Community volunteer roles in abbey wood, greater london

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is and always will be at the heart of Cats Protection. It is joyful and inclusive. As a charity, working in partnership, together we transform the lives of cats, people and communities.

The difference you will make to cats and people

From elderly moggies to energic kittens, every day across the UK cats and kittens are in need of a temporary place to stay, and lots of love and TLC! We need more fosterers like you to provide a safe, temporary haven for cats and kittens and provide them with everything they need before they get their chance to land on their four paws and make a house a home.

You can expect us to 

• Make you feel welcome, included and respected in line with our values and behaviours
• Support you in having a positive and impactful experience at Cats Protection
• Ensure you have all you need in place to foster the cat(s) in your care, for example equipment and food
• Cover all your foster cats’ expenses and agreed out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Expenses Policy
• Provide you with access to learning, development and engagement opportunities

What we need from you 

• A stable, safe and compassionate environment in your home or in a purpose-built pen in your garden provided by us
• Enrich the cats’ experience in care including play, exercise and appropriate handling/interaction
• A willingness to complete some training in order to provide high standards of cat welfare
• Introduce cats to prospective adopters so they can find their forever home
• You can find out more about being a Fosterer on our website

Time expectation

Our volunteer fosterers usually spend around one and a half hours per day (around 10 to 13 hours per week) in this role, but this might vary depending on the number of cats or kittens in care.

This flexible home volunteering role is worthwhile and rewarding. Make a real difference writing letters. As a Volunteer Penpal Writer you’ll be a key member of the Letterbox Team. Your letters will cheer someone up and establish a trusting, supportive relationship with a client who might be lonely or socially isolated.

What tasks can this role include (some or all of the following):

• Writing letters to clients
• Building trust and companionship with a client through correspondence. Omega befriends a variety of people including: caregivers, the lonely, isolated or people with ill-health.
• Liaising with the Letterbox Team by email or post.
• Respecting service standards, appropriate boundaries and recognising the policies and procedures that are necessary when befriending adults at risk.
• Making suggestions to help us improve the service we provide to clients and Volunteer Pen pal Writers.

This role could be for you, if you:

• Enjoy writing and receiving letters
• Are enthusiastic and self-motivated
• Associate strongly with Omega’s values and strategy
• Have knowledge or understanding about a variety of client issues including caring, feeling isolated and lonely and its impact on people and society
• Have satisfactory written and inter-personal communication skills
• Recognise the importance of confidentiality and can show this in practice
• Are committed to inclusion, treating people with dignity and respect

What support and training will be provided?

• Feedback from clients and colleagues
• Regular and ongoing support from Letterbox Team Leader
• Answering questions
• Stationary and pre-paid envelopes can be provided making the service free.
• Opportunity for peer support events and invitation to Omega events
• Reward system and opportunity for volunteer of the month rewards

What are the benefits for you?

• Knowing you are making a difference to someone’s life by doing something you enjoy
• Joining the Omega Team, who are taking action against loneliness and isolation as well as helping people in crisis
• An opportunity to enhance your CV or learn new skills
• An opportunity to engage with your community

Location of the role:

• Mainly your home

When are you needed?

• At a time to suit you

Across the UK, our 270 local groups play a vital part in supporting people affected by MS. They provide sense of belonging, unity and friendship. And they deliver services and support for their local MS community.

We are looking to recruit a Support Volunteer for the Wandworth Group. As our local group Support Volunteer you’ll help people affected by MS find information about local and national services. That could be helping someone access local information about the care or benefits they need or giving them a hand with a grant application. See a video about one of our Support Volunteers here.

In this role you’ll be able to develop your listening and communication skills, as well as your knowledge of local services. Most importantly you’ll help people affected by MS to access the help they need.

Time commitment

We estimate this role will need around 2 hours a week. Our roles are flexible and aim to fit around you. Time commitments for this role may vary depending on your activities. This is an ongoing role.

This is a great opportunity to gain experience within a large charity and develop your existing skills and learn new ones. We need you to get involved and help make positive changes to the lives of people affected by MS.

About you

You’ll have an interest in the MS Society and the work that we do, as well as the enthusiasm to represent both us and our values locally. You will understand the needs of people affected by MS in your area and be sympathetic to the needs and motivations of volunteers. You’ll be confident using Microsoft Office, the internet and email. You’ll be able to apply disability, equality and inclusion practices and understand and apply our risk management system. Ideally you’ll understand the local area and organisations that provide local services.

