Community child and family support coordinator volunteer roles

About us

The CFDN is a registered charity and voluntary organisation dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities and their families of all faiths and none across Essex & East London. Our mission is simple but important: to serve people with disabilities and their families by creating a supportive community and promoting opportunity through our network and events.​

Our charity is run by volunteers and led by our trustees and CEO, who are dedicated to keeping our community strong and vibrant. From swimming events at Leyton Lagoon to family disco's, bi-weekly pub group for adults, Saturday club for adults, theatre trips, family BBQs, seaside coach trips, adventure days at Lambourne End Centre for Outdoor Learning and much more, we offer a diverse range of events to suit everyone's interests.
 

Introduction

We are seeking dedicated individuals to join our team of Volunteer Community Fundraisers and Event Coordinators. As a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities and their families and contribute to the betterment of your community. This is a rewarding and fulfilling role that allows you to share your skills, experiences, creativity, have fun and give back.

Please note this is not a paid role but the volunteer will be able to claim reasonable expenses in line with policy. We ask that volunteers commit to a minimum of 4 hours a month.

Location: Across East London and Essex, including Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Havering

Our Charity

The CFDN charity has been in existence since 1962 servicing people with disabilities and their families of all faiths and none across Essex and East London. We rely on our dedicated volunteers to help us support our community and enable people with disabilities with the social, emotional, spiritual and material support they may need.

Many of our volunteers have been with us for 20+ years, and we are looking to extend our dynamic and diverse workforce of volunteers and staff.

Responsibilities

- Help plan, organise and run fundraising initiatives and events

- Market and promote our events and activities across your area

- Assist with project management, including planning, organising, and executing community fundraising projects and events at a local level

- Participate in fundraising efforts face-to-face, online or remotely to support community programs

- Keep up to date with compliance, statutory and mandatory training provided by the charity. Opportunities to learn and develop.

- Promote a fun, welcoming and inclusive environment for our members.

- Work with other fundraisers and give feedback to the CEO and Trustees on fundraising activities and achievements

- Perform administrative tasks such as record keeping, event details, incident reporting and data entry

- Help execute the charity strategic plan and achieve our financial targets to continue our services for many years to come.

Experience

- You must have a genuine desire to help others.

- An understanding of the needs of people with disabilities or SEN or experience in supporting a family member/friend with SEND is desirable.

- Knowledge of event organising or the ability to learn

- Experience in fundraising events and activities or the desire to learn

- Good communication skills

- Ability to use a computer and access our central volunteer hub online

- Organisational skills for administrative abilities

This role is working with vulnerable adults and children; therefore, a satisfactory recruitment process and Disclosure and Barring Service check, including the adult and child barring lists, are required for the role.

As a Community Fundraising Volunteer, you will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others while gaining valuable experience in project management, leadership, and community engagement with the ability to progress skillsets and job opportunities.

Join our team today and be part of a positive community.

We want you to help us to connect families across Scotland by managing a special closed Community Network Facebook group and a Padlet of groups and events with the support of Adoption UK Staff and current Community Network volunteers. As a Virtual Community Network Volunteer (VCNV), you would be responsible for administering a closed Facebook group for families with adopted children and young people. The purpose of the group is to share Adoption UK Scotland groups and events but also to share activities aimed at adoptive families or care experienced children in one place. 

s a Virtual Community Network Volunteer (VCNV), you would be responsible for administering a closed Facebook group for families with adopted children and young people. The purpose of the group is to share Adoption UK Scotland groups and events but also to share activities aimed at adoptive families or care experienced children in one place. It would also allow parents to post in the group to find families local to them that they can connect with outside Adoption UK Scotland activities. As VCNV you would be responsible for moderating the chat and posts within the group, creating and managing a Padlet that contains groups or events that local authorities or other 3rd sector organisations are hosting. 

