Volunteering Tips: Post code search

The second in our series of volunteering tips - some helpful hints on how to get the best out of our volunteering service.

This tip explains the Travelling Distance search criteria within Simply Connect.  If you would like help signing up to Simply Connect in order to register an interest in a whole range of opportunities across Bedfordshire, then email us at volunteering@cvsbeds.org.uk or call 01234 354366.

Simply connect allows you to look for volunteering opportunities according to the following criteria:

• Keyword -  any word or group of words that might help you to find the opportunitiy you are looking for
• Areas I am interested in - select up to three interests
• Activities I am interested in - select up to three activities
• Skills - indicate the skills you want to use
• Travelling distance - use this if you are limited in how far you want to travel
• Availability - indicate when you are available to volunteer
• Age Range - indicate your age to exclude opportunities that you are not eligible for
• Support and Type - use this if you have special needs or requirements
• Application Process - use this if you want to exclude roles that require checks, forms or references

Travelling distance: Searching for opportunities closest to you:

When you are looking for suitable volunteering opportunities on Volunteer Connect,  you can ask the site to sort the search results according to which opportunities are nearest to you.

From the Role Search screen,

choose Travelling Distance from the list of searches available and click on the + sign to open out the data entry fields.

My Postcode:

We only need the first half of the postcode to know which area you are in (e.g. S1, LS10, SW19 etc.)

Distance I am willing to travel

Enter the distance you are prepared to travel to do your volunteering  or,

Leave this blank to search your local area and the system will then list available opportunities with those closest to you at the top of the list.

You can enter your distance in miles or kilometers - remember to tell the system which you are giving. 

Use the critera in a similar way, and when you have set all of your criteria click on the Search button in green at the bottom of the screen to see what volunteering roles on Simply Connect that you might be interested in. 

If you have any difficulties with using Simply Connect to find a volunteer role in Bedfordshire, please drop us an email at volunteering@cvsbeds.org.uk, leaving your phone number, or call us on 01234 354366 and someone will be happy to help you.