Community outreach volunteer volunteer roles in kendal, cumbria

The Vision Friends project has been running successfully for the past five years, providing free, Welsh Government-funded training to health and social care professionals across Wales. The training is designed to help professionals better understand and support people living with sight loss.

This year, we are launching a new strand of the project: Vision Friends: First Responders. The aim is to adapt our existing training to specifically support first responder services to enhance their ability to support individuals with sight loss in emergency and urgent care situations.

We are seeking a committed and empathetic volunteer to help us shape a more inclusive future by gathering valuable feedback from blind and partially sighted individuals, as well as first responders via online forums. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact on how services are developed and delivered across communities in Wales and beyond.

What you will be doing:

Facilitate engaging and accessible online forums with blind and partially sighted people to gather feedback for an RNIB led project;

Run structured feedback sessions with first responders to understand the service experiences and identify areas for improvement;

Ensure participants feel comfortable, heard and respected throughout all discussions;

Capture key insights and report findings clearly and accurately to the health and social care training team;

Support RNIB in creating a positive and inclusive environment for all forum participants.

What you will gain:

Valuable experience in community engagement and facilitation;

The opportunity to influence real change;

Full access to training and ongoing support from the health and social care training team;

A supportive, inclusive volunteering environment.

Please note, this volunteering opportunity takes place on Fridays only and is expected to last until Autumn 2025.

Experience of Welsh language skills and/or Microsoft Teams or Zoom would be helpful but not essential. Previous experience of facilitation isn't essential as long as you have excellent communication skills including active listening skills and are confident in facilitating groups discussions and handling sensitive topics with empathy and discretion.

You will also need to have strong organisational skills, be reliable and and are committed to RNIB’s values of inclusivity and respect

Volunteering will take place remotely over Microsoft Teams or Zoom but there is also the option to attend Vision Friends training sessions and meet the team in person in Cardiff.

Al Naasih is a 1‑to‑1 mentoring programme established by Hidayah in March 2020. It seeks to support queer Muslims struggling to reconcile their faith and identity. Mentors are trained in relevant skills (emotional intelligence, active listening, managing relationships, etc.) and paired with mentees to help them achieve personal goals. Within this role you will:

· Provide empathetic, non-judgemental support for mentees working through challenges related to faith, identity and wellbeing

· Help mentees set and achieve personal goals

· Act as a positive role model and safe space

· Assist mentees in exploring reconciling their faith with their LGBTQ+ identity, supporting spiritual, emotional, and practical wellbeing

Please this role is UK based and online/virtual.

What are the key responsibilities of this role?

This role will have the following duties, but are not limited to:

· Build a trusting and respectful relationship with mentee

· Be in regular contact: at least once per month, according to what works best)

· Help mentees identify goals, hurdles, and strategies to work towards those goals

· Listen actively and empathetically; offer guidance rather than prescribing solutions

· Maintain confidentiality, boundaries, and ethical conduct

· Attend required training sessions (1‑on‑1) to develop mentoring skills (emotional intelligence, active listening, relationship management, etc.)

· Reflect on own practice; be open to feedback and possibly supervision / check‑ins

What do we expect from an Al Naasih Mentor?

Please note that you must agree with and fit the criteria below to be eligible to volunteer in this role:

Essential:

· Must be a queer Muslim

· Strong empathy, patience, and trustworthiness

· Comfortable discussing issues around faith and sexuality / identity

· Good communication skills; active listening; emotional intelligence

· Ability to set and maintain healthy boundaries

· Reliability and consistency (making time for regular sessions)

· Ability to maintain confidentiality regarding mentee’s personal information

·Ability to recognise limits of the mentoring role (e.g. not a therapist / counsellor) and refer on where needed

· Able to respect the mentee’s autonomy and pace

Desirable:

· Prior experience of mentoring, coaching, or peer‑support work

· Some understanding of LGBTQ+ issues within Muslim communities

This role will report to the Al Naasih Programme Coordinator or designated lead.

 

How much commitment is required?

This is a voluntary role with flexible hours subject to the agreement between you and your mentee. However, the following are vital to the success of this role:

· Minimum once per month meetings (virtual) with mentee

· Time needed to prepare, reflect, and possibly attend training or support / supervision meetings

· Duration per mentee: to be mutually agreed, depending on goals and needs

· Up to three mentees once comfortable with the role

�� Volunteer with Unify Giving CIC 

We’re building a movement of people who believe giving should be simple, human and direct. Our volunteers are at the heart of that.

We don’t care about age, background, or whether you’ve got a perfect CV.
We care about people who want to be part of a team, learn, and create real impact together.