The Skills and Experience you need 

• IT literate and familiar with Facebook
• Enthusiasm

• Ability to respect other people’s differences and non-judgemental 

• Confidence to work independently and the ability to recognise when to ask for support or raise concerns if required 

• Desirable but not essential: Personal experience or understanding of the issues facing adoptive parents 

What’s in it for you 

• Be part of a new way of supporting adoptive families to thrive in Scotland

• Flexibility to volunteer at a time that suits you

• Free membership to AUK and access to relevant training and development opportunities

• Use and develop your communication, organisational and people skills 

• Receive an induction, relevant training, the support you need to carry out the role and agreed out-of-pocket expenses 

ABOUT CHILDREN WITH VOICES

Children With Voices is a grassroots children's charity with over 25 years of experience supporting children and families across London. Based at Fawcett Estate Community Hall in Clapton, Hackney, we run a Community Food Hub, alternative education, SEN support, and community programmes including Jumping Beans. We have supported over 100,000 families and are recognised nationally for our work.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Behind every programme we run and every family we support, there is careful administration keeping everything in order. We are looking for a Volunteer Admin Coordinator to be that backbone — someone who takes ownership of the detail, keeps our systems running, and makes sure the rest of the team can focus on delivery.

This is an ideal role for someone who is highly organised, discreet, and takes real pride in getting things right.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Day-to-Day Administration

• Manage correspondence, scheduling, and general administrative tasks across the organisation

• Maintain accurate records, databases, and filing systems in line with GDPR and data protection requirements

• Support the preparation of reports, meeting notes, and key organisational documents

Operational Support

• Support the Operations Manager with administrative aspects of HR, finance, and governance

• Help coordinate onboarding for volunteers and new team members

• Track outputs, attendance, and impact data for monitoring and evaluation

Communications & Coordination

• Act as the first point of contact for internal queries — directing people quickly and clearly

• Maintain shared systems and tools so information is easy to find and act on

• Support communication between teams, leadership, and external partners

Governance & Compliance Support

• Help prepare materials for Trustee and leadership meetings

• Support safeguarding admin — DBS checks, consent forms, and record keeping

• Flag gaps in processes and help develop simple, workable solutions

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Highly organised with strong attention to detail

• Reliable, discreet, and trustworthy — able to handle sensitive information with care

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Confident using digital tools and office systems (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace)

• Able to manage their own time and follow tasks through to completion

• A team player who also takes initiative when needed

• Committed to the values and mission of Children With Voices

This is a voluntary role with real responsibility. We need someone reliable and thorough who takes pride in the detail. You will be supporting a team that serves some of Hackney's most vulnerable children and families — and that matters enormously to us

Are you a parent, grandparent or have experience of caring for children?

Do you have 2-3 hours per week to spare? Use your experience to support a family facing challenging times.

Our Home-Visiting Service supports families who are experiencing difficulties or suffering stress and who have at least one child under the age of five years.

Our aims are:

To increase the confidence and independence of the family by:

Offering support, friendship and practical assistance

Visiting families in their own homes and in their community, where the dignity and identity of each adult and child can be respected and protected

Reassuring parents that difficulties in bringing up children is not unusual and encouraging them to enjoy family life.

Developing a relationship with the family in which time can be shared and understanding can be developed. This approach is flexible to take account of different needs.

Encouraging parents’ strengths and emotional wellbeing – for the ultimate benefit of their children.

Encouraging families to widen their network of relationships, and to effectively use the support and services available within the community.

As a Community Network Volunteer, you will organise and facilitate meetings and events for a group of families so that they can get to know one another and build a supportive community. This could be anything from arranging informal meetups in the local park to organising online or face to face meetings, to setting up local events. The group would be able to share knowledge and experience amongst one another and just be there for one another.

Knowledge and experience required

• Enthusiasm and some time to spare! 

• Personal experience, and understanding of the issues facing adoptive parents 

• Good listening and communication skills

• Ability to respect other people’s differences and choices 

• Some IT and administration skills  

Benefits of volunteering with Adoption UK

• Meet new people and be part of helping adoptive families to thrive 

• Flexibility to volunteer in a way that suits your family and commitments                             

• Be supported in your own family’s journey both in your group and as part of a UK wide adoption organisation 

• Access to the online family members area and the opportunity to attend relevant training and development opportunities 

• Use and develop your communication, organisational and people skills 

• Receive an induction, relevant training, the support you need to carry out the role and agreed out-of-pocket expenses 

Perinatal Support Volunteers provide one-to-one support to parents during pregnancy and up to nine months after the birth. These parents either have mental health issues or are at risk of developing them.

