Work With Us

Woking YMCA and the Ypod rely on an amazing team of volunteers to make everything happen.

If you would like to be a part of that team please contact Paul at paul.langtree@wokingymca.org.uk or call the Ypod on 01483 757160 for more information.

All our youth work volunteers must be at least 18 years old to comply with our Child Protection Policy.

Below is some information about doing a GAP YEAR of youth work at the Ypod, or doing a placement for a youth work course.

We are also looking for young people to join our board of trustees...

WANTED: Young people to join the ‘board’ at Woking YMCA

“Helping young people build a future”
The YMCA is a leading Christian charity committed to supporting all young people, particularly in times of need. Our work focuses on the following areas: Housing & homelessness, sport/health/exercise/fitness, crime & safety, education & skills, money & work, citizenship & personal development and parenting & family.

What will it involve?
Meeting once every 2 months
Representing young people’s opinions and needs
Helping lead and develop Woking YMCA’s work

Who can apply?
Aged 18-25
Committed Christian
Local to Woking and the surrounding area
Desire to help Woking YMCA reach out to and support young people

Benefits:
Become part of a worldwide Christian movement
All necessary support & training will be provided
Lots of opportunities for further development
Looks great on your CV!

Contact Details.
Person: Paul Langtree (youth worker) at Woking YMCA
Address: Woking YMCA, Chobham Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6JD
Telephone (main reception): 01483 757 160
Telephone (direct line): 01483 21 51 21
Email: paul.langtree@wokingymca.org.uk

Role Description: Volunteer Youth Worker.

1. Role title: Volunteer Youth Worker.

2. Reports to: Supervisor – Youth Worker Manager.

3. Role purpose:
• To supervise, befriend and support young people during drop-in sessions and other youth work activities at Woking YMCA’s Ypod centre.
• To assist in the smooth running of the centre.

4. Main tasks:
• Supervise young people during drop-in sessions at the Ypod, ensuring their safety and well-being (including child protection issues).
• Befriend young people and offer support as appropriate.
• Serve food and drinks in café.
• Occasionally you may be asked to sit at the front desk at reception to welcome young people and visitors.
• Assist with minor maintenance and cleaning tasks.

5. Person specification (qualifications/abilities/skills/experience required):
• Volunteer youth workers must be 18 years old or above to comply with the requirements of our Child Protection Policy.
• References will be taken up and a Criminal Records Bureau check will be carried out on all applicants to ensure they are suitable to work with young people.
• No specific qualifications are required – all necessary training will be provided.
• Prior experience of youth work is not required although may be beneficial.
• Good people skills are important.
• Although the YMCA is a Christian organisation we welcome people of all faiths, and none.

6. Suggested working hours:
Our youth drop-in sessions run from 4pm to 9pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 4pm to 8pm on Fridays, except when we have gigs (4pm-7pm).
Hours are flexible to suit the applicant, but a minimum of three hours per week is suggested up to a maximum of 40 hours.

7. Training and development:
All necessary training will be provided by Woking YMCA.
We regularly offer our volunteers extra training opportunities to help them in their personal development, where relevant to their role.

8. Other information:
We encourage all our volunteers to use their individual gifts, abilities and skills in their work and are happy to consider setting up new activities and projects which they may suggest.
Volunteers out of pocket expenses (such as travel costs) will be paid and all the necessary insurances are in place.

Additional Information for gap year volunteers and youth work course students requiring placements.

Age range.
Our gap year programme is available to young people between the ages of 18 and 25 to accommodate gap years before, during or after university. We can offer our own tailored programme or accommodate the requirements of most colleges and gap year organisations.

Hours (including holiday).
Our programme usually runs from 1st September to 31st August. We usually operate for all 52 weeks throughout the year, 7 days a week.

Hours can range from as little as 3 hours per week to a maximum of 40 hours per week and we ensure all staff, paid and voluntary, get two full days off per week. Occasionally paid staff and volunteers may be required to work more than 40 hours in one week (e.g. if we run a residential for young people) and appropriate time in lieu will be given.

We do not usually open on bank holidays. Annual holiday is provided according to the requirements of the organisation, college or university.

Finances.
Woking YMCA funds all its volunteers through its regular financial systems which cover volunteer expenses and training.

However, for some gap year or training course placement volunteers we may need to arrange funding for accommodation and living expenses. Finances for such requirements will be arranged on a case-by-case basis and we may require the volunteer to provide some funds themselves.

Accommodation.
Volunteers who do not live locally will be expected to find their own accommodation, although we can offer advice and assistance if required.

Additional support.
Volunteers taking part in our gap year programme or on placements for youth work courses will be offered extra support in the form of a supervisor with whom they will usually meet weekly or fortnightly to discuss their progress and needs. We can also provide an independent ‘pastoral carer’ if necessary.

We offer all our volunteers regular training opportunities through the YMCA and through our partner organisations including: Youth work, child protection, first aid, assertiveness and others, as well as a one day YMCA induction.

