Family support volunteer volunteer volunteer roles in Crook, county durham

The Bra Recyclers

We partner with retailers to recycle lingerie, reduce textile waste, and donate underwear to communities.​

The Undie Chest is looking for a thoughtful, detail-oriented volunteer to help us research grant opportunities and support the early stages of grant writing for our growing nonprofit.

The Undie Chest provides new underwear to individuals and families experiencing poverty, homelessness, crisis, or economic hardship. Through programs like Everyone Deserves Underwear, which supports students and schools, and Undie Power, which supports adults and community partners, we help make sure people have access to one of the most basic essentials: clean, new underwear.

Our work also supports a more sustainable and responsible retail ecosystem. We partner with retailers, brands, and community donors to redirect new overstock, returns, samples, and excess inventory away from waste and into the hands of people who need them. Instead of discarding essential items, we help turn them into dignity, comfort, and care for schools, shelters, nonprofits, and community organizations.

This volunteer role is perfect for someone who enjoys research, writing, storytelling, sustainability, and community impact. You’ll help us identify grant opportunities that align with our mission, gather information about funders, organize deadlines and requirements, and potentially assist with drafting or editing grant content.

We’re looking for someone who is curious, organized, and comfortable working independently. Grant-writing experience is helpful but not required. What matters most is that you care about dignity, equity, sustainability, and helping communities access essentials that are too often overlooked. Experience researching U.S.-based grants or corporate giving programs is helpful, but not required.

Your support will help The Undie Chest expand our capacity to serve schools, shelters, nonprofits, and community organizations, while also encouraging retailers and brands to make more responsible decisions about excess inventory. Behind every grant opportunity is a chance to keep usable essentials out of waste streams and get more underwear into the hands of someone who needs it.

If you believe everyone deserves to feel clean, confident, and cared for, we would love to connect with you.

Minimum Hours per Week:

2-3 hours per week

Duration:

3-5 months

About us

ORCD UK is a new charity, the British arm of ORCD, a humanitarian organisation that has worked across Afghanistan for over a decade, delivering health, food, water, and emergency support. We are in our founding phase, building the fundraising that will let us support families facing one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

The opportunity

We are looking for a volunteer with fundraising experience to help us execute our fundraising strategy over the next few months. We have a clear plan and a set of campaigns; what we need is for someone share their know-how as we get off the ground.

This is a flexible, online role of a few hours a week, ideal for an experienced fundraiser who wants to use their skills for something meaningful without a heavy time commitment. Whether you are between roles, giving back alongside a career or simply passionate about Afghanistan, we would like to hear from you.

What you might help with

• Helping refine our fundraising campaigns (winter, orphan sponsorship, water, nutrition)

• Support in identifying and securing new funding opportunities and strategic partnerships

• Explore digital fundraising and emerging trends

• Advising on individual giving and crowdfunding/giving platforms

• Guidance on approaching trusts, foundations and institutional funders once we are registered

• Sharing best practice and helping us avoid the common pitfalls of a new charity

About you

• Experience in charity fundraising e.g. across major donors, community, trusts/foundations and/or institutional funders
• A good understanding of the humanitarian funding landscape
• Happy to work remotely and flexibly
• Collaborative and comfortable helping a small team
• A genuine interest in humanitarian work

Please note this is an advisory role. You would not be expected to write or submit funding applications, just to share your know-how and steer us in the right direction. 

AYDA needs help to support the development of young people from all backgrounds, particularly women and girls, through education, training and family programmes.

As a small volunteer-run charity, AYDA does not have the expertise to create an impactful social media presence. This is especially the case with LinkedIn which we believe to be pivotal in identifying and engaging with potential partners across the UK. This would enable our programmes to be rolled out more widely and so gain more traction.

Most urgently we need someone to work directly with the Chair, Lucy Njomo, to create a powerful profile for the charity. LinkedIn does offer support to "not for profit" organisations, but we have neither the knowledge nor the capabilities within the board of trustees to take advantage of this. We are seeking a confident professional who can take on the challenge of projecting AYDA and its critical work much more effectively to like-minded groups who could and should be working with us to tackle VAWG in society.

We also know that networking via LinkedIn will be fundamental in fuelling a separate initiative to build youth education and vocational training centre in Cameroon. Land and official permission have already been acquired so now we need to build the consortium to deliver this critical initiative.

The desired individual should therefore be able to build a powerful profile and the network visibility we need to bring these vital initiatives into the spotlight to attract both funding and delivery partners.

What are we looking for?