You will be reliable and easy to contact and you need to live in or near the local area the group to carry out this role.

Apply 

1. Read through the role description carefully

2. Please apply online

The MS Society is committed to promoting diversity. We can only offer roles to over 18s.

OVERVIEW – ANOTHER WAY

Another Way is a charity founded by Amy Bray in 2019, when she was 16. Another Way is an educational environment charity. We educate and influence those around us, inspiring all to live with kindness towards our planet. We are youth-led with a multi-generational appeal.

We are scaling fast, particularly as our Power of 10 app grows, extending our community of young changemakers. The Another Way charity team now requires support for the Board of Trustees.

ROLE HEADLINES

The clerk will play an administrative and procedural role, supporting the smooth and compliant operation of the charity’s governance and trustee meetings, a key member of the team.

Below are the details of the role and we invite applications that demonstrate experience in the areas outlined including both charity clerk and ideally familiarity with company secretarial duties. We envisage this voluntary role to require approximately two days per month/ 2-3 hours per week.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Administrative and Organisational Support:

• Managing the trustee board's administrative tasks.
• Ensuring efficient meeting organisation and record-keeping.

Governance and Compliance:

• In conjunction with our legal partner
• providing guidance on governance, constitutional, and procedural matters.
• Ensuring the board operates in compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.
• Advising on the potential consequences of non-compliance.

Meeting Management:

• Convening and supporting meetings of the trustees.
• Taking minutes of trustee meetings.
• Dealing with trustee correspondence between meetings.

Other Responsibilities:

• Working closely with the Chair of Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer.
• Ensuring the trustee body fulfils its responsibilities.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

• Strong personal commitment to the values and objectives of Another Way
• Demonstrable success managing charity governance and compliance
• Knowledge, or willingness to learn, of environmental issues and solutions
• Excellent communication abilities and organisational skills
• Knowledge of online systems such as Microsoft applications including OneDrive and Sharepoint. Also, other collaboration tools such as Slack or similar.

Please apply with a CV and a covering email summarising your experience and interest in the role.

Grace to Grow Mentorship & Training Limited

Grace to Grow Mentorship & Training Limited is developing leadership, entrepreneurial training, mentorship, counseling, and mindfulness programs to help adult women who need a second chance solve the problem of discovering and walking in their God-given purpose with a holistic and purpose-driven approach.

Grace to Grow Mentorship & Training Limited addresses critical social challenges that hinder women's empowerment, personal growth, and economic independence.

Graphic Designer (Illustrator)

Volunteer Role Description (remote, unpaid)

1. Ability to work on projects, events etc. From concept to production of art work; layouts; image identification, and positioning
2. Research and source images that communicate diversity and inclusion for a globally friendly empowerment tool
3. Collaborate with other experts to produce a client/ learner friendly document on selected concepts/ topics
4. Create lead images that represent organizational/ entity brand and standards
5. Design content layout for maximum positive interaction
6. Aware of copyright and intellectual property rights
7. Edit , design and translate drafts for final publications
8. Awareness of document over / understyling; font size and style application and aesthetics
9. Be to work with a diverse team ( plan and concetualize and produce high standard end products)

Additional Tasks

1. Be able to review curriculum content and make suggestions and recommendations on layout.
2. Have basic knowledge of resource material layout.
3. Be adaptable and flexible
4. Be available to attend and contribute to planning meetings
5. Have the ability to create mock sessions for meeting presentation

Weekly Time Commitment

7-9 hours per week

Duration of Volunteer Role (remote)

6+ months

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Caseworker?

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

What would you be doing?

• Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
• Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
• Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
• Applying for funding on the behalf of the beneficiary through a specific process and system  
• Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
• Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
• Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
• Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.  

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role – confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
• Good communication skills both written and verbally.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
• Willingness and ability to use IT systems for initial and on-going training and to enter cases on the Casework Management System. Willingness and ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address which you will be required to use when exercising your role.
• Ability to make enquires on behalf of beneficiaries by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms.
• Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to friendship or giving advice
• Reliable, prompt and trustworthy.
• Access to public transport or a car to travel to appointments with clients.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? Yes, this is provided by SSAFA at no cost to the potential volunteer. This role requires an enhanced check (including checks against the children and adults barred list)

*A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands, or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered.

