The Pituitary Foundation would not be able to exist without the selfless and tireless help given to us by our volunteers. We are always needing, and looking for, more volunteers to help us - in various roles.

Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer for The Foundation? Would you like to know more about being a volunteer?

There are a number of ways you can volunteer, using skills you already have, or you wish to learn new ones to help us serve our community better.

The Pituitary Foundation is currently looking for volunteers to help us with the following:

Helpline Operators (Urgently Needed)

The Foundation wishes to find more dedicated HelpLine Operators who will help staff and current volunteers who take calls on the National HelpLine.

The calls we receive are very important to us; HelpLine Operators are responsible for making sure each caller gains as much as possible in the way of support, information and/or appropriate signposting.

If you are interested, do you have the following:

• The ability to listen
• Non-judgemental
• Empathy
• Have a private space to take calls
• Able to keep calls in the utmost confidence
• Email access

We are seeking volunteers who can offer dedicated times (weekly) to cover the HelpLine on a long term basis.  You might be able to give one (or two) morning or afternoon shifts each week or month.  You might be able to cover other periods, perhaps at quite short notice - although as much notice as possible would be provided.

Training will be provided and ongoing support will be given.

Please contact Pat on helpline@pituitary.org.uk for more information.

Telephone Buddies

The Pituitary Foundation operates a Telephone Buddies network with the aim to provide callers with a buddy who they can talk to on the phone and who will provide peer-to-peer support based on shared circumstances.

We need the following Telephone Buddies:

• Acromegaly  - female
• Cushing’s - female and male
• Hypopituitarism - male
• Prolactinoma - female and male
• Carers - specifically partners (husbands/wives) with their loved ones having any pituitary condition

If you’re interested, do you have the following?

• The ability to listen
• Non-judgemental
• Empathy
• Have a private space to take calls
• Able to keep calls in the utmost confidence
• Email access

Training will be provided and ongoing support will be given.

Please email helpline@pituitary.org.uk to learn more and ask for a Role Description.

Will you tell your story so that you can help others?

Occasionally, we will get requests from journalists looking to talk to folks to tell their story or to fit in with an item currently in the news. The Pituitary Foundation strives to raise awareness about the pituitary journey and we might be able to turn some of these requests into awareness.

Therefore, we are calling out to our community to recruit volunteers with the courage to tell their stories in the media: radio, print, web and, very occasionally, on television.

Would you feel comfortable telling your story?

If you’d like more information, please email helpline@pituitary.org.uk and we’ll provide you with an explanation of what might be asked of you. Rest assured, you can choose what you wish to do (for instance, if you don’t want to do radio or telly, that’s fine, we wouldn’t approach you for those " or if you’d rather not include offer a journalist a photo, we wouldn’t request that either).

This is an excellent way for us to work as a team to tell the pituitary story and raise the profile of The Pituitary Foundation!

Points to ponder…  Most media outlets want ‘exclusive’ stories.  This means, once a story is told in print or through another medium, other writers and journalists will not wish to retell the story. Therefore, this is a ‘one-off’ volunteer opportunity. If you have told your story in a newspaper or magazine, it is unlikely a journalist will wish to retell it. Also, if you come forward and your story is told, The Foundation will not contact you about another opportunity. Further, once a volunteer comes forward to tell their story, it is possible that some time can pass before we are approached by a writer who we can match to your journey. Just things to think about should you consider contacting us for further information.
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