Get involved · five small roles

A handful of quiet, occasional roles — most ask only two or three afternoons a year.

We are a tiny trust. We do not have a volunteer programme in any modern sense. We have five small, particular jobs that need doing in a particular Cheshire parish, and we would be delighted to hear from you if any of them sounds like it might suit.

Two volunteers in tabards reading FARNDON CHARITIES on the back, sorting hessian fuel-voucher envelopes at a long trestle table in the Farndon Memorial Hall

A note before you read on

All our roles are unpaid, low-key, and very local.

Most volunteers do something quite small for us. There is no minimum time commitment and no application form. If you live in the parish, we are very glad to hear from you. If you live further afield, we may quietly redirect you to a fuller volunteering programme at one of the larger charities in Chester, where your time will go further.

Role 01 · Advent

The Advent distribution team.

Commitment · two afternoons in mid-December, plus the Sunday Harvest service.
Location · Farndon Memorial Hall & doorsteps around the parish.
Team lead · Margaret Clarke (trustee).

Each year a small team helps the trustees prepare and deliver the Coal & Bread Fund's winter envelopes to households on the parish list. Mostly walking, occasionally driving, always tea afterwards. You will need a friendly manner and the ability to keep confidence.

Role 02 · Apprentice

The Apprentice portfolio reader.

Commitment · reading 6–10 letters a year, three short meetings.
Location · by post, plus three quarterly meetings.
Team lead · Margaret Clarke (trustee).

A volunteer reader who helps the Apprentice trustee work through applications and decide which are best matched to the fund. Particularly suitable for someone with experience in further education, training, or HR. You will not vote at the trustees' meeting, but your reading will inform the recommendation.

Role 03 · Open meeting

The June open-meeting team.

Commitment · two evenings in May, the meeting itself in June.
Location · Farndon Memorial Hall, Church Lane.
Team lead · The Reverend David Scurr (chair).

A small group helps the trustees set up the chairs, take questions from the room, pour tea, and read aloud the year's accounts. The meeting is short (90 minutes), the tea is plentiful, and the parish almost always has a thoughtful question or two.

Role 04 · Archive

The ledger & archive helper.

Commitment · two afternoons in February, by arrangement.
Location · the vestry of St Chad's, Farndon.
Team lead · Clive Peter Mason JP (Honorary Clerk).

Helping the Clerk write up the year's ledger, reconcile cheques, and prepare the small bundle of papers that goes to Cheshire Archives at year-end. Particularly suitable for retired bookkeepers, archivists, or anyone with an affection for old handwriting.

Role 05 · Quiet Hearth

The Quiet Hearth fundraising helper.

Commitment · one or two coffee mornings between October and December.
Location · Farndon Memorial Hall & St Chad's vestry.
Team lead · The Reverend David Scurr (chair).

Helping put on the Advent Coffee Morning & Carols, the Harvest collection, and a quiet Christmas-card sale of village photographs printed by the parish photographer. Cakes welcome. Conversation essential.

A standing invitation

Not the right role? Tell us what you could do.

We are open to small offers from neighbours that we have not thought of. If you have a half-day and a useful skill — and you live in the parish — please write to us. The trustees will read every note.

A note from the chair

Why we do not run a larger volunteer programme.

We are sometimes asked, particularly by visitors from larger charities, why we do not run a more organised volunteering programme — with applications, inductions, DBS checks, and so on. The honest answer is that the scale of our work does not justify it. Our distributions in a typical winter take three trustees about a fortnight of part-time work. We would not be able to use thirty volunteers responsibly; we can use four or five, well chosen, who know the parish.

We do, of course, ask for two written references for anyone helping with the Advent distribution (where they will be on doorsteps with elderly neighbours), and we ask all volunteers to read and sign a one-page confidentiality undertaking. It is a small document, kept by the Clerk; we are happy to share a copy on request.

— the Reverend David Scurr, chair

Write to us

Tell us a little, hear back a little.

If one of the five roles speaks to you, write us a short note here. There is no application form and no quiz; the trustees will reply by post or email within five working days.