By joining a team you are applying to become a member of our "unincorporated association" and therefore agree to abide by the rules of our constitution. (Don't worry - this is just a formality that helps us become a registered charity. There are no membership fees)
This guide aims to provide comprehensive step by step advice for regional SCA volunteers.
When interacting with local authorities, social services, community groups, institutions, established NGO's and potential partners, it is important that you show confidence and enthusiasm in the initiative. It's also important that you understand exactly where we stand legally as an organisation, and the safeguarding protocols we have in place to prevent data misuse and the potential spread of contamination by our volunteer teams.
Avoid missing scheduled pickups or drop offs at all costs as this will seriously damage the reputation of our charity making it more difficult for us to build relationships in the future.
Make sure food is moved punctually. Volunteers must not share pickup times / locations! The risk of impostors turning up at one of our collection points pretending to be one of our volunteers is not to be taken lightly during this pandemic. Make sure volunteer couriers have contact details of partners at collection and delivery points in case something goes wrong along the way.
Volunteers needed to help sort donations into parcels ready for redistribution, making sure all dietary requirements of benefactors are strictly followed.
The community hub / food banks most likely to be an indoor space where we may either have partners working alongside us or a team of our own volunteers sorting food donations. Do not share personally identifiable information about benefactors with other organisations, such as name and exact address. Collection times, dietary requirements and similar non identifiable details that are essential to the operation may be shared when necessary.
Supplies such as plastic reusable bags or boxes for food parcels should be sourced in advance through our partners. Otherwise couriers may have to go out of pocket to buy plastic bags themselves from nearby shops if any are open.