 | Disabled Parents Network (DPN) is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. |  Contact Us 0300 3300 639 |
| Disabled Parents Network (DPN) is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. | Contact Us 0300 3300 639 |
Welcome to the work of Disabled Parents Network (DPN)! By now, you will already be a member of DPN and, somewhere along the line, you will have expressed an interest in becoming involved in DPN's work.
As with any organisation, there's plenty of work to be done. By volunteering, you can play an important role in helping DPN to support all disabled parents in their parenting role! Most of DPN's volunteering opportunities are carried out by disabled parent volunteers in the comfort of their own homes, using just a telephone, a computer and the internet. DPN have all sorts of systems in place to make this possible, such as a virtual call centre and an online enquiry system, both of which enable Helpline Volunteers to take calls, and log and refer any enquiries that they receive. This makes volunteering for DPN ideal for people who may have mobility issues and getting involved can easily fit around your routine and family life. Although DPN's volunteers are home-based, they are very much part of a team and stay in touch with each other by telephone and e-mail.
DPN greatly values any support offered by volunteers, even if it's only as little as an hour or two a week. By volunteering for DPN you will be working alongside other people who have varying degrees of impairment and most have children too. You will work as part of a committed team and gain the support you need. All of our volunteers thrive on the experience of volunteering for us, enjoy the contact they have with other disabled parents and several have even gone on to work full-time as a result of the volunteering work they have undertaken for DPN.
It doesn't matter how long you've been a parent or even a parent-to-be, DPN welcomes people with a variety of professional and life skills. Remember, if you've been out of the workplace, volunteering can be a great way back into paid work. Any out-of-pocket expenses which you may incur can be claimed from DPN and will be reimbursed. DPN may also be able to assist with either arranging or paying for any training or equipment you need in order to carry out your volunteering role.
Below you will see some of the areas of DPN's work which require more input and help from volunteers. We hope you find something that appeals to you!
Many disabled people who contact DPN are looking for support from and contact with other disabled parents. It can be very helpful to have another parent to turn to for informal support and advice.
DPN has a Peer Support Register of around 300 disabled parents who are willing to offer friendly advice and share their experiences. DPN can put members in touch with other disabled parents who have a similar disability, or who have found their own solutions to the challenges faced by disabled parents.
DPN also has 'Local Networks' in some areas of the UK who can offer support within their local area. This is one project which DPN is presently developing and we are always keen to hear from people who are willing and able to promote DPN's work on a local basis. DPN have developed a resource pack to assist Local Network Volunteers in this role.
DPN's aim is to increase the number of local networks to cover more of the country. In some places there are local support groups and DPN is in touch with most of these. If there is no local group near you and you would like to set one up, DPN will do its best to support you.
Sometimes, what a disabled parent finds most helpful is moral support from another disabled parent. The Helpline offers friendly advice, information and support. The service is operated by a team of Helpline Volunteers, who are all disabled parents themselves.
A telephone answering service operates when a Helpline Volunteer isn't available to take calls personally and all messages are referred and responded to by a Helpline Volunteer as soon as possible.
DPN urgently needs to increase the number of Helpline Volunteers to ensure that the Helpline can be open for longer hours. Initial and ongoing training, supervision and support is offered to Helpline Volunteers as well as telephone equipment (headsets and compatible handsets).
The DPN Newsletter goes out four times a year to all members. The Newsletter can be made available in most requested formats. It includes items like:
DPN needs to build a team of volunteers to help put together the Newsletter which involves planning future editions, obtaining material, writing articles, assisting others to write articles compiling the newsletter, arranging for the Newsletter to be printed, putting it into alternative formats and sending it out to members.
DPN works in co-operation with central and local government, service providers and other voluntary organisations to help them make sure they do their best to meet the needs of disabled parents.
DPN welcomes contact with other organisations, including those that work with parents and families, with particular groups of disabled people or those that uphold the rights of disabled people.
DPN can help with training for health and social care professionals, volunteers and others working alongside disabled parents and parents-to-be. DPN provides trainers and speakers to attend conferences, study days and workshops in order to promote DPN, talk about issues of relevance to disabled parents and to share personal experiences.
DPN has developed a general computerised training package on PowerPoint and information handouts and are always looking for disabled parents who are willing to speak or carry out training on DPN's behalf.
DPN receives frequent requests from outside organisations for positive images depicting disabled parents. The present supply of images is very limited; some pictures are now rather dated, and others have been over-used.
DPN is in the process of building up its library of photographs and would like someone to help co-ordinate this project.
DPN is always interested in hearing about research projects being carried out by others which are relevant to disabled parents and are constantly receiving requests for information.
There are also internal areas of DPN's work from which we would like to be able to produce research reports but, at present, do not have the resources or the people power to do so.
If this is an area you may be able to help with, DPN would be very interested to hear from you.
No charity can function without finance and fundraising, for DPN, this is an ongoing task.
DPN is always in need of funds for ongoing general running costs and money to continue our work in supporting disabled parents.
Most funding is obtained for specific projects from grant making trusts and other funders with an interest in this area of work. DPN is always on the look out for funding opportunities and would like assistance to seek out these opportunities, fill in funding applications, prepare documents to include with the funding application (such as Job Descriptions, Budget details, etc) and provide overall co-ordination for these activities. This is a job in itself and can be extremely rewarding work, especially when an application is successful!
There's nothing DPN enjoys more than creating opportunities for disabled parents to get together! In 2003 DPN hosted a series of Roadshows, held in hotels in Essex, Bristol and Sheffield, both to publicise DPN's work and to enable many disabled parents and their families to meet and share experiences. Over 2005/06 DPN held four Consultation Events in Essex, Bristol, Coventry and Leeds to consult with disabled parents about DPN's present and future work. Organising these events and the regular Management Committee meetings involves a great deal of work, in finding accessible venues, designing and producing booking information, co-ordinating attendance, organising refreshments and childcare, booking accommodation (if required) and possibly assisting with arranging transport. Are you a person who would enjoy organising events and meetings for DPN?
DPN receives regular requests from the Media for contact with disabled parents. Television companies, radio stations, journals, magazines and other publications are keen to ensure that disabled parents' stories are included in any regular parenting programme or feature. We need to create a team to respond to and co-ordinate such requests, to ensure that any media enquiries are informed about how we make contact with disabled parents, advised of administrative charges and to ensure that all enquiries are responded to quickly and efficiently. This area of work involves close co-operation within other areas of DPN (for example, the Website, the Membership Secretary, the Newsletter Team, etc.). Actively promoting DPN, its services and the issues for disabled parents in the Media is another vital aspect of this work. Creating and maintaining a database of media contacts as well as preparing and circulating Press Releases as and when appropriate is all part of this exciting area of work. Are you happy to speak to the Media when they contact DPN to request contact with disabled parents? Please let us know if this is something you'd be interested in. Our Media Liaison Representative would contact you first to discuss details of the request and to find out if you'd be able or interested to speak to the Media. Your contact details would never be released without your prior consent.
Maintaining the DPN Website now involves a range of on-going work from people with a range of skills, abilities and interests. Areas of work include:
If you are interested in undertaking any of the above volunteering roles for DPN then please complete our Volunteer Form
Someone from DPN will then get in touch with you to talk further about how you may be able to help us
You must be a Full Member of DPN in order to volunteer
last updated: 05 Jun 07
tags : Volunteering
Registered Office: Disabled Parents Network, Suite 37-40 Cherry Orchard North, Swindon, SN2 8UH. Registered Charity No: 1087662