All roles are 5–10 hours a month, minimum 3 months. You’ll be supported by the Volunteer Manager and the wider Unify Giving team.

Charity Liaison Officer

Be our local connector.

You’ll build bridges between Unify Giving and grassroots charities. This means meeting people, listening to what’s needed, and helping bring them into our network.

What you’ll do:

• Visit local charities and community groups.

• Call and email to introduce Unify Giving.

• Help new partners come on board.

If you’re friendly, curious and enjoy meeting people, this is for you.

✨ Who we welcome

• No age limit. We believe good ideas and energy can come from anyone.

• Perfect if you’re out of work and want to build skills and confidence.

• A great chance to be part of a supportive team working on something meaningful.

�� If one of these roles feels like you, or like someone you know — we’d love to chat.

Could you be the new Chair of CPRE Buckinghamshire (one of the branches of CPRE – the Countryside Charity)? Do you care about your local community and environment?

We have a long and successful history of campaigning on items that matter to the local area – canvassing, prompting and lobbying local authorities, Councillors and MPs. In doing so, we have been able to ensure that the views of the people who depend on, work on and cherish the Buckinghamshire countryside are reflected in local decision-making.

The Chair role will suit someone living in Buckinghamshire or the Milton Keynes area, who has a keen interest in the countryside and is excited by the prospect of helping to direct the future of CPRE Buckinghamshire over the next 5–7 years. It is an exciting time to join our team, as CPRE nationally is celebrating 100 years in 2026; you can be involved in making plans as to how we will celebrate this with the Buckinghamshire community through various events and activities.

You will help to:

• direct our important campaigns, engaging the local community and raising awareness of the issues that the countryside faces
• lead our Trustee board, and recruit new Trustee members
• increase our membership, so that we can continue to do the work we are doing
• expand our team of volunteers, so that we can widen and increase the work that we do
• liaise with stakeholders and partners, and forge new partnerships
• ensure that we as a charity meet our legal requirements, adhering to our governing document, and have the necessary policies and resources
• nurture and shape the future of CPRE Bucks.

We estimate that the time commitment will be around 1 day a week, although this is variable and dependent on activities. You can of course do more if you wish! Our team works and meets remotely most of the time, but occasional travel may be necessary – to attend CPRE Head Office in London, for example.

This is a volunteer role in which you can really make a difference. We welcome applicants of any age, gender and background.

Monitoring, evaluation and learning coordinators wanted to help East London Waterworks Park deliver its environmental learning goals. 

East London Waterworks Park is a volunteer-led charity that has won a 2024 New London Architecture award and raised £2m towards buying land from the Department for Education to transform the 14-acre Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road on the border of Waltham Forest and Hackney, into a new biodiverse park with natural swimming ponds, forest schools and community spaces. 

We are looking for a volunteer to track the impact of our educational initiatives, gather data, and support continuous improvement in our learning programs. This role ensures that our learning activities are effective and contribute meaningfully to ELWP’s overarching goals.

This role would include:

• Developing measures of success of existing environmental education initiatives
• Collecting and analyzing feedback from programme participants
• Recommending improvements based on data insights

Schools, universities and youth groups we've collaborated with include:

• Waltham Forest College 
• Henry Maynard Primary School, Walthamstow
• Buxton School, Leytonstone
• Kingsmead Primary School, Hackney
• Daubeney Primary School, Hackney
• UCL 
• Royal College of Art
• University of Westminster 
• Project Zero
• Voyage Youth 
• Loyola University Chicago 
• Vanderbilt University Nashville

The Learning Circle currently meets monthly on a Wednesday evening at 8pm for an hour on Google Meet and spends voluntary time outside of the meeting completing agreed tasks remotely.

We're looking for people to lead on these projects and facilitate the direction of the learning working group.

Individuals with experience in research, programme evaluation, data analysis, or education assessment are encouraged to apply. Attention to detail and an interest in measuring impact will be key strengths in this role. Our roles are quite flexible. We hope that people bring radical imagination, peace with nature, and courageous inclusiveness to the role. 

Your support will help young people and learners improve their environmental knowledge of design and research as well as contributing to our community-owned park. This will in turn provide a sense of stewardship over the land once the park is created and student's ideas have been built into the park. Creating learning projects with educational institutions will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. 

You will have a significant impact on the creation of a new biodiverse community-owned park with free access natural swimming ponds. By volunteering in this role, you will help shape the future of East London Waterworks Park as a community-led environmental learning space. This  will also help our charity with the strategy to buy the land through showing the value of our environmental education programme before we create the park. If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to hear from you!

