“I would highly recommend volunteers undertake any online training that is offered to them. I now feel empowered with more knowledge regarding the safeguarding of children and family members using our centre”
I decided to volunteer at Exeter’s child contact centre as I wanted to be involved with some meaningful work which has the power to really support young children. Since beginning volunteer work with the centre, I have learnt vast amounts about the safeguarding of children, team working with a diverse and lovely group of individuals and more about the organisational aspects of the NACCC. The team at the Exeter centre have a wide variety of careers and personal experience but everyone is joined in the goal of supporting families and being a part of a meaningful organisation.
Volunteers at Exeter’s child contact centre are facilitators and hosts. We ensure the location is warm and welcoming and the interaction has everything it needs, to be a really positive experience for all parties involved. We are on hand for a chat, to make a cup of coffee and only keep records of who comes in and out of the centre. It is incredibly rewarding to enable families to maintain or build positive relationships.
During the lockdown I was recommended to sign up to a domestic violence training session, facilitated by the NACCC and led by the National Centre for Domestic Violence. The training session was eye opening and I feel empowered with more knowledge regarding the safeguarding of children, parents, and other family members. The session shared invaluable insights into how the law can be used to protect these individuals, such as use of non-molestation orders. The virtual training was very seamless and easy to engage with. I would highly recommend any volunteers undertake any online training that is offered to them. The more knowledge we are empowered with the better our safeguarding ability, both for the individuals using the contact centre and for all other individuals we meet at work or university and in our daily lives. I am very grateful to the NACCC for doing this meaningful work. I’m also very thankful for the warm and welcoming team at the Exeter Southernhay Child Contact Centre for teaching and training me more about this important cause.
Poppy-Jane, volunteer
