Frequently asked questions
What will I get from volunteering for the programme?
As well as the benefits to girls and schools, the programme offers women and employers an opportunity to engage with and give back to their local community, without even leaving the office.
By sharing your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm, you can help to make careers education relatable and broaden the next generation’s horizons.
How much time will I need to commit to the programme?
I Can Be has been designed to be flexible, ensuring we can accommodate volunteers who have different amounts of time to give.
Initially, we will visit you briefly at work, or speak to you on the phone, to find out more about you and to talk about the programme before you agree to be involved. If you would like to host a visit, or a series of visits, we will find dates that work for you and then give you a Volunteer Briefing session.
Each individual visit lasts for 45-60 minutes. You can choose to host one visit, or build regular visits into your routine. The programme could involve one woman in your workplace, or visits could be shared by several different women to reduce the individual time commitment, allow your workplace to host more visits and provide more flexibility.
How will you prepare me for the visits?
I Can Be is designed to make volunteering easy. We have a standard visit structure that we will show you how to use, and we’ll be on hand to provide support throughout the programme. A member of school staff will accompany the girls on every visit, so you will never be alone with the children or responsible for their welfare.
During the pre-visit Volunteer Briefing, we will familiarise you with the aims of and the thinking behind the programme. Together, we will talk through the standard visit structure and plan what you will do during the girls’ visit.
I want to take part, but my work environment is open plan and/or very busy.
Our visits model is very simple and easy to implement.
For some workplaces, a visit held within the main work-space will work well. For others, such as open-plan or very hectic work environments, we recommend booking a meeting room. The groups are small – ten girls and one or two members of school staff – so a standard size meeting room is ideal.
Why are boys not included?
Boys and girls from all backgrounds would benefit from the programme. We are choosing to focus on the area of greatest need – girls from disadvantaged, inner-city areas who, research shows, are most likely to be restricted in their options for the future.
However, we now also run a smaller, separate programme for boys. You can read more about it on our ICB Boys page.
Are all girls eligible to take part?
Whilst we think all girls would benefit from the programme, we target the children we work with very carefully. Participating schools, and the children selected to take part in the programme, are chosen to ensure that we are reaching those pupils who will benefit the most.
how can i apply to volunteer with i can be?
To find out more about becoming a volunteer with us, please contact a member of our team.