Saferworld is an independent international organisation working to prevent violent conflict and build safer lives. We work with people affected by conflict to improve their safety and sense of security, and conduct wider research and analysis. We use this evidence and learning to improve local, national and international policies and practices that can help build lasting peace. Our priority is people – we believe in a world where everyone can lead peaceful, fulfilling lives, free from fear and insecurity. We are a not-for-profit organisation operational in 12 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Saferworld is currently looking for a new Chair of the Board of Trustees. This role will be responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of Saferworld, ensuring the organisation’s aims, objectives, and goals align with its governing document, as well as legal and regulatory guidelines. The ideal candidate should have a broad understanding of the charity sector as well as an understanding of how charities operate in a local context – often operating effectively in extremely challenging environments. An understanding of the UK charity context would be helpful but is not crucial. 

The Board is currently reviewing different governance models, including the possibility of a Chair/Vice Chair structure. While this model is still under consideration, it would involve clearly defined roles and responsibilities, helping to balance the workload and bring diverse perspectives to the Board’s leadership. The incoming Chair should be adaptable and open to these ongoing discussions, and play a key role in shaping and refining the governance structure to ensure it aligns effectively with Saferworld’s needs.

We are interested in hearing from individuals who share our values, possess the capacity for independent and creative thinking, and bring strong leadership, relevant competence and experience to our governing body. Whether you are an experienced Chair or wanting to take your first step at senior Board level, we still want to hear from you. 

Please download the recruitment pack for more information on how to apply to be the Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Closing date: 1 June 2025

Join City Harvest and play an integral part in London's safe, sustainable solution to surplus food redistribution. City Harvest rescues food, people, and the planet.

Location: West London

Time commitment: 6 board meetings & 6 committee meetings / year

Closing date: 9 a.m. Thursday 5th June

We ensure no good food is wasted and that surplus reaches those who need it most, diverted from landfill, we also help companies achieve Sustainable Development Goals. We provide free food to organisations supporting the homeless, food banks, children and family groups providing food parcels, community and faith groups feeding those in need, women’s refuges, the elderly and mental health groups.

Who we are

City Harvest is London’s original surplus food redistribution charity, delivering free nutritious food to 350+ organisations. Due to the rising cost of living,  1 in 4 people face food poverty in London, with the use of foodbanks a ‘new normal’ for far too many.

City Harvest is a sustainable solution to food businesses and society, tackling food waste and food poverty. Rescuing Food, People and Planet. Every day, our fleet of vans rescues surplus food from retailers, manufacturers, markets and events, resulting in the reduction of food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. We currently deliver food for 15 million meals a year, that’s food for 41,000+ meals a day!

Ten years old, our roots are deep and far-reaching across London. First responders to Grenfell, emergency workers in the pandemic, City Harvest continues its mission to rescue to feed people in need across all London Boroughs.

We are the charity for charities supporting the homeless, food banks, children and family groups providing food parcels, community and faith groups feeding those in need, women’s refuges, the elderly and mental health groups. If people need food, we will do everything we can to help.

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and qualified CFO or Finance Director to join City Harvest as our new Finance, Audit & Risk Trustee. This is a critical board role at the heart of our organisation, ensuring that City Harvest has a sustainable financial outlook, solid operational governance and sound controls around risk. As a key member of the Board, you will work closely with the Chair, CEO and Head of Finance. Acting as a mentor to the Head of Finance, you will help ensure that Finance develops as a business partner to the various City Harvest teams and that KPIs are focused on the achievement of their strategic objectives.

You will bring strong financial and management accounting insight, ensuring sound financial planning and performance, operational excellence, and compliance with governance frameworks and regulations. You will also ensure an annual risk review is undertaken and will act as the Trustees’ liaison point with the Charity’s auditors and advise on any areas requiring improvement in the audit process.

This is an opportunity to apply your senior financial leadership experience to an organisation tackling some of today’s most pressing challenges.

Who we are looking for

An experienced and qualified CFO or Finance Director with a strong history in oversight of:

• Financial accounting
• Management accounting
• Systems & controls
• Audit
• Risk management

There are no sector specific requirements – though experience in an operational business (particularly logistics/supply chain) and/or experience in the charity or third sector would be desirable.

