Volunteering and Work Experience

You can make a difference and gain work skills!

There are many different types of work you can enjoy as a volunteer.  See our ideas below.

From accompanying a young person to and from their work placement, maybe coaching them with their job tasks, spending time with the elderly, offering them friendship and essential company or maybe supporting fundraising for charity events throughout the year there's many volunteering opportunities for you.

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GoRaise is a shop and fundraise website. 

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Wessex Cancer Trust

Wessex Cancer Trust provides local support services for patients and families living with or affected by cancer throughout the Wessex region - Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

Our support services include: Free counselling, complementary therapy & befriending at our local cancer support centres, holiday homes, singing support groups, patient information packs, transport link services for patients from the Isle of Wight, and financial support.

We currently have 6 Cancer Support Centres based in Chandler's Ford, Hythe, Bournemouth, Winchester, Portsmouth and Newport (Isle of Wight). A new Centre will be opening in Salisbury in 2016

The charity, established in 1981, has its Head Office in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire. Why not take a look at our volunteers page here or join us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Housing for Women

A housing association and charity dedicated to improve lives by providing social housing and gender sensitive support services to women in London. We want to ensure that women and their families who are facing challenging circumstances have the best chances in life, whether they have simply been priced out of the London housing market, or have experienced domestic violence, been a victim of trafficking or are ex-offenders.

As a registered social landlord we provide housing in London for single women and those with families. We offer emergency refuge accommodation, floating support, children’s services and telephone advice to women who have or are experiencing Domestic Violence.

We provide appropriate accommodation and support to mothers leaving prison so they can regain custody of their children and gain the life skills needed for resettlement. We offer second stage housing and in-depth support to women who have been trafficked to the UK for prostitution or domestic servitude.

And we also support older tenants by promoting their wellbeing and confidence, with an aim to help people live independently in their homes during later life. 

Volunteers are extremely valuable to us; they help us deliver vital work to vulnerable women and their families. We believe that volunteering is an important way to gain new skills and recognise that there are individuals within the community that are able to assist in service provision by contributing their differing skills, experiences and expertise working as volunteers. In a supportive environment we aim to help volunteers meet new people, increase self-esteem and confidence while gaining experience of working in a professional environment.

Our key volunteering roles are:

• Refuge Support (Adults and Children): Working alongside with refuge workers to provide a supportive one to one service to clients.
• Mentors: Helping us to empower Re-Place and Re-Unite service users to be in control of their own lives.
• Befrienders: Supporting older tenants so they can continue living their lives independently
• Office Support: Contributing at operational level to the day to day running of the organisation. 

To find out about opportunities or to get involved Housing for Women join us on twitter, Linkedin email Maria Galan  here or phone 020 3794 4798    

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Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research

Supporting research taking place at the UKs largest spinal rehabilitation centre couldn’t be easier.  You might be surprised to know that the charity was only founded in 2006, and has only began actively fundraising since 2013, so we need all the help we can get as we are a very small team!  You can get involved by:

Holding a small fundraising event – however small – every penny will counts!

Help to promote our Wheels at Work campaign, where we invite people to do a sponsored day in a wheelchair.  Take part yourself, or encourage the business you work for to get involved.  We provide the wheelchairs, and there is no limit to how many people can get involved.  Its’ all about empathy and getting a small insight into life as a wheelchair user so please pick a date that suits you and have a go.

You can also come and help in our office at Stoke Mandeville – we are always on the lookout for expertise to support our team in any way. 

To find out about opportunities or to get involved in Wheels at Work join us on facebook, twitter , email Charlotte Minoprio here or phone 07792 407298.  

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Macmillan Cancer Support 

There are so many ways to get involved, from cheering on a marathon runner to volunteering in our offices. Whether it's minutes or months, hours or days, the time you give really does matter.

Make your time matter - With 2.5 million people in the UK now living with cancer, our challenge to make sure no one faces cancer alone has never been bigger. That's why we need people like you to volunteer your time in whatever way you can.

There are so many ways to get involved, from cheering on a marathon runner to volunteering in our offices. Whether it's minutes or months, hours or days, the time you give really does matter.

 As a Macmillan volunteer, you will:

• make a meaningful difference to people affected by cancer
• receive any necessary training for your role and have access to ongoing development
• have the opportunity to influence our work through the UK Volunteer Forum
• meet like minded volunteers and become part of the Macmillan team

Interested? Search for a volunteering opportunity to suit you. If you need more information, contact us by email or calling 0300 1000 200.

