Who we are
Our Mission
to improve the lives of people released from immigration detention and experiencing destitution in the UK, and to support the development of well-informed, cohesive and diverse communities in the Dover area and beyond.
The charity has both a national remit and a local one. Nationally, our Ex-detainee Project provides support and advice via a Freephone helpline
Locally, in Dover, Samphire runs a community engagement project working with migrant communities to promote inclusion
The role
Originally established as Dover Detainee Visitor Group in 2004, the volunteer-led charity provided emotional and legal support to detainees at Dover Immigration Removal Centre until its closure in 2015. In 2009 we established the Post-detention phone line to support people released from immigration detention.
As the charity’s remit widened to include awareness raising, educational and community engagement projects, the charity was renamed Samphire. Today, Samphire’s core work lies with post-detention support and advocacy, and increasingly the development and delivery of services to support local migrant populations – Roma, EU and other local migrants, and now asylum seekers being housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone. These services include free immigration advice, facilitating a Roma hub, and events such as football bringing together unaccompanied asylum seeking teenagers with local youth groups.
What are we looking for?
Whether you have experience of being a trustee or wanting to take your first step, we’d love to hear from you. We want people who will get involved and support Samphire’s work.
We’d like our new trustees to have skills in the following fields:
- Human Resources
- Digital communications
- Policy Change
- Safeguarding
We especially want to hear from people with lived experience of migration.
Why Be a Trustee?
Being a trustee can be very rewarding. As a trustee you have the chance to support and shape the work and strategic direction of an organisation, and you can make a significant difference to a cause that matters to you
Reasonable expenses are available for volunteering with us
How much time will this take?
Trustees meetings are quarterly in our Dover office with the option of joining online if needed and our AGM is in September in Dover. Trustees are invited to help out at Community events run by Samphire and to support fundraising efforts.
We would also encourage all trustees to attend NCVO training for Trustees
Here is a link to the Charity Governance Code, which gives more information about the Trustee Role in a Charity context.
Supporting document(s)
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