Lgbtq volunteer roles

We are recruiting volunteers to oversee and help at Pride stalls across the UK.  

It Gets Better UK is making the world a better place for LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ youth in the UK face serious mental health challenges, worsened by societal stigma, discrimination, and a lack of support: 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ young people have experienced suicidal thoughts, and 33% have self-harmed.​

In a world which often tells LGBTQ+ young people not to be themselves, we're providing LGBTQ+ youth with the tools, resources, and support they need to navigate their identities safely, and know they are not alone and that their futures are filled with possibility. We collect and share the stories of LGBTQ+ adults who've been there themselves, to help LGBTQ+ young people find a community where they can see themselves reflected and envisage a future worth experiencing.

At Pride, we share positive stories from members of the LGBTQ+ community. We encourage attendees to share their story, message to their younger self, or message of support. The conversations we have are uplifting and often emotional. 

What will I be doing? 

• Choose one or more Pride events which you commit to attending with us. 

• Help set up and tidy up stand at beginning/end of event. 

• Welcome people to the stall, invite them to learn about stories from others in the community, and share their own stories.

• Support fundraising and raising awareness with our branded badges. 

• Engage event participants in positive messaging opportunities and story-collecting via our whiteboards: “a message to my younger self”. 

• Get photo consent from participants so that we can share their messages on our platforms. 

• Help produce video messages, recording participants' stories of hope. 

• Promote volunteering roles within It Gets Better and let people know to how to get involved. 

• Signpost people to our resources and how we can support them. 

• Listen to stall attendees’ stories with warmth and respect. 

What skills / experience do I need? 

• A personable and friendly manner 

• Confidence in crowds, speaking to strangers and members of the public

• Sensitivity to, awareness of LGBTQ+ issues 

Which Pride events will It Gets Better UK be at?  

• Stockport Pride, Saturday 1 June
• Wolverhampton Pride, Saturday 7 June
• Edinburgh Pride, Saturday 21 June
• Cardiff Pride, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June
• London Pride, Saturday 5 July
• Bristol Pride, Saturday 12 July
• London Trans+ Pride March, Saturday 26 July
• Black Pride London, Sunday 10 August
• Crawley Pride, Saturday 16 August
• Glasgow Pride, Saturday 19 July

• Don’t see us at a Pride near you? Contact us about running a stall with our support!

Time commitment: Pride events are usually Saturdays in June, July, August. Full-day or half-day. 

Support for you: You’ll receive our Volunteer Handbook and attend a briefing. Each stall will have multiple volunteers so nobody is alone.

What will I gain? 

• The satisfaction that you are helping to inspire and empower LGBTQ+ youth 

• Being part of an international movement 

• The opportunity to use your existing skills as well as develop and learn new ones 

• It Gets Better UK will act as a referee for you after your successful participation 

• Reimbursement of expenses incurred (with prior agreement) 

How do I apply?  

Please contact us via Charityjob or our website - We’ll then meet online for an introductory conversation, seek a reference, and share our resources for you to read. 

Join us as we turn bold ideas into real-world support for LGBTQIA+ people across Berkshire

About SupportU

We are a leading LGBTQ+ help and support service based in Reading, servicing the Thames Valley area. Our service is run by a dedicated team who are responsible for delivering the help and support available through our website, telephone helpline and face-to-face sessions.

What will you be doing?

Support U is seeking trustees to join our board at this pivotal moment following a period of change, as we strengthen our governance and work toward a more sustainable and impactful future. As a trustee, you’ll play a role in helping guide the charity’s direction, ensure good governance, and enable our small team to deliver high-impact services to the LGBTQIA+ community across Berkshire.

Key responsibilities include:

· Providing strategic leadership and oversight

· Ensuring good governance and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements

· Supporting financial management and safeguarding the charity’s resources

· Acting as an ambassador and advocate for the charity

· Promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work

Estimate of time needed

Up to five hours per month.

What are we looking for?

We are looking to appoint new trustees who bring a mix of governance experience, strategic skills, as well as passion and commitment to our community and the aims of the charity. 

You might be a good fit if you:

· Align with our mission and values

· Understand the needs and experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities

· Can collaborate within a diverse team and contribute constructively

· Are willing to ask questions, challenge ideas, and help shape solutions

Living experience as part of the LGBTQIA+ community is encouraged, but not essential - we also welcome allies who bring a strong commitment to equity, inclusion, and our cause.

What difference will you make?

