Updated 30 May 2024
There are many ways to volunteer with the Society
The key aim of the Society is to ‘Keep the Canal Alive and Vibrant’ so as to maintain and protect our canal for future generations, and we cannot do this without the support of our volunteers both ‘out on the canal’ and ‘behind the scenes’
We have a whole variety of volunteering opportunities in organising and leading the society, some of which involve specialist skills. It’s very rewarding working in teams with other like minded volunteers and the roles are all flexible and can range from a few hours a week working from home to being involved in projects, committees and organising events, admin support, etc.
We ask volunteers to become members of the Society as it enables them to receive regular updates along with membership providing insurance cover for volunteer activities. Find out about becoming a member.
Below are just some of the roles where you could help. However there are lots of other opportunities where you could be involved. If you would like to know more or you want to apply to become a volunteer then click on one of the buttons below and we will contact you.
Key Roles Where We Particularly Need Help:
Events Team
We currently have a very active Events team but need more help to plan and attend events. In addition to several major events, the society attends various local shows and sets up stands at strategic locations along the Canal to get people involved in the Canal and to attract new members to join us in our work.
If you like talking to people, have been involved in events, and/or are good at organising, then we would like to hear from you. It’s great fun and very important to help us get the message out to the local community. To find out more please contact us.
Online Shopkeeper
We are looking for someone to take over running the Society’s online shop. It currently advertises a number of books, tea towels, jigsaw puzzle, Christmas cards and annual calendar.
Orders for these arrive in the shopkeeper’s Canal Society email address and the role is to package the order and post it. No money is normally involved as the great majority of payments are made online directly to a Society account. A spreadsheet tracks the orders.
It’s all quite simple and not too demanding. The majority of orders are for books which simply go in an envelope. It helps if you have a convenient Post Office or at least a letter box.
The bulk of the stock is stored in the Society’s barn at Odiham but the shopkeeper will need to keep a smaller supply to hand. A small postal scale for weighing packages goes with the job! To find out more please contact us.
‘Boat Champion’
Quite simply we need a small team to help raise the profile of boats on the Canal.
The role is flexible but we need someone to help give more ‘voice’ to boats on the Canal and we would be suggesting that this includes:
- Working with organisations that use boats on the canal (Galleon marine, Accessible boating, Canoe clubs, etc) along with others on nearby canals
- Have contact with those who have boats on the canal, to keep them informed on any events for boats and other matters affecting them. Also represent the interests of boaters at the twice yearly BCA-boaters meetings
- Act as the Society’s contact point to boaters wishing to visit the canal, with knowledge of licensing, mooring, slipways, etc..
- Promote boating on the canal, including feeding stories into the Society’s press and social media teams
To find out more please contact us.
Fundraising: Helping Encourage Donations and Legacies to the Society
The Society is looking for someone to join our fundraising team to help increase the monies received from donations and legacies. With the increased awareness by the community of the value of importance of the canal, there is a real need (and opportunity) for us to obtain donations to help support and protect the canal. We have various initiatives underway and the role would be to help the team put these into practice, along with bringing your own ideas to our future plans.
Leaving a bequest is also a wonderful way to leave a gift for both present and future generations. This is a longer term initiative and over the last few years we have received over £200,000 of legacies, ranging from a few thousand pounds to more substantial amounts. These monies have been used towards various projects including the new moorings at Farnborough, our new Kitty electric boat and funding tools for general maintenance along the towpath.
Would you be interested in joining the team to help plan and support this work? If you are interested in finding out more about these roles please contact us.
Help Build Links with Local Businesses
We are increasingly working with local businesses both in terms of corporate volunteering and sponsorship and support of the canal. Businesses are increasingly keen to support local charities but they are often very busy, so it is for us to contact them and find out how they want to get involved!
If you are from a corporate or local business background, or have a marketing bent, and would like to join the team to help expand our links with the business community, then please contact us to find out more. It’s very rewarding and can play to your skills.
Maintenance Person on John Pinkerton Trip Boat
We are looking for someone to help with the maintenance on our 50 passenger trip boat. There is a team of people already but more help is needed. You should have some mechanical engineering experience including diesel engine maintenance and ideally boat propulsion systems. People with good general DIY experience are also welcome to apply. To find out more please contact us.
Help in Recruiting and Supporting Volunteers
Perhaps we are a victim of our own success as we now have over 260 volunteers! However it would be helpful now to have some extra support in helping recruit further volunteers and on an ongoing basis to help with the communicating and supporting existing volunteers. Accordingly if you have experience in working in HR or recruiting people and would like to get involved then please contact us to find out more.
Document Controller
With both the growth of our charity, and the legislation requiring formal data management, we are looking for a volunteer to help overview and control our documentation. Clearly this person should have some experience in this field and ideally have an appreciation of Google Suite, the IT database used by the Society. It is an interesting opportunity for someone as this is a new role and in conjunction with the Chair of the Society and the IT Trustee we would agree the initial priorities including GDPR and managing the records on some of our key projects. The role could then be developed over time where we would be
keen to get an applicant’s own views on ongoing priorities. Recognising that it is a volunteer role we would be suggesting a time commitment of around 3 hours a week. To find out more please contact us.
Process Reviewer
In parallel with the above Document Controller role, we are looking for someone with System Process experience to help us review and document our main systems including in particular IT, HR and projects. Please contact us to discuss this in more detail.
Trustees
There is the opportunity for new trustees to join the board to help lead the Canal Society. We already have a range of skills on the Board but we are always keen to build links with future potential trustees to help lead the Society.
This is a very interesting and rewarding role where you would be critical in helping lead the Society forward, and so doing, helping protect this wonderful amenity. Time commitment is flexible but as a guideline around 4 hours a week. Quite simply if you want to find out more please contact us to have an informal discussion and where we can provide a broad role spec.
Please click here to apply and we can discuss the opportunities and your skills.