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St Gemmas Hospice in Leeds

St Gemmas Hospice, Leeds provides the best possible care and quality of life for local people with cancer and other life threatening illnesses. It’s a friendly, warm and safe place at the heart of the local community with a large range of expert services to support patients, their families and friends.

Whether our volunteers help in our shops or at the Hospice, they all contribute to helping St Gemma’s care for local people at the most difficult time in their lives.

We have volunteer roles available across our 22 charity shops in Leeds, and we also need volunteers to help at our fundraising events. We also occasionally recruit for Hospice based roles, such as Ward Shoppers, on reception, in our Gardens, or in our Arts Room.

To find out how you can get involved, please visit www.st-gemma.co.uk/volunteering. Or phone our Volunteers Coordinator on 0113 218 5193, please do contact us by email  too. Why not keep up to date with diary of events here.

Thank you

St Gemma’s Hospice could not survive without the help and support provided by volunteers who give their time and energy so selflessly. Your contribution really will make a difference to the lives of local people.

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Small Charities Coalition

Small Charities Coalition is a national umbrella and capacity-building organisation with over 7,000 members UK-wide. We exist to help trustees, staff and volunteers of small charities access the skills, tools, and information they need to get going and do what they do best. 

We define a small charity as any UK charitable organisation with an annual income of less than £1million. That's 97% of registered charities, which is an incredible 160,000, and over 600,000 micro char ities that are too small to register. We're about building effective and lasting relationships with people and organisations from all sectors so that together we can lend a helping hand and allow the thousands of small charities across the UK to reach their full potential.

In the wider sector we listen to, respond and represent the needs of small charities so that the world they operate in works to support them. Through our personalised services we aim to get the right people talking to each other. We believe that by building these bonds and spreading the resources and skill sets through free advice, affordable training and other useful services, many small charities can really thrive.

It's this ethos that allows the Small Charities Coalition to really empower small charities to provide core services that tackle those rare diseases, combat those difficult social issues and address those neglected causes.

That's where our work really makes a difference. To get a better sense of our work please watch this short video here 

If you are interested in volunteering for Small Charities Coalition or being part of our skills matching service please do contact us by email you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook 

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Alzheimer’s Society Dementia

Alzheimer's can happen to anyone and there's currently no cure. There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK and the number is set to rise to 1 million by 2021. At Alzheimer's Society, we believe passionately that life doesn't end when dementia begins. We are here for anyone affected by dementia, and we do everything we can to keep people with dementia connected to their lives and the people who matter most. We are the UK's leading dementia support and research charity, here for anyone affected by any form of dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We provide information and practical and emotional support to help people live well with dementia, and we invest in world-class research with the ultimate goal of defeating it. We also campaign to improve public understanding of dementia and the devastating impact it can have, and make sure it's taken seriously and acted on by our governments.

To find out more about our volunteer opportunities take a look here or why not call us on 0845 504 9300 or get in touch via email 

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Wheels for Wellbeing (WfW)

WFW is an award-winning charity supporting disabled people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the benefits of cycling. Cycling can be easier than walking, a way to keep independent, fit and healthy, a mobility aid, and a useful form of everyday transport. Inclusive cycling means EVERYONE can cycle regardless of age, health condition or impairment.

Since 2007 we’ve worked with thousands of disabled children and adults who face barriers to taking part in any physical activity. Informed by life-changing personal experience of disabled trustees, staff and volunteers, we’re determined to show that anyone can enjoy cycling, given the right equipment, support and environment. Wheels for Wellbeing exists to enhance disabled people’s lives by ensuring that anyone can access the physical, emotional, practical and social benefits of cycling.

Wheels for Wellbeing provide direct support to more than 1000 disabled people a year to discover or rediscover cycling, targeting a growing number of new participants each year – by keeping the wheels spinning at our drop-in and outreach sessions in SE London.

If you are interested in being a Wheels for Wellbeing volunteer please do contact us by email or call us on 020 7346 8482 to find out more.

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    The UK’s national volunteering database, Do It Life makes it easy for anyone to volunteer in their community. 

Do-it.org lists over 1 million volunteering opportunities that are posted by volunteer centres, national/local charities and voluntary groups. Enabling 250,000 people every month to donate their time and build their skills, Do-it ensures that over 50,000 organisations find the help they need to provide vital services to the community.

If you are interested and would like to find out more head to our site here or why not join us on Facebook