Shropshire together volunteers | Shropshire Council

Shropshire Together volunteers are residents who play an active role in taking pride in their local area, look out for their neighbours and want a safe, clean place to live.

If you'd like to be one of these highly valued volunteers, we'll support you to make your community spirit go even further. There are a range of things you can choose to do in your neighbourhood, and everyone can be involved:

Doing

There are lots of opportunities for litter picking, cutting back overhanging branches, pruning hedges and shrubs, starting or maintaining community gardens, spraying dog mess with bright coloured paint to deter further fouling or mess, linking in with the work your local town or parish council are doing or supporting with community events.

Reporting

By keeping an eye on your local area, you can help identify local issues. By reporting them to us on FixMyStreet you enable us to assess the issues as quickly as possible, and fix what we can within our budget and the capacity of our resources.

Projects

Occasionally, there may be opportunities to take part in other environmental projects – these could include awareness-raising campaigns or supporting larger projects, working with our supply-chain partners.

How much time will I need to put in?

This is completely up to you and based on what you'd like to be involved in. All we ask is that you do as much as you're comfortable with – even five minutes of collecting litter makes a difference. There may be other volunteers working in your area, and we may be able to put you in touch so that you can work together.

Schools and young volunteers

We have a growing number of young people wanting to volunteer with their families. We're especially proud of these young people wanting to make an important contribution and positive difference in their local community. If your school would like support with volunteering, please get in touch. We've worked with a number of schools throughout the county, and we can support by offering advice, supplying equipment and collecting bagged waste collected by your group.

Local businesses

There are a number of local businesses and organisations who actively encourage members of their workforce to volunteer with Shropshire Together, looking after their local environment during some of their working hours.

We invite applications from businesses who would like to register for this scheme. We're able to support you by providing equipment to enable litter picking around the locality of your workplace in Shropshire.

Businesses interested in registering would need to commit to undertaking at least two litter picks per year. To register your interest, please email streetscene@shropshire.gov.uk

Health and safety

Carrying out the work of a Shropshire Together volunteer may be physically demanding and tiring. If you're pregnant, have any pre-existing health conditions or aren't sure whether you're fit enough to carry out the work involved, please seek advice from your GP before you undertake any volunteering tasks.

Volunteer guidance

Why volunteer? As a volunteer, you'll be giving your time to help improve the surroundings of people living in Shropshire. The benefits of volunteering include:

The chance of having fun doing something you haven't tried before
Increasing your confidence
A sense of satisfaction and achievement
Improving the local area that's most important to you

Our commitment to you:

You'll receive support and guidance from a council contact and be offered face to face support from them where possible
You'll be given a clear idea of the things you're able to do and the responsibility involved
You'll be given assistance and training if needed to carry out your volunteering
You'll be asked to do genuine volunteering and not ‘unpaid work'
You'll be provided with equipment to use
You'll have the opportunity to discuss any changes which may affect your volunteering, and to be able to share your views
You'll be provided with a reference on the basis of your volunteer work

As a volunteer, we expect you to:

Be reliable
Be honest
Treat people with dignity and respect
Follow council practices and policies
Report any issues of concern to your council contact, especially in relation to concerns of safety
Notify us of your intention to stop volunteering and return any equipment
Inform the Benefits Office before you start volunteering if you're in receipt of benefits
Inform your insurance company if you're going to be using your car during your volunteer work as it may affect your premium

As a volunteer for the council, we'll expect you to follow our policies and codes of practice. These are the main policies you need to know about:

Equality and diversity - we're committed to providing real equality of opportunity for all, and we expect our employees and volunteers to treat everyone with dignity and respect
Health and safety – we aim to keep people safe as they volunteer. You'll be expected to behave in a way which is safe for you and others. You're also expected to report anything that may appear to be an unsafe practice

Insurance

Our main insurance (public liability, employers’ liability and officials’ liability) covers our volunteers whilst they're acting on behalf of the council. You'll need to have your own insurance cover if you use your car on council business.

Isn’t this the council’s job?

The street cleansing team work hard to maintain levels of cleanliness and grounds maintenance across the county. Shropshire Together volunteers help to complement this work, providing closer attention to detail in the areas that matter the most to local people and on a local level. We want to encourage everyone to take pride in their community and love where they live.

Issues can be reported to FixMyStreet.

For further information please email streetscene@shropshire.gov.uk or call the customer service centre on 0345 678 9006