Volunteer roles with multiple filters

ABOUT MARY’S

At Mary’s Youth Club, we’re not just a youth club – we’re a vibrant, inclusive community where young people aged 10–19 (up to 25 for those with disabilities) come together to share, grow, learn, and enjoy themselves. We believe in creating joyful and enriching experiences that empower every young person who walks through our doors. 

Our open access youth club runs exciting and diverse programmes Monday to Friday, including school holidays. Whether it’s the energy of drop-in activities like gaming, sports, and board games, or the focused buzz of creative arts, health and wellbeing sessions, life skills workshops, or youth-led social action – there’s always something happening at Mary’s. Young people help shape our programmes, and we champion their independence, creativity, and voice. 

Young people describe us as “like a family” – a safe, friendly, and welcoming space where they can be themselves. Our team is deeply rooted in youth work values: inclusion, equality, justice, reflection, and lifelong learning. Together, we work to support young people to navigate challenges and take steps toward brighter futures. 

VOLUNTEER WITH US! 

Volunteer role title: Volunteer Chef/Cook/Kitchen Staff

Hours: 2-3 hours on a Friday evening, from about 4.30/5pm

Help us to meet our goal of creating healthy meals for young people, by volunteering in our kitchen! 

We are looking for volunteers with a passion for cooking, nutrition and healthy eating, to assist in the kitchen independently, as a group, or alongside our youth workers and young people, preparing a warm meal for up to 40 young people.

You are welcome to come along as an assistant volunteering with the rest of the team, but we would also love volunteers who are interested in heathy eating to lead on this initiative, teaching those young people who choose to volunteer in the kitchen, food preparation skills, how to cook nutritious foods, as well as sharing the joy of eating together 

This role will include: 

• helping to prepare hot food by chopping vegetables, cooking etc 

• serving the young people during the Friday evening dinner service. 

• helping with cleaning up the dining room and the kitchen

If you are interested in taking a more active role/lead on this project then you would also lead on the menu planning and budgeting 

The commitment 

• We are looking for people who are able to commit 2-3 hours on a Friday, from 4.30/5pm

• This commitment is during term time (please note that additional volunteering in school holidays is beneficial to Youth Club delivery but not essential) 

Experience 

You do not need to have experience in catering, or to have volunteered before, as you will be well looked after by the team, but if you are interested in leading on this project then it would be beneficial to be able to demonstrate your knowledge/passion 

Training 

You will be given a full induction to Marys Youth Club.

This includes access to our training platform. The mandatory training for this role includes: 

• Food hygiene and safety 

• Safeguarding 

• Health and Safety 

• Equality and diversity 

Essential for This Role

Safer Recruitment Checks:

• DBS is essential for this role (we will provide this)

• Completion of mandatory training modules as outlined above 

• Interpersonal skills

• Time Management skills 

• Team Work

• Ability to get stuck in 

• Commitment to/ interest in, the work that we do 

In return 

You’ll be sharing your time and skills and gaining accreditations and valuable CV boosting skills

We will also provide, references and/or a volunteer certificate 

Reasonable travel expenses can be covered 

Note that we do also have other volunteer roles, both in the office and working directly with young people, so if you aren’t able to commit to Friday evenings, or have interests other than cooking/volunteering in the kitchen, then get in touch to discuss 

Application Process 

All potential volunteers are asked to first attend a volunteer intro call

After this intro call, potential volunteers are invited to come to the youth club to meet the young people and the youth workers, this is a chance to see if volunteering with us is a good fit 

If you are invited to progress with your application, you will be asked to complete a DBS, provide us with 2 references, and complete the mandatory training listed above. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE SPONSORSHIP, THEREFORE YOU DO NEED TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK