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• Opportunities

• Financial Support for Volunteers

QueerSpace is a proudly volunteer-led organization.  Volunteers decide what’s to be done, when to do it and how to make things better. That’s why QueerSpace is always looking for new volunteers.  Volunteers bring fresh ideas to organizations and help them to keep growing.

QueerSpace also wants volunteers from a diversity of backgrounds.  LGBT people may be young or old, male or female.  They come from all ethnic groups. They hold different religious and political beliefs.  They may be or have been married.  They may have caring responsibilities, for children or for others.  They may be disabled.  They may be HIV positive.  They have different educational backgrounds, different income levels and may or may not be employed.

QueerSpace knows that having volunteers who reflect the diversity of the LGBT Community will help it serve the Community better.

Volunteering for QueerSpace can take on a number of forms, and each volunteer can find a task that suits their skills and personality.  

Running the InSpace Coffee Lounge on a Saturday is one of the first tasks volunteers take part in.  Volunteers are responsible for ensuring that visitors are made welcome, with plenty of biscuits, coffee and tea, and for providing them with information about the LGBT scene in Belfast.

The drop-in is always staffed by two volunteers, so no one has to work alone.  This is a great opportunity for volunteers to meet new people. 

QueerSpace organizes a monthly calendar of events.  These events are conceived by, planned and executed by volunteers.  This is one of the main reasons QueerSpace values a diversity of volunteers—to provide it with new ideas for events.  The nature of the events is limited only by the imagination of the volunteers.  These events allow volunteers to develop their creative sides as well as their organizational and managerial skills. 

QueerSpace holds its Collective Meetings every other Wednesday evening.  It is at these meetings that the volunteers decide what events to hold, who will manage the InSpace Drop-In and the overall direction of QueerSpace.   Volunteers serve as the Moderator, who calls the meeting to order and ensures that it is finished on time, and the Recorder, who writes down the decisions made during the meeting.  Each week, a different volunteer fills these roles, to ensure that all voices have a chance to be heard. 

There are many other roles for volunteers to play.  For example, volunteers are responsible for:

• looking after the money raised by QueerSpace, to ensure that it is used properly;
• responding to letters and e-mails sent to QueerSpace;
• organising the monthly events calendar and ensuring email reminders are sent out to the QueerSpace mailing list;
• fund raising;
• keeping this web-page up to date.

The list could go on.  The more active QueerSpace is, the more tasks there are for volunteers to carry out. 

If you want to volunteer for QueerSpace, just come along to the InSpace Drop-In on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month (3–6pm, 1st floor, Old War Memorial Building, 9 -13 Waring Street, opposite the new Premier Inn) or the fortnightly Collective Meetings on Wednesday evenings (from 7.30 pm, same location) and let us know. 

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Being a volunteer doesn’t mean that you have to be out-of-pocket.  The Northern Ireland Department for Social Development provides QueerSpace with money to reimburse volunteers for any travel expenses they may incur while volunteering, through the Community Volunteering Scheme.  This allows volunteers to help QueerSpace regardless of their economic or employment status.

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Want more info, to pass on a compliment or complaint or to volunteer? Email QueerSpace and let us know. We want to hear from you - make QueerSpace your space.