Perinatal Support Volunteers visit these families once a week (usually weekdays during working hours) for 2-3 hours, providing emotional support and practical help in the family’s home or local community. Support is aimed at empowering parents and building resilience beyond the support period.

The type of support Perinatal Support Volunteers provide to parents may include:

• An empathetic and non-judgemental listening ear
• Support to prepare for parenthood
• Support to build confidence in parenting skills
• Support to develop a positive relationship with their infant
• Support to establish daily and weekly routines
• Support to take time for self-care
• Support to manage the things that are causing stress
• Support to access relevant services
• Support to access local green spaces
• Support to make connections with other parents

No special qualifications are necessary to become a Perinatal Support Volunteer, but Home-Start volunteers are usually either parents or grandparents themselves, or people with experience of young children and family life. We particularly welcome volunteers with lived experience of perinatal mental health challenges.

ABOUT CHILDREN WITH VOICES

Children With Voices is a grassroots children's charity with over 25 years of experience supporting children and families across London. Based at Fawcett Estate Community Hall in Clapton, Hackney, we run a Community Food Hub, alternative education, SEN support, and community programmes including Jumping Beans. We have supported over 100,000 families and are recognised nationally for our work.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

As we grow, we need an experienced Operations Manager to help us run well behind the scenes — so everything on the frontline can keep delivering. This is a meaningful voluntary leadership role for someone with professional experience in operations, HR, or management who wants their skills to count for something real.

You will work closely with the CEO and senior team to ensure the organisation runs efficiently, compliantly, and in line with our values.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Oversight

• Lead and coordinate day-to-day operations to ensure efficiency and alignment with organisational goals

• Support departments to stay aligned, compliant, and focused on delivery

• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, maximise resources, and improve impact

HR Oversight

• Oversee HR policies, compliance, and staff wellbeing in line with UK employment law and safeguarding requirements

• Support recruitment and onboarding — fair, inclusive, and safeguarding-compliant

• Provide HR guidance to managers and staff; escalate to external expertise when needed

• Maintain oversight of volunteer engagement and HR record keeping

Finance Oversight

• Supervise the Finance Coordinator (10 hrs/week) and provide accountability for financial administration

• Monitor budgets, financial reports, and expenditure in line with charity governance standards

• Ensure accurate, timely reporting to the CEO and Trustees

• Liaise with accountants, auditors, and external advisors as required

Leadership & Governance

• Work alongside the CEO, Trustees, and senior team to align operations with organisational strategy

• Provide assurance of compliance with safeguarding, data protection, charity law, and employment legislation

• Model organisational values of safeguarding, equity, inclusion, and community impact

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Experience in operations, management, or a related professional field

• Working knowledge of HR processes and UK employment law

• Financially literate — comfortable with budgets, reports, and financial summaries

• Familiar with charity governance, safeguarding, and compliance requirements

• Confident, values-led, and able to hold accountability with care

• Highly organised, reliable, and able to manage competing priorities

• Committed to equity, inclusion, and community impact

This is a voluntary senior leadership role — unpaid, but with real scope and real responsibility. We are looking for someone who brings professional-level experience and wants to use it in the service of children and families in Hackney.

Are you friendly, compassionate and understanding?  Are you keen to make a difference and contribute to the impact BCWA makes? 

We’re looking for a friendly face to welcome clients accessing BCWA services and help build a safe and comfortable space for them. If you have strong interpersonal skills and you’re a confident communicator who wants to help survivors, or you’re a reliable and honest volunteer looking to build your skills, we’d love to have you on board as a SPOC Front Desk Volunteer!

Front Desk Volunteers will volunteer within the BCWA SPOC Team, who provide key support to all BCWA services. Volunteers will be a welcoming and friendly face for walk-in clients or clients coming to their appointments, providing relevant information and directing them to the right place. But most importantly, Front Desk Volunteers provide the initial first point of contact for BCWA clients. They help create the comfortable, safe space that is integral to the support we provide, whether that’s through a friendly chat, a cup of coffee or tea, or just being kind. The SPOC team is a busy, sometimes high-pressure environment – our volunteers are integral at our busiest times of the year to ensure our clients and services get the support they need.

