Volunteers
Citizens House, an organisation where volunteers receive a high quality, positive volunteering experience.
Citizen’s House is always looking for more volunteers, whether that’s as a Trustee of the Charity or to help out in the kitchen or with running events.
Volunteering has benefits for everyone. It benefits local communities, and it also benefits you as the volunteer. There are so many reasons to volunteer! You can:
make a real difference to people's lives
learn new skills that could lead to a new job
transform your CV
work for a cause you care about
meet new people
have fun!
There are a wide variety of volunteer roles at Citizens House including (relevant training and good support is provided to all volunteers):
Trustee
As a trustee, you will be responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of an organisation, developing its aims, objectives, and goals in accordance with charity guidelines and legal and regulatory guidelines. The trustees can also carry out business on behalf of the organisation
Caretaker
This is a great volunteer opportunity to join our excellent team of volunteers. You would be responsible for the general upkeep and presentation of the building and aid access to the building out of hours.
The Oasis Cafe
Interested in volunteering in hospitality? This opportunity could be for you. The Oasis Cafe situated in Citizens House is open 5 days a week 9am-3pm and is run by Elaine Divers.
Cafe Volunteers are needed in the cafe to prepare and sell food and drinks to groups and general members of the public and staff in our building. You'll need to have a friendly personality, good communication and listening skills. You do not need previous experience in the role.
Technical Support
Do you have a passion for the power of technology? As a volunteer you can help unleash the power of our technology to ensure that no-one is excluded from the digital world. Carrying out tech support for exciting user groups, new user groups and corporate clients.
Office Administrator
Our Office Administrator role is ideal if you are looking for some experience in an office or are just looking for a new challenge.
In this role you will work alongside other administrative staff, including the Centre Manager and Trustees. Part of the role will include making and receiving phone calls, data entry, filing, typing and general office duties.
Ground Maintenance
Are you interested in becoming one of our gardening volunteers? Our garden maintenance volunteers work on a range of tasks including grass cutting, cutting back hedges and bushes, weeding borders and litter picking.
If you enjoy being outdoors and appreciate being active, becoming a garden maintenance volunteer could be for you.
To find out more on any of these volunteering opportunities
please contact us...
History
As well as being a warm, welcoming community hub offering many events and activities and with rooms to hire, Citizens House also has an interesting and long history.
Citizens House which is currently located on Station Road was originally situated just next to The Black Horse pub on Front Street. It was established in 1948 after the American Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organisations generously provided £5000 to set up Citizens House here in Consett. It was through the British War Relief Society of the USA which this money was provided for the express purpose of founding a club for workers in an industrial area. Consett was just the place. The club was the first of its kind with an aim to serve the young citizens of Consett.
After serving the community for many years the building fell into a state of disrepair and its layout was now outdated; something needed to be done to allow Citizens House to continue as a viable community resource. After a period of intensive work preparing grant applications, with help from Durham County Council and others, the Citizens House Trustees successfully secured a £650,000 grant from the Big Lottery. The building was demolished in August 2018 and has now been replaced with a fantastic new purpose-built centre on the same site. We would therefore like to express our sincere thanks to all Citizens House Trustees, volunteers and supporters, both past and present – we couldn’t do without you!
Mission Statement
Citizen House exists to promote the social welfare of the inhabitants of Consett and the surrounding district without distinction of the sex or of political or religious opinions of individuals.
We will work with local authorities, voluntary organisations and inhabitants in a common effort to provide facilities to help advance education and help to improve mental and physical health. We will also promote other charitable purposes as may from time to time be determined. The overall objective is to provide facilities and services that will improve the life and conditions of inhabitants in Consett and the surrounding area.
We will also ensure the ongoing security of Citizens House through effective management both in terms of the upkeep of the building and its financial standing to help ensure the facility is available for future generations.
Citizens House is a registered charity (1153267)
