Have you ever considered volunteering for us? We need kitchen staff in our current location on Skinner Street and would also love off-site support on various aspects of publicity and fundraising, such as the website, social media, design and grant applications. We will also need many more volunteers for different types of on-site support when we open Genesis Centre. If you would like to leave your contact details with us now, with an idea of how you could help, then we can contact you later in the year when we start to plan our opening and the activities we will offer. Please email our office on: office@routestoroots.org
We would like to hear from anyone interested in volunteering for this position with Routes to Roots. This need not be a Trustee position, but The Hon Treasurer is responsible for providing financial updates and guidance to the Board of Trustees, which meets four to six times a year in the evening on dates to suit Trustees, and for preparing end of year accounts.
Please contact for further information: Pat Southgate at patsouthgate@btinternet.com or at Routes to Roots’ office on 07901 387643 / 01202 667880.
This Christmas we say a fond farewell to Eddie and Sue who will be cooking Christmas Day lunch for the final time this year and ‘retiring’ from team leading and volunteering after many years of service. Thank you for all their support and kindness to our clients over the years. At this season of goodwill we also say thank you to Waitrose who donated a turkey for Christmas Day lunch, Waitrose customers who rewarded our carol singing efforts with over £150, Asda customers who filled a shopping cart with food, Poole Contact Centre for shoeboxes, and Skinner Street URC congregation and neighbours for parcels and presents for the guys.
Sue and Eddie at work on a summer BBQ for the guys
Routes to Roots has been awarded a £15,000 grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales to fund the costs of volunteer training and a Client Assessment and Outcome Monitoring Database. The charity already keeps paper-based client records of all those attending its drop-ins and participating in the activities it offers, in order to monitor and evaluate its services. This grant will greatly strengthen its effectiveness in working with homeless and vulnerably housed people in Poole and in developing and enhancing the skills of its volunteer base.
In addition to grant funding the charity is able to take advantage of non-financial support through the Foundation’s Enhance Programme – such as mentoring, consultancy and technical support – provided by a range of partners including Lloyds Banking Group.
Volunteers are needed to help with FUNdraising events. There are lots of opportunities for raising money towards our work with FUN events that can be enjoyed by all. Last year we held a successful wine tasting quiz night. Other supporters have organised auctions, concerts, quizzes, cake sales and raffles. We are looking for energetic people who enjoy a bit of a laugh and are willing to get stuck in with practical fundraising events and with encouraging others to fund raise for us.
Ideas – dramatic, quirky, elaborate, simple: we’ll consider all suggestions.
We already have organisations that are willing to support us with events, we just need you to make up the FUN team to make it happen. There will be some meetings to get things organised and then participation in the actual events.
Ask the office for an application form or download from the volunteers page on the website.
In June one of our clients wanted to say thank you to R2R and all of our volunteers for their help and kindness and presented us with this beautiful flower.
