What do I need to do to find local opportunities?

Come in and see us! You can have a chat and a cup of tea with one of our trained advisors in a comfortable environment; they will offer free information and advice, and help you to choose the right type of job for you. Using our V-Base computer system, they will look through all the opportunities which are registered with us, and find one which suits your needs and fits in with your existing time commitments. Just give us a call on 01635 49004, or send us an email.

Can I look around for myself first, to get some sort of idea of what is available?

Yes, indeed you can. If you have access to the internet, the national do-it.org.uk website contains a wide range of information on volunteering in the UK and overseas, including all the opportunities registered with us.

This is how you use it:

1. Go into the do-it.org.uk website, and click on 'try the advanced search'

2. You'll now see the screen that allows you to specify the type of opportunity you're looking for, and when and where you're available.

3. Enter the following information:

• In section 1, your home postcode and the distance you're prepared to travel
• In section 2, the type of organisation you'd like to work for and the sort of work you'd like to do
• In section 3, the times in the week when you're available

and then click on 'find-it!'. That's all there is to it! You'll then be shown a list of current opportunities that match your preferences and availability.

How do I find the site?

Just click on the logo, or type the address http://www.do-it.org.uk/ into your browser. As well as information on UK job opportunities, it also contains news and features, competitions, discussion boards, and details of volunteer opportunities throughout the world.

If you're interested, you can also find out about the V-Base software and database used by Volunteer Centre West Berkshire by clicking on the logo. This allows us to upload information about our local opportunities onto the do-it.org.uk site on the internet, so that you can get a good idea of what types of position are available before coming in to discuss your interests with us.

And what happens then?

When you've found an opportunity that interests you, just contact us. We can then tell you more about the organisation and the activities involved, register you as a volunteer if we haven't done so before, and make an appointment for you to talk to someone from the organisation.

Even if you haven't found something that matches your needs, call in and see us anyway. We may have some recent opportunities which aren't yet on the database, or know of vacancies with the local organisations with which we are closely involved - the Newbury Handybus Scheme and the Newbury Volunteer Driver and Car Scheme.