asked to disclose unspent convictions under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (as amended in 2013).
Criminal records will be taken into account only when the conviction is relevant and declaring a conviction will not necessarily prevent you from being considered for a role. Any decisions will depend on the type of offence and its relevance to the volunteering role that you are applying for at RNID.
Find out more and apply
Once you apply, our Volunteer Team will review your application and someone will contact you within 5 working days to talk about next steps.
Investing in Volunteers
We achieved the Investing in Volunteers quality mark in 2023 for the work we do with volunteers across the UK.
