Volunteering: Where to Start

If you’ve ever thought about volunteering, now is a great time to start. Any amount of time you’re willing to give could be incredibly valuable for charity or organisation near you.

Volunteering ideas

To celebrate Volunteers Week 2020, we’ve put together a short list of ideas and resources for you to use if you’re thinking about volunteering now, or any time in the future.

✏️ Check out do-it.org, a database of voluntary opportunities. They’ve got a wide selection of coronavirus related opportunities, as well as help at a local community level.

✏️  Now, more than ever, the NHS needs all the support they can get, so check out opportunities with the NHS Volunteer Army.

✏️  With the tensions of lockdown, many helplines are receiving high volumes of calls. If you’re up for a bit more of a commitment, volunteering for helpline such as Childline or the Samaritans could be a great choice.

✏️ For varied, rewarding and CV enhancing opportunities, check out the Citizen’s Advice Bureau – they have a range of volunteer roles to suit many interests!  

✏️ If working with young people could be your thing, check out the Prince’s Trust volunteers page – these roles range from general organisation to directly supporting young people.

…a little bit of inspiration

Did you know that the inspiration behind Y.O.U Underwear came from volunteering? When Sarah took part in the Uganda Marathon in 2016, she spent time in local communities and came face-to-face with the problems associated with not having access to underwear. This is what gave her the motivation to start her own underwear business on a buy-one-give-two model. So you never know, your next volunteering role might lead to something completely unexpected!

At the beginning of March (the weekend before lockdown started in the UK – talk about lucky timing!), we ventured all the way to Edinburgh to spend a weekend at Smalls for All’s warehouse. We helped to open literally thousands of packages, full of lovingly donated underwear. It was a privilege to spend time alongside regular volunteers at Smalls, If you’re in the Edinburgh area, have a look at Smalls for All’s volunteering page for some of their ‘pantastic’ opportunities. We’d highly recommend it!