The ideal person to help us will be very comfortable in the social media world, particularly the use of LinkedIn to build strong B2B networks and relationships. Ideally they would also have some third sector experience in creating powerful charity profiles. Since this is an unpaid role, it is likely that the individual would have a personal passion for combatting VAWG in all sections of UK society and/or creating youth development opportunities in one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Understanding of the capabilities of LinkedIn as a platform in general and its support structure for charitable organisations is critical.

What difference will you make?

We accept that we do not have the ability to maximise the potential offered by platforms such as LinkedIn. So, although we welcome advice, we urgently need someone to take on the challenge of turning that into positive actions to empower both the UK VAWG and Cameroon youth development initiatives.

Within the UK the specific impact goals are to:

• Create awareness and provide information about various forms of violence against women and girls. Educate target audiences about the prevalence and impact of VAWG on individuals, families and communities.
• Promote gender equality, by challenging harmful gender norms, fostering respectful relationships, and creating safe environments for women and girls.
• Introduce VAWG survivors to local support services such as helplines, shelters, counselling centres and legal aid organisations.
• Provide education and resources to engage men as allies and promote healthy masculinity. Encourage them as to challenge sexist attitudes and behaviours within their communities.
• Explore ways to support and empower survivors of VAWG. This can include trauma-informed approaches, self-care strategies, and opportunities for economic empowerment.
• Collaboration with key stakeholders in building partnerships to enhance communities’ positive response to VAWG. Highlight the significance of collaborations with government agencies, NGOs, law enforcement, health care providers and educational institutions.

For Cameroon the impact will come from opening doors to potential international funding, construction and delivery partners for the vocational training centre.

AYDA is proud of its work to date and now needs a LinkedIn presence that can take us to the next level.

PR )Help us raise awareness, grow our community and bring more smiles to children across the UK.

Make a Smile is looking for a proactive, creative PR Officer to help share our story. If you enjoy communicating, building relationships and spotting opportunities, this role offers a meaningful way to make an impact.

What You’ll Do

• Seek out PR opportunities locally and nationally
• Build relationships with newspapers, radio, TV, university media and online platforms
• Pitch stories, arrange interviews and support chapters with media engagement
• Help organise university Instagram/TikTok takeovers and newsletter features
• Attend networking events and build connections with supporters and public figures
• Ensure our social media pages are high‑quality and on‑brand
• Work with the Website and Video Officers to share media features and create inspiring content
• Add interested contacts to our mailing list and help produce a monthly newsletter

Who This Role Suits

You don’t need formal PR experience - just enthusiasm and confidence. You’ll thrive if you:

• Enjoy writing, storytelling or creating content
• Feel comfortable reaching out to people and building relationships
• Are proactive and organised
• Have an interest in media, marketing, journalism or communications
• Want to gain experience in PR within a supportive charity environment
• Care about Make a Smile’s mission and want to help us reach more families

What You’ll Help Us Achieve

• Greater visibility for Make a Smile 
• Stronger volunteer recruitment and fundraising 
• Consistent, high‑quality branding across chapters
• More opportunities to showcase the impact of our work

We are asking Local Coordinators to launch Amnesty Human Rights Where You Live initiatives in their area of the East Midlands, helping to bring together local people with an interest in human rights. This is an on-the-ground role promoting activism in your area.

Over the next twelve months, Coordinators would then support their local team to: 

• Raise awareness of and campaign on human rights issues locally. 

• Persuade local politicians to put human rights at the heart of their decisions 

• Engage their local community and ‘change the conversation’ on human rights

• Mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December 

• Set up an Amnesty local group with fundraising to enable future campaigning 

They would also have the chance to team up with other Coordinators to help develop and deliver a human rights campaign for the East Midlands. 

This is a great opportunity to make a difference in your local area on issues you are passionate about while also gaining experience and confidence with a wide range of campaign and communication skills.  

What support would I get? 

Coordinators will be supported at every step by the Amnesty East Midlands Regional Organiser and other staff, who will provide: 

• Support for a local launch meeting for Human Rights Where You Live 

• Training in knowledge and skills 

• 1-1 coaching 

• Organising, campaigning and fundraising resources 

• Face-to-face and online networking with other activists as a regional team. 

My main staff point of contact would be: East Midlands Regional Organiser

All Coordinators would:

• Communicate regularly with the East Midlands Regional Organiser

• Feedback on their activities on a regular and structured basis. 

• Aim to attend a reasonable number of core training and networking sessions online and in-person, depending on individual circumstances. 

What skills and knowledge are needed? 

• Some knowledge of your local area in the East Midlands. 

