Lewisham Branch Needs you!

All local branches of NCT are entirely run by volunteers, virtually all of whom have babies and small children. We're a large branch whose membership is constantly changing as people move and children grow. Plus, as a growing branch we are looking to fill a number of new roles throughout Lewisham.

There is a wide variety of roles to suit everyone. Why not try your hand at sales with the Nearly New Sales Team? You could give invaluable support to new mums and dads by becoming a new parent supporter. As an area rep you can promote the NCT in your neighbourhood and help to reach out to more parents. It's a great role to get to know your community.

Any time you can spare will make a real difference to our branch and is a brilliant opportunity to keep that CV ticking over! Plus, as a volunteer, the next time you renew your NCT membership you'll get a lovely discount of £14 a year, meaning you'll pay just £26 for a year's membership instead of £40. Every little helps!

To express an interest in volunteering, or simply to make sure your details are up to date (and therefore qualify for your discount!) click on the link below and fill in the form.

https://babble.nct.org.uk/~forms/2ndpart/Volunteer_Registration/ 

If you'd like to come and meet the team before committing to anything, you are very welcome to attend any of our branch meetings or volunteer open houses. Branch meeting dates are listed with our events.

You can also find a copy of the NCT's Volunteer Charter at the bottom of the page.

Take a look at the roles below and choose one (or two!) that grab your fancy:

• Advertising Coordinator
• Newsletter Editor
• Branch Treasurer
• Diary Co-ordinator
• Events Team
• 'Bumps and Babies' Group volunteers (Forest Hill and New Cross)
• Area Rep: Blackheath Village & Park, Catford, Lee & Hither Green, Lewisham and Ladywell
• New Parent Supporter: Blackheath Village & Park, Catford, Lewisham and Ladywell
• First Aid course organiser, Brockley
• Nearly New Sales Coordinator
• Nearly New Sales Team
• Nearly New Sale volunteers and cake bakers!
• Fundraising Coordinator
• Grant Fundraising Coordinator
• Web Team
• Social Media / E-group Coordinator
• South East London Dads
• Book club organiser
• Bra Fitting agent
• Support Group Contacts e.g. homebirth, caesarean, premature baby, miscarriage

If you think you could be suitable for any of these roles please email our volunteer co-ordiantor Jill on lewishamnctmembership@googlemail.com

We need your help to make Lewisham a vibrant part of the NCT. Sharing a role with a friend can also work well if you find the idea of taking something on a bit daunting! There is lots of support available for anyone who wants to contribute more to the NCT. You can also make a valuable contribution by giving just a few hours of your time to help at an individual event, supporting an event or hosting an open house.

Open volunteer positions 

Advertising Coordinator: we urgently need a new person for this vital role. The role basically involves sending out a quarterly mailing to advertisers, collating artwork, and liaising with the newsletter team. This is NOT a sales role, we already have a base of established advertisers. No cold-calling is required. It would suit someone organised, with computer access, who will find it satisfying keeping the newsletter funded! Our current lovely coordinator Kate will be able to give a handover. We need someone asap before the Autumn newsletter, so why not give it a go!

Newsletter Editor: This is a fun role which involes coming up with ideas for our quarterly newsletters and liaising with all contributors to ensure the articles arrive on time. There are lots of people willing to write for New Addition so you won't be on your own. You'll also help to compile the listings for the New Addition Yellow Pages.

Events Team Members - We need people to plan and carry out parties and events, and fundraise for the branch. You don't need experience, just be willing to help out, have ideas and enthusiasm, and we need lots of you! This is a good role if you like socialising, having fun, or if you'd prefer to 'dip in and out' of volunteering as you only need to help when you are available. At the moment we don't have an events team, so you'd be involved right at the start.

'Bumps and Babies' Group Volunteers - Forest Hill Methodist Church, and Waldron Health Centre in New Cross: Our NCT 'Bumps and Babies' Groups in Forest Hill and New Cross are both going strong but we would welcome volunteers to help run them. The groups take place weekly, (Forest Hill on Monday mornings, New Cross on Wednesday mornings) and offer a social and support environment in a community setting for expectant and new parents. We need people to help set up the toys, prepare the snack and teas and coffees and help clear up afterwards. To offer your help at the Forest Hill playgroup, please email Roisin on foresthillnctrep@googlemail.com or if you would like to help out at the New Cross one, email Xanthe on nctdnx@gmail.com

(If you live in a different area of the borough and would like to set a bumps and babies group up, just get in touch).

Area Reps: Blackheath Village & Park, Catford, Lee & Hither Green, Lewisham and Ladywell
This is a great role which consists of organising open houses and events for parents in your area, helping local members with information and answering enquiries, and there is plenty of potential for expanding the role of the NCT in your local area. You are the face of the NCT ‘on the ground’. A guide to the role is available at the bottom of this page.

