• Volunteer with BAAS

    Just two hours a week can help enrich lives

Volunteer With BAAS

Can you give two hours a week to befriend an autistic adult and help enrich lives?

By volunteering with us you will become part of an award winning charity. Our volunteers give their time and effort to make an incredible difference to the lives of autistic adults within Bolton, alleviating loneliness, building confidence and improving mental health. In June 2020, in recognition of the difference our volunteers make, BAAS was granted The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Our available roles are listed below.

Befriending Volunteers

We are recruiting Befriending Volunteers to join our dedicated team of volunteers in Bolton and Bury.

This role involves cooperating closely with an autistic adult, to explore what they want, in order to achieve their aspirations and maintain a sense of wellbeing. We are looking for befrienders living in Bolton or Bury, who know the area well, and can help their befriendee access and enjoy community activities. You will meet up with your befriendee for 2 hours once a week. This will be in the day time on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You should be 21 or over, have excellent communication skills and an understanding of neurodiversity. Training and support is provided. People with lived experience of neurodiversity are welcome to apply.

Social Activities Volunteers

We are not currently recruiting Social Activity Volunteers. Check back here in Spring 2027 for an update.

This role involves greeting people at our groups and assisting with the activities taking place. These groups help our service beneficiaries gain social skills and improve their life skills such as cookery. Our Social and Life skills activities take place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons or evenings in Bolton and a Friday evening in Bury. You should have excellent communication skills and an understanding of neurodiversity. Training and support is provided. People with lived experience of neurodiversity are welcome to apply. If you like meeting new people and can make a great brew, this is the role for you!

Student Placements

We welcome applications from students within Greater Manchester who are looking for a placement and study Health and Social Care, Psychology or  Social Work. We will provide training and help you gain the experience and skills to support your study and career goals.

Our Offer To You

Volunteers are provided with out of pocket expenses upon production of valid receipts, as well as receiving professional training and ongoing support to help you undertake your role. We will carry out an enhanced DBS check for all volunteers, if you do not already have one.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and would like to find out more, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, by emailing contact@b-aas.org.uk or completing the form:

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What BAAS volunteers and clients say…

I first started with BAAS accompanied by a Support Worker.  From the very beginning I was welcomed and have been treated with kindness and respect. Soon after becoming a service beneficiary, I was found a Volunteer Befriender. The whole experience was a positive one and consequently when finishing with my befriender I was eager to help someone else and became a Befriender myself.

I’ve been involved as a BAAS befriender now since March 2023 and find this is a really rewarding experience to me. Watching an autistic adult become more confident in social activities not only beneficial for her, but also helps me to understand how we can offer support in the community. Two hours a week does more than I can expect. I sincerely hope more people could become befriender in BAAS , and working together to build a better inclusive society.

I look forward to seeing my Befriender every week because we can share interests and activities and we are on the same wavelength.

“I contacted BAAS after applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) myself and being awarded 0 points. After being turned down at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage I was scared about a tribunal hearing. BAAS helped me to argue my case, submit my evidence in the correct way, and I was awarded the enhanced rate of PIP for both the daily living and mobility components – the very highest level of the award. I couldn’t believe that after twice being found to be ineligible to receive PIP I was now given the highest rate. I couldn’t have done it without BAAS’s help and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

“I had always had a support worker to assist me, but these people weren’t very consistent and often changed over time, or depending who was on shift. Through BAAS I was introduced to my befriender, and we got to know each other over 16 months. For the first time since I could remember I was being supported by someone who I knew wasn’t getting paid for being there for me, and I really felt that they valued my friendship just as much as I valued theirs. I was anxious at first about getting to know them, but they took everything one step at a time in a way that I could manage. My confidence has grown much and so has my independence. I’d really recommend befriending to anyone who feels they may need it.”