Volunteer

Volunteer for Pedal Power

Volunteers are crucial in making sure Pedal Power continues to support and work with disabled people and our vision for the future which is “to make cycling accessible to all”. Volunteering with Pedal Power is an ideal way to enhance your CV, gain work experience and confidence, help disabled people and help raise awareness of cycling and its benefits for health and the environment. We are working towards the Investing Volunteers standard and were recently awarded the Understanding Disability Award in the Local Group/Organisation Category.

We need Volunteers to help our cyclists access the benefits of cycling. Below is a list of the volunteer roles at Pedal Power with a very brief description. You can read full role descriptions on our separate Volunteer Management site. You can sign up from there too. There are no current vacancies in the following roles: Cycle Support or Group Cycle Leadership, but there is a vacancy for a Cycle Hire volunteer down at our site in the Bay for weekends and school holidays only. We are still considering applications for Cycle Hire and Bikeshed Reception Volunteers, there are no vacancies at the moment but we operate a waiting list system to make up for any temporary gaps in the rota. There no vacancies in the Cafe at the moment.

Volunteer Role	Description	Vacancies?
Cycle hire volunteer	making sure cycles are safe and ready for hire and helping cyclists to get on the cycles	Opportunities now at our Bay Facility at weekends and during school holidays
Bikeshed reception	the first point of contact for cyclists and members of the public and manage the hire process as well general enquiries.	Waiting List.
Cycle support	provide support to cyclists using Pedal Power cycles on local traffic free routes	Not at the moment
Cycle group leadership	lead a group of cyclists on local traffic free routes.	Not at the moment
Cafe	To help in the cafe and/or kitchen to ensure customers get a good service; various roles including chef, sous chef, front of house and cafe helper roles exist	Not at the moment
Administration	assist with the smooth running of the office	Yes
Fundraising	help raise funds to put Pedal Power on a sustainable financial footing	Yes
Ambassador	an important role combining promotion of all Pedal Power services and fundraising	Yes
Marketing	help raise the profile of Pedal Power events, locations, and the project at large	Urgently Required
Events	help in the smooth running of Pedal Power and other events that we attend	Yes
Leaflet distributor	help promote Pedal Power by distributing various leaflets and flyers	Yes

We also need help with other tasks such as website maintenance, translation, database design, DIY etc. If you have time and skills and would like to help us then please sign up or email us for more information

For many of the roles you will have to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau check. Having a criminal conviction or caution does not prevent you volunteering with Pedal Power provided it is declared but we cannot accept individuals who have been convicted of physical and/or sexual abuse or more serious crimes. Please contact our Operations/Volunteer Manager in confidence if you need to discuss this issue.

Pedal Power Volunteers should work within the Pedal Power Code of Conduct and follow relevant policies.

Pedal Power Project strives to give equal opportunities to all of its Volunteers but some roles may require a certain level of physical fitness and/or technical knowledge. Many of our volunteers have disabilities themselves, several of them having gone through our Supported Volunteer programme which ran for 2 years providing 1:1 support to volunteers with extra needs. Although we are not taking on any new volunteers to this scheme, many have stayed on with us as regular volunteers.

Being a Pedal Power volunteer

Training & support: all volunteers will be given a thorough induction into Pedal Power, to cover Pedal Power history, structure, orientation, health and safety, moving and handling, boundaries issues and dress code. Volunteers will also be trained as needed in the various role-specific tasks they are asked to do.

Depending on your role there are a number of training courses that are compulsory which need to be completed within 6 months of starting volunteering. These may include Manual Handling, Child Protection, Protection of Vulnerable Adults, Cycle Support, Cycle Leadership, Disability Equality Awareness, Emergency First Aid, Food Hygiene Level 2 and others. All this training is provided free for volunteers, with most taking place at our main offices in Pontcanna. Certificates are usually provided.

Supervision will be given at the end of the first day, the first month and then at a time agreed with the volunteer at a minimum of 3 monthly. Every Volunteer will have a named Supervisor.

You have the right to refuse to do any tasks that you consider to be unrealistic, outside the scope of the role or that you feel you do not have the skills to do.

Personal requirements: Requirements for individual roles are provided in their role descriptions, but some qualities are common to all opportunities. Many of our visitors and some volunteers have disabilities that affect their communication so it is important that you are patient and respectful of this. A clear commitment to equal opportunities and willingness to conform to Pedal Power Code of Conduct and other policies is also necessary.

Time commitment: Some roles such as Bikeshed, Cafe and Admin generally ask Volunteers to commit to a regular slot of 3 hours per week or more. Other roles vary and this will be discussed at interview and between the Volunteer and their supervisor.

Location: Most volunteers will be based at Pedal Power’s main building in Pontcanna Caravan Park, but some may help out with cycle hire at our Cardiff Bay location or at various venues across the City and surrounds for special events or fundraising activities.

Expenses: If you show us your ticket we pay travel expenses for public transport in the Cardiff and Vale area equivalent to a return train ticket from Radyr which is currently £4.60 (June 2012). We always encourage people to use public transport but if you need to use your own car due to an impairment we pay mileage of 40p per mile to a maximum of £4.60. If you volunteer for 6 hours or more in a day, we will give you a free lunch.