Personal skills and qualities

• Enthusiasm for the City Harvest mission “to reduce food poverty and protect the planet by diverting nutritious food from waste to those in need.”
• Willingness and ability to understand and accept their responsibilities and liabilities as trustees and to act in the best interests of the organisation.
• Ability to think creatively and strategically, exercise good, independent judgement and work effectively as a board member.
• An understanding and respect for the boundaries of the Non-Executive and Executive roles.
• Effective communication skills and willingness to participate actively in discussions.
• A strong personal commitment to people
• Commitment to Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership

Meetings

• The Board holds in-person meetings – normally six per year, held in person in Central London (17:00 – 19:30)
• Chairing the Finance & Risk Committee (normally six per year)
• Liaising with the Head of Finance, Chair and CEO as appropriate to fulfil responsibilities.
• We are committed to covering travel expenses for our trustees

Whilst this is a voluntary role, it offers the opportunity to make a real difference in food waste, food poverty, greenhouse gases and the company’s ESG outcomes.

If you share in our vision and have the financial and mentoring skills to help make it happen, we would love to hear from you.

Please click 'Apply’ to be redirected to the Peridot Partners website, where you can find full details of the candidate profile and register your interest to apply.

Applications for this role close at 9 a.m. Thursday 5th June.

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Caseworker?

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

What would you be doing?

• Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
• Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
• Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
• Applying for funding on the behalf of the beneficiary through a specific process and system  
• Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
• Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
• Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
• Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.  

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role – confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
• Good communication skills both written and verbally.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
• Willingness and ability to use IT systems for initial and on-going training and to enter cases on the Casework Management System. Willingness and ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address which you will be required to use when exercising your role.
• Ability to make enquires on behalf of beneficiaries by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms.
• Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to friendship or giving advice
• Reliable, prompt and trustworthy.
• Access to public transport or a car to travel to appointments with clients.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? Yes, this is provided by SSAFA at no cost to the potential volunteer. This role requires an enhanced check (including checks against the children and adults barred list)

*A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands, or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered.

Branch Trustees

RSPCA Stort Valley Branch – multiple opportunities

Help us make the world a better place for animals

RSPCA Branches rescue, rehabilitate and rehome those animals most at risk through clinics, animal centres, boarding and fostering facilities; offer advice and education on animal welfare; and support with microchipping, neutering and subsidised animal treatments for animals owned by people in financial difficulty.

Each RSPCA branch (of which there are approx. 150) is a separately registered charity, operating at a local level across England and Wales. Branches did 78% of the rehoming activity across the RSPCA network in 2020 and took more than 31,000 animals into their care. There are also over 300 RSPCA charity shops, all of which are run by RSPCA branches. The RSPCA has been at the forefront of animal welfare since 1824 when we were founded in a London coffee shop, and we’re proud to be the oldest animal welfare charity around.

What does RSPCA Stort Valley Branch do?

We cover an area either side of the M11 from Saffron Walden in the north to Harlow in the south and fundraise and offer welfare services within this area.

The animal welfare services that we offer are centred around our busy clinic in Harlow and include:

•  Subsidised routine veterinary treatment and microchipping for owned animals - in 2024, we made over 2,200 consultations at our Harlow clinic and administered more than 500 vaccinations and 250 microchips.
•  Advice and education
• Community outreach

We operate a charity shop in Bishops Stortford town centre, selling clothes, books, games and other items to help with our fundraising.

In addition to our Harlow clinic, we work closely with RSPCA animal centres and inspectors to support their work and to look after and re-home animals rescued in our branch area. We also support neighbouring branches by seeing some owned animals from their nearby towns at our clinic. We are working to improve our fostering network to help with rehoming, and are keen to step up our fundraising work to enable us to provide additional welfare support to the community.

What do RSPCA branch trustees do?

RSPCA branch trustees are volunteers who shape the work that the branch does, and are collectively responsible for governing and managing the affairs of the branch. “Trustees have overall control of a charity and are responsible for making sure it’s doing what it was set up to do.” “Trustees are the people who lead the charity and decide how it is run.” “They may be known by other titles, such as: directors, board members, governors, committee members” - Charity Commission. At Stort Valley, we have a lovely team of staff and volunteers with experienced, capable people managing our shop and clinic day-to-day. Trustees will set the strategy, make the big decisions and lead on new initiatives.

To find out more about being a Trustee, visit the Goverment Trustee - What's involved which explains what trustees do. There is some information on the RSPCA website about Branch Trustees, and we have an online session about becoming a Branch Trustee, which should hopefully give you more of an idea of what the RSPCA Branch Trustee role will involve.