New parent supporters: Blackheath Village & Park, Catford, Lewisham and Ladywell – The role of New Parent Supporter (NPS) is to be point of contact and to provide opportunities for expectant/new parents to meet and make friends with other parents in their area. This helps new parents to develop networks of mutual support in the early days of parenthood, and to socialise with and without their babies. This role is easily shared.
NPS connect expectant/new parents with others due in the same quarter, make email contact, organise pre-due date 'Bumps Nights Out' and post-natal 'Tea Groups', suggest other activities and trips, and encourage the groups to continue meeting on their own. It is a vital role which helps parents through the early, difficult days of new parenthood through a simple formula of social events and peer support. Further details composed by the Forest Hill NPS team can be found at the bottom of this page.

Nearly New Sales Coordinator - our current Coordinator is moving away soon so we urgently need a new Coordinator to organise and lead our sales. Could you help us to make the Nearly New Sales even bigger and better? A full role description is available.

Nearly New Sales team members - Our Nearly New Sales are popular, a great service for parents and a good source of fundraising for the branch. We need helpers on our team to support the Coordinator with pre-sale planning, and running the sale on the day. The sales are always lively and fun (and like all volunteers you would get a chance to shop in advance!)

Here’s what Shayala has to say about volunteering...
“I volunteered to help at my first NCT Nearly New Sale basically because I thought I should contribute.... but, somewhat to my surprise,
I really enjoyed the experience! Being not too keen on crowds, I chose to help at the cafe, ended up more or less running it - and haven’t looked back since:-). It’s a lot of fun - and nice to feel a warm glow of achievement at the end of the day!”

Fundraising Coordinators: Branch fundraising is a hugely valuable role. By raising money for the NCT you are helping your branch to reach scores, hundreds or even thousands of parents locally, and helping the charity as a whole to support over a million parents every year. We need people with ideas and enthusiasm who can help us to raise funds through grants, commercial support, and events, working closely with the Branch Coordinators, Treasurer and Events Team.

Grant Fundraising Coordinator: This is an immensely valuable role. Can you help us to plan, research and apply for grants to support valuable projects with local parents? So far our branch has been successful in achieving Awards for All and Co-operative Community Fund grants. Can you help us to raise more funds to assist our work? You would work closely with the Branch Coordinators.

Social Media / E-group Coordinator: Would you like to help us increase our profile on social networking sites and keep them lively, fun and up to date? We already have a growing Yahoo E-group. Our Facebook page is popular, and maybe we need to get onto Twitter! This could be a fun role for the Tweeters and Pokers amongst you....

South East London Dads group (see link on left) would like more volunteers, in particular to help organise events for working dads, perhaps at weekends. Many local fathers work would like opportunities to meet other local dads. Are you interested in promoting positive fatherhood, and providing advice, support and friendship to other dads? We could do with help at events like Nearly New Sales, marketing, fundraising and more. You will be given lots of support from the SE London Dads team.

Book Club Organiser: Lots of local parents have expressed interest in attending book club evenings but we need someone to co-ordinate these, help decide on texts and organise venues.

Bra Fitting Agent - The NCT Bra Fitting Service is a valued local service that helps mums find a comfortable, well fitting maternity or nursing bra. The NCT Shop provides a wide variety of sizes and styles to make this fitting process simple. This service is particularly valued by those who have had a caesarian or assisted delivery and cannot make a long journey; it can also make breastfeeding easier and enable mums to feel more confident and comfortable. Therefore it is a vital role our branch needs to fill. All NCT bra fitters are trained by the NCT and are part of a UK wide network.

Support Group Contacts: have you experienced a particular issue relating to birth or parenthood and would you like to offer support to other parents going through a similar experience? We would like to offer peer support groups to all our parents facing a new, difficult or challenging situation. Support groups could be, for example, caesarean, homebirth, premature babies, miscarriage. Support could either be face to face, telephone or email. If you think you could help us set these groups up please get in touch.

Please note: any volunteers acting on NCT's behalf or representing the charity to external organisations or the public, should be an NCT member. Other general volunteers do not need to be members. All volunteers are covered by the NCT's volunteer policy and charter - contact the Branch Coordinator or Volunteer Coordinator for a copy.

Volunteer Testimonials:

"As a full time mum, I wanted to do something in addition to looking after my children, to keep my brain cells active and to avoid having a blank gap on my CV when I do return to work."
Jane Toussaint, Forest Hill Area Rep

I've made new friends and shared experiences of parenthood with a wide range of different people that I wouldn't have met otherwise."
Andy Wicks, former Broodsheet team member

"I volunteered to get to know other new mums, and to have some adult company. I found it a real lifeline and I have met some very good friends through the NCT."
Phillipa Tucker, former Forest Hill NPS

‘I fundraise because I am grateful for opportunities the NCT gave me both during pregnancy and in particular the first year after my first son was born for meeting other Mums in the same boat. I wish those opportunities to continue for other mums who like me maybe do not have family near.’
Emma Leahy, former Nearly New Sales Seller Coordinator

'It really doesn't take much - 3 hours in the the morning every so often, having coffee and biscuits in the lovely company of great women and cute babies is hardly a chore... it is also a good feeling to know you are doing something small for charity.' Maya Haiman, former Brockley New Parents Supporter