As a trustee at Support U, your voice will help shape how we respond to the real, evolving needs of LGBTQIA+ people across Berkshire. You’ll influence how we grow, how we include, and how we stay true to our values while adapting for the future.

You’ll be part of a small, committed team working to strengthen support, challenge exclusion, and ensure our community feels seen, supported, and proud.

The Fourth Choir is seeking passionate and dedicated individuals to join the board managing our LGBTQ+ charitable entity and arts organisation.

The choir was founded in 2013 to give professional and non-professional LGBTQ+ singers and allies the opportunity to sing a cappella choral music to the highest standard possible, and since then has since performed more than 100 times in over 40 venues.

Fostering a fully inclusive musical environment is at the heart of what we do, and we work to affirm the identities of our members, support their wellbeing, challenge stereotypes and explore innovative themes through our activities and concert programming.

The choir is a registered charity and incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). We are governed and managed by a small board of trustees, all of whom are currently active singers with the choir. As well as governing and directing the strategic development of the choir, our trustees also manage ongoing operations, with each taking a lead role for a particular function.

We employ a professional Musical Director, who is responsible for our programming and musical leadership, and also work on occasion with a roster of Guest Conductors.

To continue building upon the success of our first decade, we are seeking to recruit external trustees to a number of key positions, who can bring external perspective, experience in key areas and help to build the capacity of our management team.

Roles we are looking to fill include:

Treasurer

Responsibilities

• Prepare annual financial report for the Charity Commission
• Keep records of income and expenditure and report on profit and loss position of events
• Pay invoices for professional fees and services

Preferred experience

• Bookkeeping experience in a business or nonprofit capacity
• Experience using accounting software such as Xero

Secretary

Responsibilities

• Keep accurate minutes of planning and board meetings
• Manage schedule of planning meetings
• Potentially take on additional organisational responsibility, such as venue bookings

Preferred experience

• ​Prior experience with minuting meetings and following up with agreed actions
• Highly organised and collegiate

Philanthropy Lead

Responsibilities

• Identify and apply for grant opportunities and report on activities
• Develop sponsorship relationships with corporate and individual donors
• Manage our communications with and offers to significant donors

​Preferred experience

• ​Experience managing and growing a giving program for a charity
• Successfully sourced grant funding and/or corporate sponsorship

Inclusive Boards is delighted to be supporting Lambeth Links in their search for their next Chair of the Board and Treasurer.

Lambeth Links is a small charity with a big ambition: to be a central point of rallying, communication and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ Community who live, work and socialise in Lambeth – the largest borough in London. The organisation aims to strengthen the links between individuals and groups while also highlighting the many issues that continue to adversely affect the community.

Lambeth has a deep and rich history of LGBTQIA+ activism. From being home to founding members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) to hosting Europe’s first EuroPride in Brixton in 1992, the borough has long been the beating heart of the LGBTQIA+ Community. Lambeth Links exists to continue that legacy of championing collective voice and driving forward change.

About the Treasurer Opportunity

As Treasurer, you will:

• Be a qualified accountant with proven charity/non-profit experience.
• Have strong financial governance skills.
• Have the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively within a voluntary governance structure.

Join Manor Gardens Welfare Trust (MGWT) as a Trustee and play a pivotal role in empowering communities to thrive. Help us deliver innovative, culturally competent services tackling inequalities and improving lives across Islington and beyond.

MGWT has been at the heart of community support since 1913, continuously evolving to meet contemporary challenges. Our dynamic hub in Upper Holloway supports over 2,600 people annually, promoting health, wellbeing, and social inclusion among diverse, underserved communities. Our services include multilingual advocacy, mental health support and therapy services, youth service provision as well as chairing Islington's award-winning Food Partnership working for a sustainable food system in the borough. 

Although MGWT is a local charity, we have a notable track record of innovation and wider impact. We pioneered the first LGBTQ+ youth group in Europe and launched the UK's first specialist psychotherapy service for survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Our groundbreaking work continues to inform practices and policies at both local and national levels.

We are particularly seeking trustees with skills in fundraising (including expertise in securing grants from trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, statutory funding, legacies, and major gifts), Human Resources, and communications. Knowledge, experience, and a thorough understanding of the charity sector are essential, alongside a demonstrable commitment to our values. Previous board experience is desirable but not essential. We particularly welcome candidates with lived experience of the issues we are seeking to address, including socioeconomic inequality, mental health, and the asylum process. 