Stort Valley Branch is presently in the process of converting to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (‘CIO’), the modern legal form for many charities - loosely equivalent to a Limited Company. We expect to complete the change in the second half of this year (2025).

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for applications from people from all social and cultural backgrounds, who are passionate about improving animal welfare. It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced trustee or not, as trustee training and induction will be provided. If you can bring relevant skills and experience from other aspects of your life, that’s great, and we’re pretty sure you’ll learn some new ones here!

Right now, we would like to recruit several additional Trustees. We’ll define and re-balance the roles of all the Trustees once our new Trustees have settled in, so we’re not necessarily looking for you to select a specific role at this stage. The opportunities could include taking the lead on fundraising, overseeing our clinic or shop, increasing our local outreach and education activities, enhancing our online presence and recognition, and more. Ideally, for some of the roles, you’ll be relatively local to the branch area; others can be done remotely.

We hold monthly Trustees’ meetings, which last 1.5~2 hours. We ask for Trustees to join as many of these meetings as possible. You’ll also need to allow time to prepare for meetings - creating or reading through any relevant documents in advance – and of course, for the specific activities you take on. We normally meet in the evening, online (Google Meet), at times chosen to suit Trustees’ availability.

Trustees are elected or re-elected for a 12-month term at the branch’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). Between AGMs, branches have the ability to co-opt an additional three trustees who serve until the next AGM and can then be elected.

What’s in it for you?

There are lots of benefits to becoming an RSPCA Branch Trustee, including:

•  induction and trustee training
•  the chance to meet like-minded people who share your enthusiasm for animal welfare
•  the opportunity to gain new skills and develop existing ones
• the ability to use your skills to improve the wellbeing of animals in your local area, and make a real difference to the lives of animals
•  the capacity to shape innovative projects, and be part of the RSPCA’s ten-year strategy - “Together for animal welfare”
•  access to our learning hub, which contains training materials and courses on a variety of subjects
•  the chance to shape the services in your local area
•  volunteering is good for your wellbeing.

Join us in making a real difference to the lives of animals in need.

Our voluntary roles are subject to an informal interview and trial period. We will ask you to provide contact details for two referees, and dependent on the position, you may need to sign an agreement and undergo specific training before starting the role.

The purpose of the Institute of Osteopathy Appointments Committee is to ensure high standards of competence and performance on the main governing body, the Council of the Institute of Osteopathy (iO), with a focus on recruitment.

We are seeking two new non-executives to join our committee to aid this important work.

You should have broad experience and a practical attitude with a proven track record, and ideally have experience in the following areas:

· Human Resources

· Executive development and performance management

· Knowledge of employment law

· Board/committee experience

Osteopathic or medical experience is not a prerequisite for this role, but interest in health and patient care is welcome.  

The Committee meets quarterly online/in person to advise on such matters as promotional strategy, review candidate profiles against council member role specification, appraise the performance of the non-executive members of council and ensure that governance-related processes around appointments and term renewals are fit for purpose and working effectively.

Please see the attached role specification for full details of the responsibilities.

If you are interested in this opportunity to shape the development of UK Osteopathy, please submit your CV along with a covering letter detailing how you meet the role specification by close of business on Monday 26 May. Interviews will take place in mid-June.

About the iO

The iO, as the lead body in the profession, has a clear and mandated mission to improve patient care by supporting and developing the education and practice of osteopathy, and universal access to osteopathic care. 

Our mission is to support, unite, develop and promote the profession for the improvement of public health and patient care. We are committed to realising our vision to see osteopathy become a growing and thriving profession, recognised and accessible to all.

Would you like to support people who have served in the Armed Forces? You just need the ability to listen, strong IT skills and good written and spoken English. If you think this could be the role for you, we’d love to hear from you.

What is a Caseworker?

Caseworkers visit clients to work out what type of support they need. You will listen without judgement to assess and provide tailored support to help those serving, who have served and their families to navigate life in and beyond military service. Some examples of support are securing funding for special equipment for someone with a disability, adaptions to a property so an older client can remain at home or funds for a rental deposit. Caseworkers also sign-post clients onto specialist local services for advice on benefits, housing, mental health, debt, finding work etc.

Why do we need you?

