640 Social support work volunteer roles

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.

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 - 5pm

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 Michael's Church Hall, 37 Bounds Green Rd, London, N22 8SD

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 4,600 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 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.

• Understand and 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 of the day 

• 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. 

• Pack away once we close. Make decisions about storage of items. Count stock to inform future procurement.

• 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!

• Upskill on a range of topics, e.g. customer service, interpersonal skills, organisational abilities and health and safety

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

Walk the Plank is looking to welcome new Trustees to our Board. 

We're a Salford-based award-winning outdoor arts company with a 30+ year history of creating artistically ambitious work in public spaces, across the UK and internationally. As a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England, we connect with audiences in bold, unexpected ways, and we want our governance to reflect the people, places and ideas behind that work. 

We are looking for Trustees who will help Walk the Plank to grow, thrive and succeed, contributing to our processes and thinking, challenging us and supporting our strategic direction, working alongside our Board, Senior Management Team to help deliver our vision. 

We're interested in people with experience in the areas of digital innovation and artistic practice, though we're equally open to a broader range of skills and backgrounds. We're particularly keen to hear from individuals from the global majority, as part of our commitment to broadening representation and strengthening diverse perspectives within our governance.

What's involved 

• 4 Board meetings per year, held at Cobden Works or online 

• Approximate time commitment of 9 hours per year of meetings, plus reading / prep. Trustees are also encouraged to attend our annual Company Conference which happens once per year at Cobden Works, and to try to see some of our work each year.

• This is a voluntary role; any reasonable expenses are covered, and we can pay for access costs in addition, if required.

Walk the Plank is committed to equal opportunities, and is Disability Confident Committed Employer, a Living Wage Employer, a Mental Health Aware Employer and a Creative Access Employer Partner. 

We value a diverse team and welcome applications from all sectors of the community as part of our aim to reflect the diversity of our audiences. 

Monday to Friday (any day welcome) 2 to 4pm (However happy to consider mornings in our High Wycombe hostel Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays)

We are looking for a friendly and reliable Resident Engagement Support Volunteer to help create a welcoming and positive environment for residents living in our accommodation in Welwyn Garden City, Hatfied and High Wycombe hostels.

This is a flexible role that will begin with a focus on befriending and social connection. Volunteers will help open the residents’ café, serve teas and coffees, and spend time chatting with residents to help build rapport and reduce social isolation.

As confidence and relationships develop, the role can be shaped around the volunteer’s interests, skills and ideas. We welcome volunteers who may wish to support additional activities such as games, quizzes, crafts, wellbeing activities, cooking sessions, or sharing practical life skills.

No specialist experience is required - just a warm approach, good listening skills and a willingness to engage with people.

Key Responsibilities

· Opening and helping run the residents’ café during the afternoon session.

· Preparing and serving teas, coffees and refreshments.

· Offering a friendly welcome to residents.

· Spending time talking with residents and building positive relationships.

· Encouraging residents to take part in social activities, signposting to staff where additional support is needed.

· Supporting or helping to organise simple activities such as board games, crafts or quizzes.

· Sharing personal skills or hobbies where appropriate (for example cooking, baking or creative activities).

· Co-designing activities based on resident feedback and interest

· Work alongside staff to create a safe, inclusive, and positive environment for residents.

· Uphold One YMCA’s safeguarding, confidentiality, and health & safety policies at all times.

Skills / Abilities / Experience / Qualities

· Friendly, approachable, and non-judgemental.

· Good listening and communication skills.

· Flexible, reliable, and willing to help in a variety of ways.

· Creativity and good knowledge on specific activities to be delivered

· Able to work as part of a team while respecting professional boundaries.

· Experience of working or volunteering with vulnerable people who may have experienced challenges such as homelessness and mental health (desirable). Volunteers should be able to respond with empathy to residents' emotions, maintain appropriate boundaries, and recognise when concerns or situations need to be escalated to a member of staff.

· Respectful of diversity and inclusive of people from all backgrounds.

Training / Support

· A full induction to the service and specific site will be provided.

· Requirement to undertake One YMCA online training courses, including safeguarding; Health & Safety Awareness and Manual Handling where appropriate.

· To understand and implement One YMCA’s policies.

· Ongoing support and regular 1:1 meetings with your line manager

· Access to organisational events throughout the year including a Volunteer’s Celebration and Annual conference

Additional Information

· You will be required to undergo a DBS check

· Two references will be required

Do you want to invest your time supporting women who are marginalised in Tower Hamlets? Do you feel called to social justice and want to do something about it? For over 20 years we have been supporting women involved in selling sex. Many of the women credit our Door of Hope project with being key to their sense of wellbeing whilst on the streets and for some, their exit from selling sex.