Trustees commit roughly 6 hours monthly, guiding strategic direction, ensuring effective governance, promoting equality and inclusion, and serving as ambassadors for MGWT’s vital work.

Who are we?

Switchboard LGBTQIA+ exists to provide members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as their friends, family and those supporting them, with a listening service that they can contact via phone, instant message and email between the hours of 10am to 10pm every day.

We are happy to talk to service users about any topic they wish. Topics we often talk to service users about include: sexual health, safer sex, relationships, coming-out, gender identity, transitioning, mental health, experiences of hate crimes, support for meeting other LGBTQIA+ people and making friends, and much more.

However, we want to also be upfront and transparent about the fact that not all of our conversations are positive or constructive. Our volunteers can also be exposed to abuse from the public, manipulative callers, sexual fantasies and safeguarding concerns.

Training for POC volunteers

At Switchboard we are working to ensure that our volunteer membership reflects everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community. We want service users to be able to speak with volunteers who can empathise with their experiences and volunteers to connect with folks from a wide range of different backgrounds, cultures and identities.

To help enable us to do this even more, we have created brand new dedicated training groups for different identities within the LGBTQIA+ community. 

This group training group is specifically set up for people of colour. By joining this group, you'll undertake our Core Acceptance Training programme which equips you with the skills needed to support those contacting us via phone and instant message. Our hope is that this safe space enables you to freely ask questions, put our listening toolkit into practice and discuss approaches to different scenarios in an engaging, enjoyable way.

Who are we looking for?

To ensure we can provide a high quality service to those who contact us, we are looking for volunteers who:

• Simply put, like communicating and chatting with other people (you’re most likely a people-person who feels energised by this type of communication)

• Feel comfortable taking calls and speaking over the phone to people you do not already know

• Are familiar with different instant messaging platforms (such as WhatsApp and other chat tools) and the types of communication they might receive

• Are able to read between the lines to decipher messages

• Are good listeners who let others lead conversations and instead create the space they need

• Are able to ask broad, open questions to keep conversations flowing

• Understand the importance of using the right tone when communicating in writing, and are able to flex their writing style to suit different people

• Have a strong attention to detail, with a particular focus on spelling and grammar

• Are able to evaluate sources of information and identify those that can be trusted, from those that cannot

• Know when to challenge and when to step back

• Have essential digital literacy skills (such as using email tools such as gmail and outlook, search the web for information and copy and paste website URLs)

• Understand and support our mission

• Have an awareness of the challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community

• Are empathetic in nature

• Agree to uphold our values of being non-directive and non-judgemental

Who are we?

Switchboard LGBTQIA+ exists to provide members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as their friends, family and those supporting them, with a listening service that they can contact via phone, instant message and email between the hours of 10am to 10pm every day.

We are happy to talk to service users about any topic they wish. Topics we often talk to service users about include: sexual health, safer sex, relationships, coming-out, gender identity, transitioning, mental health, experiences of hate crimes, support for meeting other LGBTQIA+ people and making friends, and much more.

However, we want to also be upfront and transparent about the fact that not all of our conversations are positive or constructive. Our volunteers can also be exposed to abuse from the public, manipulative callers, sexual fantasies and safeguarding concerns.

What is our over 50's club?

Our over 50's club is a new initiative for Switchboard. 

We want to create a space that enables older members of the LGBTQIA+ community to volunteer with us on our phone lines and instant messaging service, whilst providing a social element that encourages volunteers to come together at our London HQ. 

This club will meet on both Mondays and Tuesdays during the day (you can choose which day works better for you), completing a shift either between 10am to 1pm or 2:00pm to 5:00pm. You can join us weekly or bi-weekly, whichever you prefer.

We then come together between 1pm and 2:00pm to have lunch (paid for by us) and a good natter! 

Volunteers who support Switchboard in this capacity are trained to take both phone calls and respond to instant messages. They do not respond to emails, however. 

Who are we looking for?

