Become an Online Reading Volunteer

As a Regular Online Volunteer you will:

• Visit the same 3-4 families online once a week, connecting via Zoom from your own home.
• Volunteer with the same volunteer partner each week.
• Volunteer on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday starting at 4.30 pm and finishing at 6.30 pm.
• Build a long-standing relationship with the whole family.
• Complete post-session notes on our internal database.
• Make a regular weekly commitment during school term time for 32 weeks of the year. Volunteers are entitled 2 absences per term.

As a Semi-Regular Online Volunteer you will:

• Visit the same 3-4 families online once every other week, connecting via Zoom from your own home.
• Volunteer with the same volunteer partner/partners each week.
• Volunteer on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday starting at 4.30 pm and finishing at 6.30 pm.
• Build a long-standing relationship with the whole family.
• Complete post-session notes on our internal database.
• Make a regular every other week commitment during school term time for 16 weeks of the year.

As a Stand-in Online Volunteer:

• Fill in for our Regular Online Volunteers when they are away, whether that’s because they are on holiday, unwell or for whatever reason they are unable to make their usual reading session
• Be contacted in advance with the upcoming available slots.
• Select the days you wish to volunteer on.
• Work with many different volunteers and different families
• Volunteer once every 3 weeks, which is approximately 12 times, across the academic year. You can volunteer more often if you are able to.
• Complete post-session notes on our internal database.

All volunteers must be based in the UK, so that we can carry out an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check for working with children.

Please note that you need a permanent UK address to volunteer at Doorstep Library due to our volunteering-from-abroad policy. Please see here for reference.

As a Regular Volunteer, you will read with the same families on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday every week for a minimum of 9 months during school term time only.

As a Semi-Regular Volunteer, you will read with the same families on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday every other week for a minimum of 9 months during school term time only.

As an Online Volunteer you will start at 4.30pm and finish at 6.30pm.

You won’t be required to volunteer during the half-term holidays or during the Easter, Christmas or Summer holidays and you are entitled to 2 absences per term. Altogether you will be volunteering for approximately 32 weeks of the year as a Regular Volunteer and 16 weeks of the year as a Semi-Regular Volunteer. 

If you can’t volunteer regularly, you can become a Stand-In Volunteer. Our stand-ins step in when a Regular and Semi-Regular Volunteers can’t make a session. We ask Stand-in Volunteers to volunteer once every 3 weeks/12 times across the year during school term time. This is much more flexible and can be a great opportunity to meet and work with different volunteers and families.

The main aim of our reading sessions is to inspire a love of books, stories and storytelling, and to instil a lifelong love of reading. This helps to prepare children for school and broadens their opportunities in later life.

As an Online Reading Volunteer, you’ll read with the same 3-4 families each week and spend 20 minutes reading and engaging with each family. You’ll also help choose books with the children that we send to them during half-term, when we aren’t running sessions

Our reading sessions are all about bringing the gift of books and the joy of reading into the home. We don’t have set attainment goals, the sessions should be fun for both children and volunteers. Friendly chats, reading with silly voices or playing a game is very much encouraged!

Your volunteering journey begins with filling in the application form above. We will then arrange a short interview via Teams to get to know you better.

We’ll also help you complete an enhanced DBS check and you’ll be asked to provide the names of two referees. Finally, you’ll complete your training to get you ready for your reading sessions.

Please note you need to be over the age of 18 and have a permanent UK address in order to volunteer.

Absolutely, we provide training programmes for Online Reading volunteers which include pre-recorded training videos that you can watch at home in your own time and at your own pace, followed by a live interactive training session via Zoom. The training covers topics such as basic rules and principles, safeguarding, and plenty of advice on how to make reading sessions engaging and build a relationship with the children and families.

Throughout your volunteering, you’ll be getting lots of support from your Project Leader as well as other volunteers. We’ll be always happy to hear your feedback, answer any questions and respond to any concerns.