There is a vacancy for a female volunteer to help out at this group weekly or fortnightly. The Wednesday Ladies’ Group is a women-only space, for attendees to feel safe and comfortable.
Commitment: Weekly or fortnightly, on Wednesdays. Timing:
- 1-3pm – including helping set up before the group opens, or
- 2-4pm – including helping clear up at the end, or
- 1-4pm – including both setup and clear-up.
Responsibilities:
- Either helping to set up the room or clear up at the end (or both).
- During the group, being available and willing to talk with attendees.
- Being willing to make tea/coffee for attendees, where desired.
- Talking with attendees and listening to them.
- Making an effort to help attendees feel safe and relaxed in the space.
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About the group
Our Wednesday Ladies Group is an informal space for women seeking asylum and with refugee status in Leicester, to relax and enjoy conversation. We bring together people from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and age groups, with a wealth of wisdom and experience; we hope people will build friendships, process some of their experiences and support one another.
Within the asylum system there is a crushing lack of agency: many of those seeking asylum have little opportunity to make decisions for themselves about their own lives, including where or how they live or what they eat, and are moved around from place to place at a moment’s notice with what seems like very little care given to the process. This can feel profoundly dehumanising, particularly over a long period of time. Offering a welcoming space where people have opportunity to rest, be creative, meet others and share something of who they are if they choose to do so, can restore something of a person’s sense of humanity, dignity and agency. Also creating opportunity for mutually supportive friendships to begin and grow can have a transformative effect on the lives of people who may have felt deeply isolated.
Language can often be a challenge – we don’t shy away from this but engage with playfulness and gentleness. We grapple with translation apps and impromptu charades where needed. Over hot drinks and snacks we share something of our stories, our hearts and our lives as we journey together, and we navigate the curveballs of the asylum system as those arise. We listen to one another’s favourite music, share childhood memories and traditions, and sometimes dance together.
There is always laughter, sometimes tears, and we hold space for one another to process life’s experiences. We see this as holy ground: God is at work in all of it and cares deeply about each person. By offering a space where people can feel valued, welcomed and respected, we seek to express something of God’s abundant love. With sensitivity, humility and curiosity we can explore big questions, stories, beliefs and experiences, and learn from one another’s lives, cultures and traditions.
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Volunteers applying to this role must be willing to agree to comply with all of Thrive Leicester’s policies and procedures, and have an up-to-date DBS check, and sign a Volunteer Agreement form. They must also be in full agreement with our vision and abide by our values, and agree with our statement of faith. The Safer-Recruitment process will be followed, including taking references and an interview process.
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See our Safer-Recruitment Process to understand what the application and onboarding journey will look like. Then head back to the Volunteer page and fill in the little form if you’d like to express interest!
Thrive 