To ensure we can provide a high quality service to those who contact us, we are looking for volunteers who:

• Simply put, like communicating and chatting with other people (you’re most likely a people-person who feels energised by this type of communication)

• Feel comfortable taking calls and speaking over the phone to people you do not already know

• Are familiar with different instant messaging platforms (such as WhatsApp and other chat tools) and the types of communication they might receive

• Are able to read between the lines to decipher messages

• Are good listeners who let others lead conversations and instead create the space they need

• Are able to ask broad, open questions to keep conversations flowing

• Understand the importance of using the right tone when communicating in writing, and are able to flex their writing style to suit different people

• Have a strong attention to detail, with a particular focus on spelling and grammar

• Are able to evaluate sources of information and identify those that can be trusted, from those that cannot

• Know when to challenge and when to step back

• Have essential digital literacy skills (such as using email tools such as gmail and outlook, search the web for information and copy and paste website URLs)

• Understand and support our mission

• Have an awareness of the challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community

• Are empathetic in nature

• Agree to uphold our values of being non-directive and non-judgemental

Organisation: Support U is a leading LGBTQIA+ resource and support service based in the Thames Valley area. 

Commitment: Ideally approximately 4 hours per month alongside any training and volunteer team catch ups. 

Overview: 

We’re looking for approachable and dependable volunteers to support and help run our monthly community groups in Bracknell and Reading, as well as assist at local Pride events and other community activities. This is an opportunity to be part of a welcoming team, contribute to creating safe and inclusive spaces and make a real difference for the LGBTQIA+ community. 

What’s in it for you? 

Volunteering with Support U is a chance to make a meaningful contribution to the LGBTQIA+ community by helping create safe, inclusive spaces for those who need them. You’ll also be joining a welcoming team of volunteers who are passionate about making a difference.  

We want your time with us to be rewarding, enjoyable and a chance to grow both personally and professionally. As such, you will also have access to: 

• Funded training opportunities after set periods of volunteering to help build your skills and enhance your CV. 

• A carefully curated welcome pack, designed to help you feel part of the team from day one. 

• Experience in areas such as community event planning, group facilitation and public engagement. 

• All essential training (including safeguarding & group facilitation), provided by the charity. 

What You’ll Be Doing: 

As a Support U Group Facilitator Volunteer, you’ll play a key role in helping us run safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community. Your involvement might vary slightly depending on your interests and availability, but typical responsibilities include: 

• Supporting Community Groups: Helping to set up and run local support and social groups in Bracknell / Wokingham / Reading, this includes welcoming attendees, signing people in, facilitating activities during any groups, gathering feedback and helping to create a positive and inclusive environment. 

• Contributing to Group Planning: Sharing ideas for group activities and discussions and assisting with light planning to help make sessions engaging and relevant for attendees. 

• Attending Local Pride and Community Events: Assisting the charity at local Pride events; setting up stalls, engaging with the public and helping to spread awareness of the support we offer as a local charity. 

• Team Contribution: Staying in touch with your fellow volunteers and the charity, this includes regular team catch-ups  and discussions. 

You don’t need to have experience in any of these areas to start, just a willingness to get involved and be part of a team working towards something meaningful. 

About You: 

• You’re friendly, approachable and enjoy connecting with people from all walks of life 

• You're passionate about supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and creating inclusive spaces 

• You're reliable, organised and willing to commit to a longer term volunteer role 

• You're a team player who shares the values and mission of Support U and the volunteer team 

• You're a strong communicator who is not afraid to get stuck in and help where needed 

• You’re open to learning and growing as part of a supportive team 

By joining us, you’ll be helping to create safer, more inclusive spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as gaining valuable, transferrable skills along the way. Whether it’s building your confidence, gaining experience, or simply being part of a welcoming and supportive team, this is a chance to make a real difference while developing your own skills as well.

Oxfam isn't just another charity shop. We're a movement of passionate individuals working to create a fairer world, and we’d love you to be a part of it! 

We’re seeking friendly, reliable individuals who want to make a difference in their community. No prior experience is needed, as we provide full training. If you’re open to learning, enjoy working with others, and have a passion for helping people, you’ll fit right in! 

What you will be doing 

• Selecting, sorting, and pricing donated stock. 

• Chatting to customers, giving great service on the till. 

• Researching valuable and vintage stock. 

• Visual merchandising: creating eye-catching window and in-store displays. 

• Photographing and listing items for the online shop. 

This role may include occasionally lifting boxes. We prioritise a safe working environment and provide comprehensive health and safety training to all volunteers. 

The skills you need 

• We ask that you are reliable and on time for your volunteering 

• Full training and support is given for this role - no prior experience is required 

• Happy to be part of a team and collaborate effectively with others 

What's in it for you 

• Some lunch and travel costs paid (speak to the Manager first to understand what is covered 

• Access to training and development 

• Grow your confidence and meet new people 

• Flexible volunteering schedules that fit your lifestyle 

• Free confidential support by the Retail Trust 

By volunteering with us in one of our amazing retail spaces you will be raising essential funds for Oxfam – all whilst learning new skills and meeting some incredible people. 