Al Naasih is Hidayah’s 1-to-1 mentoring programme that supports queer Muslims as they navigate the intersections of their faith and identity. Mentors are trained and matched with mentees seeking guidance and support around personal, spiritual, and emotional challenges. The programme has grown steadily since its launch in 2020, and is now seeking a dedicated Programme Coordinator to help manage and grow its impact.

The Programme Coordinator will provide vital administrative, organisational and operational support to the Programme Lead to ensure the smooth running of the Al Naasih mentoring programme. This includes supporting mentor/mentee onboarding, tracking engagement, maintaining documentation and assisting with communication and evaluation processes.

Please this role is UK based and online/virtual.

What are the key responsibilities of this role?

This role will have the following duties, but are not limited to:

Programme Administration

· Support the onboarding of new mentors and mentees (e.g. scheduling interviews, collecting forms)

· Maintain and update mentor/mentee records (e.g. spreadsheets, contact lists, status updates)

· Assist with pairing logistics and follow-ups

· Monitor and record engagement (e.g. check-ins, frequency of meetings)
 

Communication & Coordination

· Act as a point of contact for mentors/mentees with routine queries

· Assist in scheduling training sessions, 1:1s, and check-ins

· Draft and send internal communications (e.g. newsletters, updates, reminders)

 

Monitoring & Evaluation

· Help collect and compile feedback from participants (surveys, check-ins)

· Support the Lead in reviewing and reporting outcomes and progress

· Contribute to improving the programme based on participant feedback

 

Programme Development Support

· Assist in developing materials or resources for training or outreach

· Contribute to social media or comms if applicable

· Attend and support Hidayah events relevant to the programme (where possible)

What do we expect from the Al Naasih Programme Coordinator?

Please note that you must agree with and fit the criteria below to be eligible to volunteer

in this role:

Essential:

· Must be a queer Muslim

· Strong organisational skills and attention to detail

· Good communication skills (written and verbal)

· Comfortable handling confidential information

· Commitment to the values of Hidayah and the Al Naasih programme

· Awareness of the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ Muslims

· Proactive and reliable; able to manage own time and tasks

Desirable:

· Experience using tools like Google Workspace, Zoom, Airtable or Excel

· Experience in volunteer coordination, admin, or project support

· Previous involvement with mentoring, peer support, or similar programmes

How much commitment is required?

This is a voluntary role with flexible hours, and can be carried out around your existing commitments. The role will take approximately 2 - 4 hours per week (flexible depending on needs and availability). You are also required to attend monthly meetings with the Programme Lead and occasionally with wider team. There is also an expectation of willingness to commit to the role for at least 6–12 months is desirable.

This role will be supported with induction and ongoing guidance from the Programme Lead. In addition, there will be opportunities for training in areas such as safeguarding, mentoring, or LGBTQ+ inclusion.

About Us

My Black Dog is a charity that offers anonymous, peer to peer mental health support through our web-chat service. We are committed to making a positive impact on mental health in the UK as we tackle an epidemic that millions of people face.

We were founded on the motto "talk to someone who gets it". We want to connect people who share lived experiences to provide an empathetic, non-judgmental space where everybody understands how it feels to experience mental health struggles.

Position Overview

Our web-chat service is run by our Volunteer Pack, each of whom have their own lived experience of mental health challenges. In addition, each shift has a 'Leader' and a 'Mentor'. These are Volunteers who carry out specific roles during the shift and, together, ensure its success:

• Leaders - Managers of the shift. There to ensure the shift runs as it should. They support and guide Volunteers through chats and follow safeguarding processes when an alert is raised. They escalate safeguarding alerts to the shift's Designated Safeguarding Lead (a trained professional). They also complete a 'Shift Handover' document once the shift is completed.
• Mentors - There to support and guide Volunteers through chats. Will take over from the Leader if there are safeguarding issues that need the Leader's attention and/or if the Leader needs a break.

As My Black Dog looks to expand our opening hours, we are looking to recruit additional Leaders and Mentors who can run shifts and cover additional shifts as necessary. We are looking to fill the following positions and shifts:

• Leader, Mondays (5pm - 7pm)
• Mentor, Mondays (5pm - 7pm)
• Leader, Thursdays (5pm - 7pm)
• Mentor, Thursdays (5pm - 7pm)
• Mentor, Fridays (7pm - 10pm)
• Leader, Saturdays (TBC*)
• Mentor, Saturdays (TBC*)
• Leader, Sundays (5pm - 7pm)

*We are currently finalising future opening hours on Saturday. Please apply for this particular shift if general availabilty on Saturdays is good.