For Christian young people we can provide a theological training course through a local church if appropriate. This course is part of the church’s own gap year scheme which runs from 1st January to 31st August. The theology course consists of approximately 7 hours per week. Other aspects of the gap year scheme can also be made available to volunteers.

Organisation Description – November 2007.

Contact name: Paul Langtree (Youth Worker)
Contact email: paul.langtree@wokingymca.org.uk
Contact telephone (direct line): 01483 21 51 21

Woking YMCA opened in June 2006. We currently have one building which is a two storey youth centre called the Ypod in the heart of Woking town centre. One floor is a dedicated youth centre with drop-in café, IT suite, recording studio, performance hall, 3 small counselling rooms, some office space and 3 meeting rooms. The other floor is going to become a sports hall but we are currently trying to piece together funding for it.

We currently employ two full-time youth workers and one part-time youth worker and have a volunteer youth work team of over 20 volunteers. We also have a few other paid staff and a number of volunteers working in areas such as finance and facilities.

Our youth drop-in café is open four days a week from 4pm to 9pm and we run a variety of activities during and outside of these times. Our programme includes: A stencil graffiti workshop, several dance classes, a youth club for 11-14 year olds, a youth council, children’s parties, children’s football classes, gigs for local youth bands, band practice sessions, recording studio sessions, an ‘entry to employment’ course, two different youth events by local churches, a free counselling service for young people, a young parents project, residential trips and a drop-in session for young people with disabilities.

We also do a variety of sessions in local secondary schools and have strong links with our local borough council, county council, youth service, Connexions service, churches, police service and various other youth organisations.

As part of the YMCA, both nationally and inter-nationally, we aim to work in the following areas:
• Housing & homelessness – we are investigating the possibility of building our own housing project in Woking.
• Sport/health/exercise/fitness – through our ‘second floor’ project.
• Crime & safety – in partnership with organisations such as the Police Service, the Youth Justice Service, YMCA England, local schools and NACRO.
• Education & skills – by setting up recognised, accredited training schemes in our centre.
• Money & work – by helping NEET young people find education, training or employment.
• Citizenship & personal development – through everything we do.
• Parenting & family – through our families’ and children’s work programme.

As a new YMCA we are constantly growing and developing and looking for new projects to set up or support. We have achieved a huge amount in our first year and look forward to doing bigger and better things over the coming months and years.

HISTORY, AIMS AND PURPOSE OF THE YMCA.

It was not long before the group expanded, drawing to it young men who were alone and lonely in the City of London. From this it quickly grew and George Williams and his friends recognised that they should not just serve young Christians and offer them support, but they should work with all people and meet the needs of all those with whom they worked day by day. An important distinction was made at this point that the organisation should become the Young Men’s Christian Association not the Young Christian Men’s Association. This principle remains central to the philosophy of YMCA work.

The YMCA remains a Christian and Voluntary Organisation working with women and men and today has grown into an international Organisation operating in over 100 countries world-wide with some 30 million members and programme participants. In England there are over 160 Associations.

The traditional logo of the YMCA is an equilateral red triangle with a black bar and the letters YMCA running across the triangle. The equilateral sides represent a balanced life in body, mind and spirit. Many variations of the traditional triangle exist. The initials “YMCA” and the sign of the Red Triangle are known all over the world, but many of those who recognise the initials do not know that they stand for “Young Men’s Christian Association” or have much knowledge of its Aims.

The YMCA in England aims to consolidate, develop and gain recognition for its position as a leading authority in youth and community work. It will provide high quality programmes in five integrated areas: Housing, international work, personal and social development, training and sport, exercise and fitness. There will be a focus on young people, particularly at times of need.

In all its operations, the YMCA in England aims to: Apply a holistic approach to the needs of individuals; Encourage freedom of choice and self determination within a Christian framework; Provide genuine equality of opportunity and outcome; Operate to the highest standards - both ethically and financially; Secure a true partnership between members, staff and volunteers; Develop, train and equip the lay members and workers, both paid and voluntary; Provide opportunities for spiritual development in general, and in particular, an environment in which people can explore and develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We aim to: Provide a welcome to members for themselves, in a meeting place which is theirs to share, where friendships can be made and counsel sought, develop activities which stimulate and challenge its members in an environment that enables them to take responsibility and find a sense of achievement, involve all members in care and work for others, create opportunities for exchanging views, so that its members can improve their understanding of the world, of themselves and of one another.

George Williams founded the YMCA Movement in 1844 in London. George Williams was a young man who had come to London from Somerset to learn the drapery trade. The drapery employed large numbers of young men and George Williams held prayer meetings and Bible Studies in his lodgings with other young drapery assistants who, like himself, shared the Christian faith.Organisation: Woking YMCA
Address: Woking YMCA, Chobham Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6JD
Telephone: 01483 757 160
Email: info@wokingymca.org.uk
Website: www.wokingymca.org.ukFor people wishing to apply to do a gap year of youth work or a youth work course placement with Woking YMCA the role description for a ‘Volunteer Youth Worker’ is still applicable but can also include working as part of a local church, if appropriate.