As a Group Leader, you’ll play a key role in delivering our life-changing therapeutic services by co-facilitating weekly self-help groups. Using a proven model rooted in Exposure-Response Therapy and CBT, you'll help guide members through understanding their conditions and moving toward recovery.

We’ll train you to confidently co-lead sessions with another volunteer. All you need is empathy, warmth, and a genuine desire to support others. Lived experience of anxiety, OCD, or phobias is a bonus, not a must. We ask for a commitment of just 2 hours a week for at least 12 months.

You’ll be part of something truly meaningful—helping others while growing personally and professionally.

What will you be doing?

Therapeutic Responsibilities

• Co-facilitate therapeutic guided self-help groups every week.
• Interact with relevant service users to arrange their initial attendance at therapeutic groups.
• Consistently work within the scope of your training and recognise the limits of your practice.
• Liaise closely with the organisation's Clinical Director to discuss challenging cases and clinical concerns.
• Inform the Clinical Director of any expected instances of absence two weeks before the event. 
• Administrative Responsibilities
• Record service users' attendance every week.
• Maintain service user attendance databases to the highest possible standards of accuracy and detail.
• Disseminate psychometric measures to service users by the organisation's evaluation strategy
• Promote a culture of evaluation amongst service users attending your groups to enhance the amount of individualised feedback available to them.
• Respond to service user enquiries, and organisational communications, in an appropriately timely manner.
• Actively engage in the initial training workshops that are provided by the organisation.
• Maintain a commitment to continual personal development and engage in additional training opportunities when provided.
• Actively engage in organised peer reflective practices
• Make use of the organisation-wide digital communication channels to share and learn therapeutic practices. 

• Safeguarding - It is every volunteer's responsibility to safeguard and protect adults and children from abuse, regardless of the setting in which your care takes place. It is the volunteer's responsibility to be aware of the charity's policies and procedures and proactively maintain safeguarding procedural knowledge.

Additional Responsibilities

• Adhere to all organisational policies and procedures.
• Support the organisation's promotion of a positive approach to diversity and inclusion, treating others with dignity and respect.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with colleagues, taking account of their age, religion or belief, ethnicity, sex, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy or maternity status and any disability.
• Maintain an approachable nature, ensuring that your conduct towards colleagues is open and honest, dealing with differences in opinion in ways which avoid offence.

Objective: 

The Chair provides inclusive leadership to the Board of Trustees in its accountability for Eikon’s vision, mission, charitable purposes and upholding its values whilst supporting Trustees individually and collectively in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities for the effective governance of the Charity.

The Chair provides line management to the CEO, offering support, advice and appraisal, and with the SLT, when appropriate, to deliver its Strategy and achieve its Annual Plan goals and objectives. He or she will act as a champion, ambassador and the public face of the Charity in partnership with the CEO. 

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership: Oversee and ensure that duties are fulfilled, strategies are established and that the Board regularly reviews risks and opportunities.

Governance: Confirm the charity’s arrangements, Trustees and systems are effective and comply with the Charity Commission Governance Code.

External Relations: Represent Eikon as an ambassador and spokesperson with external stakeholders, when appropriate.

Efficiency and Effectiveness: Engage Trustees while chairing meetings and documenting decisions and actions arising.

Relationship with CEO and Senior Leadership Team: Establish a strong, open, collaborative, supportive relationship with key team members; agree objectives and goals for the CEO.

Person Specifications

Personal Qualities: Strong and visible passion, commitment and advocacy for Eikon and children and young people’s mental health.

Experience: Track record of operation and achievement at a senior strategic level including both internal and external presentations and representation.

Knowledge and Skills: Strong leadership and motivational skills combined with financial management experience; understanding of charity governance.

Location:               

The Eikon Charity is based in New Haw, Surrey, and operates throughout most of Surrey’s boroughs and beyond.

Remuneration

The role of Chair is not accompanied by any financial remuneration, although expenses for travel may be claimed. 

Time Commitment

Chairing, in person, four evening Board meetings per year, a Board and Senior Leadership Team away day and the annual Audit & Finance Committee meeting.  There are regular in person or online meetings and calls with the Chief Executive Officer and liaison with individual Trustees and senior staff on particular issues.  Together with the CEO, represent the Charity at events and meetings with key stakeholders.Standard appointment term is three years.

