This week (1st-7th June) is Volunteers Week. To mark it, we are celebrating the contribution that all our volunteers make to our charity.
At the time of writing, we have over 25 active volunteers in a variety of roles. They include Trustees, Learning Disability Citizen Advocates, Autism Employment Mentors and Evening Social Volunteers. Combined, they contribute hundreds of hours in support every year, but they bring far more to us.
Expertise
In each volunteer role, relevant expertise can be useful. For example, our Board of Trustees includes people with backgrounds in charity finance, healthcare and law. All this means when needed, we can turn to our Board for useful advice.
Some of our volunteers also gain expertise from attending specialist training, delivered by our teams. Once they have completed their induction and mandatory training, they have access to further training, including advocacy, autism awareness and learning disability awareness.
Lived experience
In many of our volunteer roles, lived experience is essential. Our Autism Peer Support Volunteers, working within our Leeds Autism AIM team, sometimes draw on their own experiences when working with an autistic adult. The same goes for some of our Autism Employment Mentors.
Going back to volunteer training, our autism and learning disability awareness sessions are co-delivered by staff with relevant lived experience. This can make it easier for new volunteers to know more about who they are supporting, what barriers they may face and how to work effectively with them.
Pathway to employment
Some people who have volunteered with us over the years have gone on to become paid members of staff. As of May 2026, around one in five staff are former or current volunteers. Since 2018, at least 40 volunteers past and present became staff.
When volunteering with Advonet, we pass on information to volunteers about any job opportunities that come up, encouraging them to apply if interested. Skills gained from volunteer roles have been used and developed when moving into a paid role.
Training provided and skills from volunteer roles can also be used to apply for roles elsewhere. This is done with the support of our Volunteer Coordinators in Asking You and Autism AIM.
All the above shows that volunteers help make us who we are. They help people to get their voices heard, their rights upheld, support activities and provide useful information where needed. Thank you to all our volunteers past and present for giving your time, skills and hard work.