We’ve been supporting the Armed Forces community since 1885. Our clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like the Falklands or Afghanistan. We’d love the general public to understand what we do and how they can help us.

There are SSAFA branches throughout the UK and overseas who support local volunteers to deliver services to veterans, serving personnel and their families. Some branches are divided into smaller divisions to ensure the best local service delivery. Each branch has a team of volunteer caseworkers, support volunteers, executive roles, and fundraisers.

Volunteer Caseworkers are the lifeblood of SSAFA, supporting a growing number of people in need of financial, practical, and emotional support. Clients come from all backgrounds and age groups and may have served in WW2 or in a more recent conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.

When would you be needed and where would you be based?

The essential part of the role is visiting clients, so you will need access to a vehicle or another way to travel to meet clients at home or in a care home setting. As part of your local branch, you might have access to an office, but you can complete the administration part of the role from home as long as you have access to IT equipment and the internet.

What would you be doing?

• Contacting beneficiaries and arranging to meet them at a mutually convenient time.
• Meeting beneficiaries and completing a form to assess their circumstances, using good communication skills, empathy and understanding.
• Sign-posting clients onto local services providing specialist advice.
• Applying for funding on the behalf of the beneficiary through a specific process and system  
• Arranging for the purchase of goods and services
• Keeping the beneficiary informed of their case progress.
• Liaise with the branch and regional office, regarding your availability.
• Keeping up to date with training and SSAFA news so that you are best able to support clients.
• Being a positive ambassador for SSAFA remembering that anyone you meet could be a potential client, volunteer, or fundraiser.
• Volunteering within the standards and values of SSAFA
• Adhering to SSAFAs policies and procedures at all times, including safeguarding, volunteering policy, equality, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, data protection and confidentiality.  

What can you gain from this volunteering role?

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and the wider SSAFA community
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

What training and support would you receive?

• Role specific training to prepare you for your voluntary role – confidentiality and boundaries, personal safety, caseworker training, and caseworker IT system training. The caseworker training takes 3 days and a further half a day for the other training.
• Mandatory on-line training modules to complete at home, so you are up to date on how to keep clients, their families safe and personal information safe.
• Access to a range additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development.
• Local induction including assigning a person from the team who will be your main point of contact.
• Regular opportunities to meet and share best practice with other caseworkers.
• Range of support from central and regional volunteer operations team.
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses
• Volunteers will be covered by SSAFAs Public Liability Insurance whilst carrying out the role.

What are we looking for?

• Friendly and approachable with good listening skills, patience, and a positive attitude.
• Good communication skills both written and verbally.
• Respectful and non-judgemental approach with beneficiaries, their family, other agencies and SSAFA colleagues
• Willingness and ability to use IT systems for initial and on-going training and to enter cases on the Casework Management System. Willingness and ability to send and receive emails – you will receive your own SSAFA email address which you will be required to use when exercising your role.
• Ability to make enquires on behalf of beneficiaries by phone, email, letter or by filling in forms.
• Ability to keep within boundaries of the role with regards to friendship or giving advice
• Reliable, prompt and trustworthy.
• Access to public transport or a car to travel to appointments with clients.

We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds, abilities, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and of all faiths and none. SSAFA are committed to making reasonable adjustments to support volunteers with disabilities, so they have access to the same opportunities and experiences as volunteers who do not.

Minimum Age: 18

Safer Recruitment: SSAFA undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. Measures taken at points along this journey work together to make volunteering at SSAFA a positive and safe experience.

References Required: Yes. We will ask for two character references, this can be a former employer or someone that know you well (other than a relative)

Is a criminal record check required? Yes, this is provided by SSAFA at no cost to the potential volunteer. This role requires an enhanced check (including checks against the children and adults barred list)

*A disclosure certificate that contains convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands, or other information may not automatically mean that you are not able to volunteer. All certificates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, where possible, a modified or alternative role will be offered.

Please note: volunteers must be local to Enfield. We cannot assist people to travel to the UK.

Purpose of the Role

The volunteer will assist with gardening support in one of our Enfield services, which supports people with learning disabilities. One of our residents is a keen gardener who would love to spend a few hours with a volunteer planting and cultivating the communal garden. You will be providing a befriending service to the person, promoting fitness and contributing to a welcoming and sustainable area for all in the service to enjoy.    