Volunteering with our SPOC team on the Front Desk might look like:

• Being that friendly and welcoming first point of contact for clients accessing BCWA services.
• Understanding the reason for a client’s visit and ensuring they are directed to the right place.
• Navigating any relevant information on BCWA systems.
• Offering clients a friendly chat or refreshments and curating a comfortable and safe environment.
• Helping staff and service teams using the space and giving them any information they need.
• Being an advocate for BCWA!

As a BCWA Front Desk Volunteer, you’ll get:

• All the training you need to understand and be prepared for your role with us, so you can use your time with us to grow and learn!
• Regular check-ins and contact with our Volunteer Coordinator as an opportunity to catch up, reflect and feedback on your volunteering experience with us.
• Access to the Wisdom App and the BCWA wellbeing provision.
• Access high quality support and advice from BCWA whenever you need it.
• Your travel to and from sessions expensed.  Lunch paid for if you volunteer for 6 hours or more.
• A reference to support you in your next steps, whether that is a voluntary or paid role elsewhere.
• The knowledge that you’re making a real difference to the lives of victims and survivors of violence and abuse as you volunteer alongside a passionate and experienced team!

Important information for all positions

Black Country Women’s Aid is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults, children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All posts are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975. It will be necessary for an enhanced disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service for details of any previous criminal convictions.

Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 (part 1) of the Equality Act 2010 applies. The post holder must be female.

Volunteering checks

As a responsible volunteer provider we adhere to safer recruitment practice and all our volunteers are subject to the following checks:

Right to volunteer in the UK

To avoid discrimination we treat all volunteer applicants equally.

We therefore ask all volunteers to confirm they have a Right to Volunteer in the UK.

References

If offered a volunteer role, we will seek 2 references. Ideally, one of these should be your current or last employer, however we understand this isn’t always possible. We ask that one of your referees has known you at least a year.

Examples of references could include:

• a professional from your centre of study, for instance a teacher, lecturer or headteacher
• GP or health visitor
• a character reference from a person who knows you (no familial relations or partners)
• a civil servant from a government agency
• a bank manager

DBS

All volunteer roles are subject to DBS checks at the relevant level.

Food Service Volunteers

Enthusiastic, hands-on volunteers needed to help provide food to the community. A key role, you will work at the main hub of the food bank and help the food service run as smoothly as possible. An exciting opportunity to make a real, immediate impact to those in need of support. 

Hours: Thursdays, a range of shifts from 9:30am - 6pm

Book shifts to suit your own schedule! No requirement to sign up for the same shift each Thursday or to volunteer consecutive weeks.

Location: St Michaels Church Hall, 37 Bounds Green Rd, London, N22 8SD

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 1,500 children and adults in the community. We are committed to improving lives by providing food and essential household items to build a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow. We strive to promote social inclusion by supporting people who find themselves in a crisis situation where they need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

Person specification: 

• Aged 18 or above

• Have a basic understanding of spoken English

• Available on Thursdays 

• Able to travel at your own expense (no parking is available)

• Patient and flexible - you will help on different sections on each shift and may need to switch during shifts too

• A team player - the food bank is run completely by volunteers, so we require enthusiasm and cooperation

• Willing to attend training - The Orientation Tour is required before you join us, but other training may be offered.

• Understands and is sensitive to the challenges and difficulties faced by guests accessing the food bank e.g. food and fuel poverty, feelings of shame and embarrassment, language barriers.

The role: 

• Take in deliveries and count stock at the start and end of the day (depending on your shift time)

• Help with setting up the food service, including getting food out of storage and onto the service tables, decanting and repacking items and replenishing goods when needed. 

• Warmly welcome guests, serving them the number of items advised by Section Leads and Food Service Coordinators during each shift. 

• Follow food bank policies including Health and Safety procedures e.g. wearing gloves when handling fresh food and lifting boxes safely. 

• Keep the hall safe throughout the food service e.g. tidying away boxes and keeping walkways clear. 

Benefits:

• Flexible - book shifts to suit your own schedule!

• Give back to the community - one of the NHS’ 5 Ways to Wellbeing!

• Gain access to free workshops for volunteers and upskill on a range of topics (conflict resolution, mental health first aid, arts and crafts, and more)

• Join free social events for volunteers (such as picnics, walks, games nights and celebration events)

• Gain a sense of community and meet the huge team of volunteers