• Good written and oral communications skills 

• Experience of team-working 

• Basic IT competency (email, word processing, etc.) and internet access 

Experience of campaigning is always welcome but not essential – we find that people often have skills from something else they have done that would be very helpful for the role. 

How much time is needed? 

We would estimate around 2-3 hours a week would be the average, although there may be some periods where more or less commitment is needed. We’d ask that you commit to your local Human Rights Where You Live project for at least one year, although we recognize that people’s circumstances do change. 

We also understand that this role may need to fit around your family, studies, caring or other commitments.  

Any other requirements? 

Coordinators would need to be living in the East Midlands and unlikely to move in the next 12 months. We welcome interest from students at East Midlands universities. 

We would ask that any Coordinator be at least 18. However, if you are under 18 but would still like to get involved in Amnesty, please do get in touch to find more about our youth groups. 

We welcome interest from people who are already volunteering with another community or campaign group with an interest in human rights, and who are interested in doing a local Human Rights Where You Live project as a collaboration between Amnesty and that group. 

Do you want to take part in vegan volunteering around your local area?

You can do that – right here at The Vegan Society. 

We have an ever-growing Community Network of vegans just like you, who have a passion to volunteer and promote veganism where they live. 

Every month, our Network choose from a range of outreach tasks. These could include town centre stalls, writing to a councillor or MP, sharing our campaigns on social media or contacting local businesses. You're in control of how much or how little you do. 

As an Advocate, you will have a network of other Advocates and an Organiser in your area. Your Organiser will be your main point of contact. They will send you tasks every month and ask you to feed back on what you've completed and any positive outcomes. 

Why do we need you to volunteer?

As the vegan community grows, veganism itself becomes better understood. We're finding that more people are looking to The Vegan Society to find out what being vegan is all about.

Local communities are starting to see the vegan movement as something real and something that’s happening in their area. More people are embracing a vegan lifestyle, which we welcome. From new businesses, to families, to councillors, many people need support. This could be with a range of topics: going vegan, finding correct information around a vegan diet, providing vegan options in their business, MPs listening to vegan constituents, and learning about our work.

Local issues are often unique and more varied than national issues. Our volunteers from local areas are vital! They enable us to share our messages and campaigns in an effective way. Research tells us that people are far more likely to trust information from a peer rather than an outside expert, so community volunteering vastly increases the impact of our campaigns.

Our network of committed local vegans across the country is growing! The Vegan Society organises various outreach activities to influence change in every level of society. There are a range of activities going on all the time, from general educational stalls at events to meeting with local policy influencers.

Advocates are a crucial voice in their own community. They ensure that our campaign messages are spread far and wide. They provide a strong vegan presence in local communities.

What does the Advocate role involve?

Being an Advocate for veganism with The Vegan Society will mean communicating with people in your local community. You'll share the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. You will form part of a local group, headed up by a local Organiser. The Organiser will feed back your collective efforts to staff. You will also be invited to our private Facebook group, for vegan socialising and ideas sharing.

You’ll stay in touch with the Organiser and bring your passion to tasks. Activities can range from staffing a stall to giving a talk at an employee event. It could also mean writing to a local newspaper or lobbying an MP.

Messaging can differ every month. Part of our mission statement is to ensure people can remain vegan, so you might focus on getting more vegan options available in local businesses. Or within our Live Vegan for Less campaign, you may share cheap vegan recipes to help people with the cost of living.

When acting as an Advocate, you will use The Vegan Society’s branding and messaging guidelines. Your local Organiser will guide you in doing this, as they hold physical resources and handbooks. You can report any issues and feedback you have to your Organiser. You can also contact staff if your Organiser isn't available or you have any problems.

What training and support is available?

You will be provided with a big welcome and full induction from your local Organiser. They will introduce you to the group and any actions that are ongoing. Any training and development will be provided via your Organiser, and you can also ask for specific training on any areas that you need some development in.

What skills would be useful in doing this role?

• The ability to stay motivated in order to achieve the best possible outcomes
• Good email etiquette, responding in a timely manner
• Committed to veganism and the mission of The Vegan Society
• Ability to stay calm if confronted with differing opinions or challenges
• A good communicator, with the ability to be persuasive
• Confident in communicating with people from a range of backgrounds
• Experience of campaigning
• Any experience in talking with members of the public through customer/public service would be helpful
• Awareness of current affairs, especially those that relate to veganism
• Regular availability and a willingness to stay committed to actions
• Good team player

How much time do I need to invest? 

For Advocates, we ask for people to engage in a minimum of four to six actions per year. An example of an action could be writing to an MP or holding a stall. But the more you can do, the better! On occasion, there may also be online meetings to plan for actions or provide training.