 Responsibilities

• To assist the person you will be supporting with Gardening activities as he wishes for the duration of your time together incl. watering plants, planting plants/seeds, weeding, cutting and trimming of bushes
• Liaise effectively with the Support Team and Team Leader of the service for any needs that the person you will be supporting may have in regards to their Gardening Goals

Skills, Attitudes and Experience

• You are reliable and punctual 
• You are able to communicate with people with learning disabilities in an understanding way
• You actively enjoy gardening 
• You will be able to use your initiative to develop a gardening plan or list of “Gardening Goals” for the person you will be supporting 
• You are friendly and have strong interpersonal skills
• You are passionate about making a difference in the lives of people with learning disabilities
• You are empathetic and open-minded 
• You are organised and can work independently 

Benefits 

• Receive support from the Volunteer Team and an assigned supervisor 
• Become part of a community of staff and volunteers who are passionate about making a difference
• Receive references for future opportunities  
• Receive reimbursement for reasonable out of pocket expenses 
• Meet new people 
• Be invited to volunteer events 
• Additional training to help you grow in your role 
• Opportunity to win a Volunteers Award

Location

• Enfield, EN1

Time Commitment

• As soon as possible.
• As long as possible, but ideally only in the spring and summer months.
• Twice a week, days to be determined and could vary. Not Fridays, unless after 3pm.

Training Provided

Before commencing your role, you will be required to complete the following training: 

• Volunteer Induction Training Session (approximately 2 hours) 
• Online CareSkills Training: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Safeguarding of Adults; Health and Safety; Fire Safety;  Manual Handling (as you will be bending and doing physical activities in the garden).
• Service Inductions, including reading the Support Plan and Risk Assessment of the person you will be supporting
• Further training is available on request as required

Application Process 

• Send an email for a link to apply online. Support is available if you need assistance to complete the application form.  
• If you are selected for a volunteer role, you will be required to undergo a DBS check, submit two references, and complete the abovementioned mandatory training before you can start your role. 

If there is any way that we can make the application process or the volunteer role more accessible for you, please do not hesitate to let us know. We will be happy to make any accommodations we can for you. 

This role is advertised as part of TPP's Free Giving Back Services. This volunteer advertisement copy has been supplied to TPP and applicants apply direct to the organisation. Please contact the organisation directly if you have any questions about this volunteer role.

About TLC 

The Trans Legal Clinic is the first trans-led specialist gender identity legal practice and registered charity in the UK. The mission of the Trans Legal Clinic is simple; we provide free and accessible legal help to transgender and non-binary people in need. Our overarching vision is a society where all people have access to the legal resources required for gender self-determination and where gender diversity is not just accepted but embraced, with trans* people equipped with the necessary legal tools to navigate the world in their affirmed gender. 

Service Introduction 

The Social Media department is integral to our organisation. The social media team works together to create informative and entertaining content to build a community around the Trans Legal Clinic. We have assisted over 70 clients since October 2023.

Our Social Media department is made up of committed Social Media Content Officers, working under the Social Media Manager. 

Key tasks and responsibilities 

Design and Content Creation 

Be adept and comfortable using Canva, with an eye for design. 

Create engaging and eye-catching posts and content for Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn. 

Write engaging captions and copy for social media content to drive engagement across social media channels.  

Confident using video editing software and a willingness to learn new editing software as and when required. 

Write and edit scripts for video posts. 

Teamwork 

Engage with assigned tasks and support other volunteers in the social media team.

Keep your fellow volunteers and manager updated on your content creation and any issues you encounter throughout the process.   

Set out to reach team performance targets.

Attend team meetings and contribute to discussions.

Be respectful to colleagues and support good communication between all stakeholders. 

Work with caseworkers to create content for specific raised issues. 

Research and Outreach 

Create resources for the organisation and those seeking information on our website in a digestible way. 

Reach out to other organisations, especially those that work with trans* people, to collaborate and share knowledge and resources.   

Conduct research into relevant topics and how they affect trans* and gender diverse people. 

Review 

Review and evaluate own performance to identify strengths and areas for development. 

Undertake development and training opportunities. 

General 

Adhere to Trans Legal Clinic’s Policies and Procedures at all times. 

Cover for other members of the team and department as necessary. 

Be proactive in reviewing and evaluating own performance and identifying upon areas for improvement and development. 

Undertake any other duties compatible with the level and nature of the role and/or reasonable duties required by more senior members of staff. 

Attend and participate in external meetings and briefings as required.