Volunteering

Wellbeing Ambassador advert and job description

• Volunteering role
• Mental Health training
• Volunteering opportunities
• One to three hours per week

The East Kent Mind Wellbeing Ambassador initiative provides training to support the mental health of peers, work colleagues and family members - as well as to better look after the Ambassadors themselves - alongside social action volunteering opportunities.

Ambassadors completing the basic training are presented with their Wellbeing Ambassador badge and certificate by the Lord Mayor of Canterbury - who is a champion of the initiative - at a special ceremony and can add their participation to the CV. 

Additional mental health training is available for Ambassadors to take with modules including: Ways to Wellbeing; Brain Training - Reframing Negative Thoughts; Neurodiversity Awareness. 

Training modules are typically delivered online as group sessions.

The volunteering side of the post is varied and flexible with Ambassadors able to swap tasks on request. 

Opportunities include the following, however the charity is always open to fresh ideas:

Event support. Mind in Bexley and East Kent stages a variety of events to both raise vital funds for its work, to encourage positive conversations around mental health, to connect with potential supporters, and to signpost those in need to our services. 

Showcase events include: Mental Elf Festive Fun Run, #WearItBlue, and the Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards. 

Roles include: stewarding; photography; information sharing.

School resource creation. Write and design wellbeing resources linked to school curriculum Key Stages to be used in primary or secondary schools. Resources to link with initiatives focusing on hope; kindness and compassion; anti-bullying; Time to Talk; Thinking of others.

Roles include: Narrative creation; artwork and design.

Workplace champion

In the workplace our Wellbeing Ambassadors typically receive approval to add a poster to staff notice boards or coffee stations to promote services available to support colleagues or display posters linked to fundraising events; They brief us on the appropriate people in the organisation we can approach to offer mental wellbeing training, sponsorship opportunities or to pitch to be the organisation’s Charity of the Year; and they might organise a fundraising coffee and cake event for colleagues to raise funds for our charity once or twice a year.

Roles: Networking

Communication champion

Having a group of Ambassadors who can like, comment and re-share the social media posts of Mind in Bexley and East Kent can be invaluable to raise our profile to both help connect with more people in need of support, and to raise the profile of fundraising activities.

If you like the idea of using your skills in a journalistic fashion you can support our work by writing articles for our websites. These focus on an aspect of our work or initiatives connected to us that we wish to champion. Your article will include your byline and so can be added to a portfolio to prove your work has been published.

If you have digital design skills then you can support our work using a design platform such as Canva.

Roles: Social media champion; journalist; digital designer

Wellbeing delivery

All Ambassadors are able to use their training to informally support the wellbeing of peers, however Ambassadors wishing to directly support the wellbeing of others in a more formal setting can work in teams to deliver low-level wellbeing activities such as: 

• Coffee and chat sessions
• Walk and talk groups
• Art and chat groups

These aim to tackle anxiety, loneliness and isolation and provide empathetic conversations.

Ambassadors will gather basic data on participants and signpost to services that can provide additional support.

Activities require the Wellbeing Ambassador to have a DBS check and safeguarding activity sign-off - both of which Mind in Bexley and East Kent will organise.

Roles: Wellbeing delivery

School wellbeing delivery

Join our team to visit a secondary school to deliver our 30min Everyday Mental Health talk to a year group. Our aim is to ensure every student in each target school has received this key life skills information. Alongside this we work with a small number of students to train them to become Wellbeing Ambassadors delivering an adapted version of the programme you are undertaking. A day in school typically starts with an assembly before we break into year groups to deliver information sessions. 

Roles: Communication

Team leadership

Help us to create a new Society!  Students on campus have the option to become an Officer of an East Kent Mind Society. This student society is authorised and regulated by the student union on campus but has strong links to Mind in Bexley and East Kent who support and assist its co-ordination. East Kent Mind Society Officers are Ambassadors who have additional leadership opportunities linked to all of the above opportunities in this document.

Roles: Society President, Vice President, Welfare, Events, Social Media, Social Activities

Skills you'll gain.

• Communication
• Fundraising and Campaigning
• Team Work
• Leadership and Management
• Networking and Relationship Building
• Organisation, Event/Project Management