Helping Hands – your existing project

What you need to know…

• Our projects take place over two days, and you may have asked to take part in one or both days, to ensure we can deliver an accessible, safe and sensory environment to enable a child with complex health conditions to be able to enjoy being outside, at home.
• The project will likely involve large, but manageable, amounts of manual labour – so be prepared to get stuck in and work hard! Please refer to the Project Overview that accompanies this information, for more specific information about why we want to help the child and family you will be supporting and some examples of what we will achieve over the duration of the project.
• WellChild will provide a Helping Hands Project Manager who will oversee all aspects of the project including liaison with the family, design and planning, procurement of materials and equipment, and all the associated health and safety. They will be on site throughout the project to organise the work and guide you through the tasks to be completed. They are responsible for ensuring that everyone is working safely and will also be the designated first aider on site.
• We will provide all the necessary personal protective equipment; this includes steel toe capped boots which everyone will be required to wear. Gloves, safety goggles, ear defenders and dust masks are all on site for use when designated in the risk assessment or deemed necessary by the project manager.

What you need to do before the project…

• Check that you know the dates of your project, what time you need to arrive on site and when you are likely to be finished – these will be included in the pre project email sent by the Helping Hands project manager and forwarded to you by your team leader. Please let your team leader know if you anticipate arriving late or needing to leave early.
• Complete our online Helping Hands participant agreement, the link is in the pre project email – we need this information for you to be covered by our insurance.
• Read the Risk Assessments – the project manager will include some site-specific risk assessments in the pre project email, as well as a link to a suite of relevant RAMS and COSHH assessments. They will also conduct a health and safety briefing as part of the onsite induction on the day of the project, you will be asked to sign in on site to confirm that you understand everything as detailed.
• Please let your team leader and the Helping Hands project manager know of any relevant medical conditions which you think could be affected by the project (allergies, pre-existing conditions etc). This information will be kept confidential.
• Plan your travel in order to arrive in good time, find parking etc.
• If you are no longer able to attend it is very important to inform your team leader as soon as possible, as the number of participants will be taken into account when planning and is critical to our ability to deliver the project.

On the day of the project…

• Please do your best to arrive on time and let your team leader or the project manager know if you are running late.
• Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty and dress appropriately for the weather and time of year. Bring tall and thick socks which will make our safety boots a little more comfortable!
• Bring wet weather clothing just in case, or sun lotion if it looks like it is going to be sunny.
• Have you completed the online Helping Hands Participant Agreement?
• Flag up any concerns or medical conditions to your project manager, they will cover this in their site induction.
• Please bring a packed lunch and something to drink – we will bring along bottled water and means of making hot drinks for the team throughout the day but can’t cover all eventualities.  If you have any specific dietary needs, feel free to bring them along.
• Please be flexible with the finish time if possible and be available to stay until the end – the project may overrun due to bad weather or late deliveries, so we need as many people as possible to help us complete the work.
• Publicity permissions granted by our beneficiaries will be covered in both the pre project email and the site induction. If suitable, promote the project on your social media channels, post photos of you and your team getting stuck into the hard graft! Post on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram or X and tag @wellchild, use #HelpingHands and remember to tag your company too. Please be aware not to publicise any personal information about the family.
• Have fun! Enjoy a great team building experience with your colleagues, learn some new skills and make a huge difference to a child and their family.
• Please chat to your project manager if you have any questions about Helping Hands, the wider work of WellChild, or other ways that you can support us including fundraising challenges such as the London Marathon or trekking events both at home and overseas. https://www.wellchild.org.uk/support-us/events/

Confidentiality

While completing a Helping Hand project, you will learn sensitive and confidential information about the family you are supporting, and the health needs which impact their daily lives. The Project Manager will explain during your onsite Induction Briefing some regulations which are in place to protect the family, for example not taking any photos which identify the house. Please ensure that you follow this guidance and keep specific information relating to the child’s diagnosis or condition confidential.

Safeguarding

At WellChild, we believe that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. All WellChild employees and representatives have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of each other and those who come in to contact with the charity. If you have a concern about a child, young person or adult while completing a Helping Hand project, please speak to your Project Manager. You can also see our policy and access safeguarding referral forms on our website Safeguarding | WellChild”

Thank you for taking the time to read through all this information. If you have any questions or issues that you would like to discuss with a member of WellChild Helping Hands please contact the team on 01242 530007 or email [email protected]

Please complete the Volunteer Agreement below.