Leaders and Mentors will be assigned a shift based on your availability and preference. The expectation is that Leaders and Mentors will form a ‘pair’ and, together, will do one shift at the same time each week. This is to provide stability, predictability and to encourage community-building between Volunteers. Shifts are 2-3 hours long. We may ask you to cover another shift when we are short, but you will never do more than 6 hours per week.

Training will be provided and you will be supported on shift by a Designated Safeguarding Lead, who will manage all safeguarding issues.

The work you will do as Leaders and Mentors will ensure we provide the best possible service to our Guests. You will also be helping our Volunteer Pack to do what we do best: helping those in need by speaking to someone who 'gets it'.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for people who have experienced their own journey with mental health and are in a strong position to support others. We ask that our Leaders and Mentors:

• Are strongly committed to helping others
• Have experienced mental health issues in order to relate to those seeking help
• Are collaborative and enjoy working with others
• Are encouraging and supportive
• Are organised and can monitor several things at once
• Can remain calm and focused during busy times and when safeguarding alerts are raised
• Are 18 years and over 
• Can commit the time to a regular weekly shift

Role Responsibilities

1. Supervise and support Volunteers whilst on shift with general enquiries, positive feedback and signposting.
2. Assist with general volunteering enquiries whilst on shift. Provide time for guidance, instruction and de-briefing for Volunteers if required.
3. Follow Leaders & Mentors processes including unexpected absence reporting, Volunteer check-in and check-out, and completing Shift Handovers.
4. Monitor web-chat conversations and ensure all chats are tagged.
5. Maintain ability to listen, remain calm and provide intervention if necessary.
6. Be able to have difficult and often complex conversations about mental health, including Guests experiencing crisis and first-stage intervention support.
7. If a Leader, work alongside the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) when safeguarding risks are identified and, if a Mentor, take over responsibility for shifts when Leader and DSL have to address a safeguarding crisis.
8. Exercise discretion in handling confidential situations and information, conveying sensitive information in a timely manner to necessary individuals.
9. Provide written follow up of shifts via handover, ensuring all necessary information is handed over at the end of the shift.
10. Adhere to all standards, policies and procedures of My Black Dog.

Please note: An Enhanced DBS Certificate is required for this role. If you do not have one, My Black Dog will arrange the DBS Check for you.

CPRE Buckinghamshire (part of CPRE – The Countryside Charity) is looking for a Trustee with a background, or strong interest, in the local farming community. This Trustee will take the lead in our campaign to support sustainable farming and agricultural practices, and will help us to partner with relevant groups, with the aim of enhancing and protecting Buckinghamshire’s wildlife and countryside. 

This volunteer role would suit someone living or studying in Buckinghamshire who would like to be involved in campaigning and sharing their expertise with other Trustees, volunteers and members of CPRE.

You will ideally have experience of, or a deep interest in, sustainable farming, and agricultural practices that ensure food production without compromising the environment or future generations' ability to meet their needs. Your expertise will help us to demonstrate how farming today can focus on reducing its impact on ecosystems, can promote biodiversity, and can minimise energy use.

As a Trustee, you will also be part of our small and collaborative Trustee board. You will help to deliver our strategy, vision and mission, and guide the future direction of CPRE Buckinghamshire. Along with the other Trustees, you will ensure that the charity has the necessary policies and resources, complies with legal requirements, and adheres to its governing document. 

This is a volunteer team that typically works remotely, though some occasional face-to-face meetings may occur when needed – we will pay expenses in these instances. We estimate that the commitment would be around 2–3 hours a week, but you can of course do more if you wish!

We welcome applicants of any age, gender and background. Students who are studying (or have studied) relevant courses are also welcome to apply.

�� Join Our Mission as Treasurer – Help Rescue Vulnerable Children in Nepal! ��

Are you an accountant looking to use your financial expertise for a powerful cause? We are seeking a passionate Treasurer to join our dedicated board and help transform the lives of vulnerable children in Nepal.

Who We're Looking For: 
✅ Finance professionals - whether formally qualified (AAT, CIMA, ACCA, ACA), part-qualified, or experienced through practice 
✅ Strong analytical skills and ability to translate financial insights into clear, strategic action 
✅ Passion for making a real-world impact through good governance and financial stewardship

✨ Be part of a dynamic, supportive team committed to child protection.
✨ Shape financial strategy for an inspiring international charity
✨ Gain valuable trustee experience with flexible commitments (6 meetings/year + remote tasks).
✨ Potential to visit our life-changing projects in Nepal!