Why volunteer at Acorns?

By volunteering, you are joining at team of invaluable supporters who contribute to the vital work that we do at Acorns Children’s Hospice; making a difference to children with life limiting or life threatening conditions, and their families.

Whether giving the gift of time at  our hospices, working in one of our shops, or fundraising for us at events or in the local community, we welcome volunteers with a variety of skills and experiences, and we actively encourage and embrace a diverse workforce.

There are currently a range of great volunteering opportunities available at Acorns – whether you can spare an hour or two, help out for a day, or if you can be involved on a more regular basis.

View our current volunteering opportunities

If you have any questions or you can’t see a suitable opportunity and would like to register with us, please contact us at volunteer@acorns.org.uk or let us know via our form.

Find out more about Acorns

Culture & values

Acorns values shown as icons. Listing: Caring, Committed, Trusted, Collaborative, Courageous and Curious

Everything we do at Acorns is led by our values (Caring, Committed, Trusted, Collaborative, Courageous, Curious). As we live and breathe these values, we are all contributing to the achievement of our vision and mission. They form a key part of our identity and are even used as part of our performance and development reviews.  

We appreciate the vital support that all of our volunteers provide and demonstrate this through our Values Recognition Scheme. This Scheme rewards and highlights those who have gone above and beyond in their role in a way that links to our values. We nominate volunteers so that we can celebrate exceptional actions throughout the year, having monthly and quarterly award winners which then leads to an annual awards celebration ceremony.

We encourage regular feedback and listen to what you have to say. We measure the temperature of each team, discuss the outputs and take action to celebrate the great achievements, as well as addressing the areas that you tell us that we need to improve.

We encourage our people to connect with each other internally through Yammer to keep each other informed of all things going on across Acorns. We also have a very active social media presence which promotes activities across our three hospices, our retail shops, and our central functions.

Optional career development

Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and transferable skills to develop your career. We have dedicated development opportunities for those wishing to grow their experience and gain further skills. It looks great on your CV and you could even find your next role working for us.

Welcome day

Each month we have a welcome event dedicated to our new starters, this includes volunteers should you wish to attend. Here we are able to fully immerse you into Acorns and it is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people from across the organisation and better understand the cause. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, we also have a digital version coming soon.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Acorns works hard to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are part of our everyday practice. We are welcoming and inclusive to everyone and this is demonstrated through our Gold UNICEF Award for Diversity. 

Wellbeing & support

As part of Acorns commitment to employee wellbeing, we are an accredited Thrive at Work organisation. This is an initiative led by the West Midlands Combined Authority and managed by us for the continual wellbeing of our people.

We have a team of Mental Health First Aiders to provide support through challenging times.

Benefits

Our benefits include: 

  • Retail discounts 
  • Volunteer recognition scheme 
  • On the job training 
  • Access to free online courses 
  • Skills to boost your CV

Find out more about volunteering at Acorns

Volunteer in care

Volunteering at your local children’s hospice is an incredibly rewarding experience. With a variety of roles available you’re guaranteed to find something that suits you and we will work with you to best meet the current needs of the hospice and your interests, skills, and availability.

Volunteering in your local community

Another great way to get involved is through community volunteering, helping us deliver services such as befriending and sibling support in the family home and the local community. 

Volunteering roles in the community include: 

  • Befriending 
  • Sibling support 
  • Practical support in the house 
  • Complementary therapies 
  • Driving 

Contact us about volunteering

For more information about volunteering in our hospices and the local community, please drop us an email or call for an informal chat.

Acorns in Birmingham (located in Selly Oak)  

0121 248 4850 

VolunteerBirmingham@acorns.org.uk

Acorns in the Black Country (located in Walsall) 

01922 422500 

VolunteerBlackCountry@acorns.org.uk 

Acorns for the Three Counties (located in Worcester)  

01905 767676 

VolunteerThreeCounties@acorns.org.uk 

Volunteer in a shop

Our Retail team simply couldn’t operate our shops without the help of our valued shop volunteers. Some volunteers give a few hours a week whilst others give a couple of days, but no matter how much time you are able to give, you can be sure that you will be making a real difference to local children and their families. All of our shop volunteers receive training and work under the guidance of Acorns Shop Management.

Our Retail team simply couldn’t operate our shops without the help of our valued shop volunteers. Some volunteers give a few hours a week whilst others give a couple of days, but no matter how much time you are able to give, you can be sure that you will be making a real difference to local children and their families.All of our shop volunteers receive training and work under the guidance of Acorns Shop Management.

Why volunteer in an Acorns shop?

For some, working as an Acorns charity shop volunteer gives them the confidence to find paid employment and the chance to gain valuable skills and experience. For others it is a way to meet people, make friends and enjoy being part of a busy and friendly team.  

Our volunteers are central to the success of each shop and get involved in many aspects of day-to-day retail operations. Tasks range from sorting stock or preparing items for sale, to working on the tills or helping customers – as well as bringing their own specialist skills and knowledge to the role some volunteers take on extra responsibility as Support Volunteers or Key Volunteers.

Drivers Mate Volunteer

If you’d like to volunteer as a Drivers Mate for our furniture shop in Chelmsley Wood, please contact the shop directly or take a look at our current volunteering opportunities.

Volunteering experience for students and young people

Do you need to gain volunteer hours to complete your college or university course? Or are you looking to improve your CV and learn new skills?  

Whatever your reasons, giving your time at your local Acorns shop has many benefits. Not only will you learn new skills and gain valuable work experience, but you will also meet new people and have fun whilst supporting local children in your area.

We are pleased to accept volunteers from the age of 14*, but only as part of an organised programme such as Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or school-arranged work experience. These opportunities are limited to our charity shops and are dependent on availability.  

(*Please note that volunteers aged 17 or under must have parent/guardian consent.) 

Volunteering in fundraising

Each month we have a welcome event dedicated to our new starters, this includes volunteers should you wish to attend. Here we are able to fully immerse you into Acorns and it is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people from across the organisation and better understand the cause. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, we also have a digital version coming soon.

Acorns Fundraising Volunteers are an essential part of our Community Fundraising and Events teams and help us generate vital funds to support our care services.

Our roles are varied and we have all kinds of rewarding and fun opportunities available, such as volunteering for the day at an Acorns event, raising our profile by visiting local groups and schools or placing collection tins in your local area. 

There are currently a range of great volunteering opportunities available at Acorns – whether you can spare an hour or two, help out for a day, or if you can be involved on a more regular basis.  

Take a look at our current volunteering opportunities

If you have any questions or you can’t see a suitable opportunity and would like to register with us, please contact us at volunteer@acorns.org.uk.

Important information

All our volunteers are interviewed, and references and police checks are taken. Because of the nature of the work we do, it is important that volunteers are introduced carefully into working within the hospice environment and we can only accept applications from people aged 16 or above.  

We welcome a year’s commitment, but the time given within this year can be very flexible and we will work with you in terms of availability.  

We will try our best to match you to your preferred role however please be aware that all roles are subject to availability.