Inclusive Boards is delighted to be supporting Lambeth Links in their search for their next Chair of the Board.

Lambeth Links is a small charity with a big ambition: to be a central point of rallying, communication and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ Community who live, work and socialise in Lambeth – the largest borough in London. The organisation aims to strengthen the links between individuals and groups while also highlighting the many issues that continue to adversely affect the community.

Lambeth has a deep and rich history of LGBTQIA+ activism. From being home to founding members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) to hosting Europe’s first EuroPride in Brixton in 1992, the borough has long been the beating heart of the LGBTQIA+ Community. Lambeth Links exists to continue that legacy of championing collective voice and driving forward change.

About the Chair Opportunity

The Chair will lead the Board in setting and overseeing Lambeth Links’ strategic direction, ensuring good governance, supporting the Executive team and representing the charity at key moments. This is both a leadership and ambassadorial role requiring clarity of vision, sound judgement and a collaborative approach along with a genuine belief in the power of community to drive change and a strong commitment to Lambeth Links’ mission.

As Chair, you will:

• Bring experience of chairing or leading at a senior level.
• Understand the responsibilities of charity governance and have the confidence to steer an organisation through growth and change.
• Be someone who builds trust, encourages open dialogue and supports others to thrive in their roles.
• Have lived experience of the issues affecting LGBTQIA+ communities.

Oxfam isn't just another charity shop. We're a movement of passionate individuals working to create a fairer world, and we’d love you to be a part of it! 

We’re seeking friendly, reliable individuals who want to make a difference in their community. No prior experience is needed, as we provide full training. If you’re open to learning, enjoy working with others, and have a passion for helping people, you’ll fit right in! 

What you will be doing 

• Selecting, sorting, and pricing donated stock. 
• Chatting to customers, giving great service on the till. 
• Researching valuable and vintage stock. 
• Visual merchandising: creating eye-catching window and in-store displays. 
• Photographing and listing items for the online shop. 

This role may include occasionally lifting boxes. We prioritise a safe working environment and provide comprehensive health and safety training to all volunteers. 

The skills you need 

• We ask that you are reliable and on time for your volunteering 
• Full training and support is given for this role - no prior experience is required 
• Happy to be part of a team and collaborate effectively with others 

What's in it for you 

• Some lunch and travel costs paid (speak to the Manager first to understand what is covered 
• Access to training and development 
• Grow your confidence and meet new people 
• Flexible volunteering schedules that fit your lifestyle 
• Free confidential support by the Retail Trust 

By volunteering with us in one of our amazing retail spaces you will be raising essential funds for Oxfam – all whilst learning new skills and meeting some incredible people. 

The Reader is recruiting volunteers to lead Shared Reading groups in Runcorn and Widnes within Liverpool City Region

Volunteer opportunities have arisen to train as a group leader with the UK’s largest Shared Reading charity based in Liverpool. 

The Reader is recruiting volunteers to lead community Shared Reading groups at Halton Lea Library on Fridays, 2pm - 3.30pm which is open to all, while also welcoming speakers of other languages, and a second ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) group at Widnes Library on Wednesdays, 12.30pm - 1.30pm (beginning September 2025), to support their wellbeing. 

At Shared Reading groups, people connect and share experiences using stories and poems. There is no pressure to talk or read aloud.

Why Volunteer at The Reader? 

As a Volunteer you will receive in-depth training, as well as ongoing support from the charity, both online and at our home in The Mansion House, Calderstones Park. You will also become part of a thriving community of ‘Reader Leaders’ who lead groups across the city and the country. 

Group leaders extend the charity’s mission to take Shared Reading to those who need it most. The Reader’s aim is to create an atmosphere of inclusivity where everyone feels at home. Applicants do not need to be a literature expert. Anyone is welcome to apply. 

100% of new community volunteers would recommend volunteering with The Reader (2024)

What can you gain from being a volunteer at The Reader? 

• Make a meaningful difference to others. 
• Deepen your personal experience of reading. 
• Be part of a passionate volunteer community. 
• Contribute to building a more connected and inclusive society. 

The Reader is looking for someone with:  

• A passion for bringing diverse people together in their community. 
• Empathy, patience, the ability to listen and to hold a range of perspectives. 
• A desire to explore a range of literary texts and genres. 
• Reliability and commitment to leading a regular Shared Reading group.