We are recruiting new volunteers to continue delivering consistent outreach, early Thursday morning, and late Friday evening.

We need volunteers to work with the women we support. We are looking for women with:

• A vision for reaching out to women involved in/affected by selling sex/sexual exploitation.
• Empathy, compassion and a non-judgmental approach.
• An ability to build trusting relationships whilst maintaining personal boundaries.

What you can expect from us

• An opportunity to work together to see an end to sexual exploitation.
• A friendly, supportive, and experienced team.
• A positive volunteering environment, including volunteer induction and ongoing supervision and support.
• Free Safeguarding and outreach training
• Free Understanding survival sex training
• Free Drug & Alcohol awareness training
• Free Trauma informed training
• Free tickets to the Whitechapel Women’s Tour

What we ask from you

• A regular time commitment to take part in outreach.
• Be available to attend Induction and training sessions (including a Christmas social)
• A commitment to reflective practice – taking good care of yourself, contributing to team supervision, responding reflectively to your experiences with Door of Hope, and being available to attend quarterly volunteer wellbeing socials and volunteer catch-ups as a space to reflect.
• An openness to learning and working together.
• Availability to attend team training’s 4-5 events a year (usually on a Monday evening)

We are looking for local volunteers:

If you live within 8 miles of Tower Hamlets, we can cover the cost of safe transport home via Taxi.

We are now accepting applicants. Please see our website for more details about how to apply. Closing date for applications is Midnight 9th October 2026, Interview dates are 19th 21st and 22nd October.

Due to nature of this role in working alongside women with lived experience of violence against women, this post is restricted to female applicants only under Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010.

Would you like to help tackle loneliness, one conversation at a time?

Loneliness and isolation can have devastating effects on a person’s mental and physical health. We are a registered charity providing a pathway of support to alleviate the hurt and distress, and the impact on mental and physical health, caused by loneliness and social isolation. 

The aim of face-to-face Individual Support is to provide in-person supportive social contact for people who are hurt by loneliness.

Volunteers support Friends (people who use our services) on a one-to-one basis. After completing training, volunteers will be linked with a Friend who they will phone for around one hour every two weeks. This is arranged at a mutually convenient time. 

We ask volunteers to think of this as a longer term volunteer role due to the training and time we take in order to give our volunteers, and Friends, the very best service. You will also need to consider occasional time spent in training for your role and for continuous development. 

For all our roles:

Due to our Safeguarding regulations, unfortunately we are only able to accept applications from UK residents. 

Enhanced DBS checks for working with vulnerable adults (formerly called criminal records bureau checks)  which we will organise (no cost to this) and two references are required.

For any roles involving driving Archway Friends, we will need to see evidence of insurance and driving license as well as MOT and tax documents for the vehicle to be used.

We will happily cover out of pocket expenses (eg mileage or costs for coffee out with Archway Friend).

We provide training relevant to the roles as well as ongoing supervision, guidance and support for all volunteers.

Volunteer Drivers 

Enthusiastic, hands-on volunteers needed to help provide food to the community. Bounds Green Food Bank is fortunate in receiving food and other donations from local supermarkets, businesses and individuals. We are grateful to our team of volunteer drivers who both collect and deliver on the food bank’s behalf each week. 

Hours: At any time during the week - this is a very flexible role and there is no minimum time commitment, can choose deliveries to suit your own schedule.

Location: Around the Enfield and Haringey area

About Bounds Green Food Bank: 

Open since June 2020, we serve over 4,600 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 need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

Requirements:

• A driver's license and your own vehicle

• WhatsApp, as this is how deliveries are organised

The role: 

• Each week a timetable showing scheduled food donations by local stores and businesses is posted on the volunteer drivers’ WhatsApp group

• Drivers indicate to the group that they are able to make a particular collection, adding their name to the schedule (this is editable by all chat members)

• Once collected, the donation will need to be delivered either to the hall or to a nearby storage facility according to instructions

• The food bank also makes up parcels for guests unable to access the hall in person. Drivers collect from the hall and deliver to guests, all of whom live within the surrounding area

Person specification: 

• Flexible

• Attend training as required (Zoom Induction)

• A patient and cheerful approach are helpful! 

Benefits:

• Flexible - book deliveries to suit your own schedule!

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

• Upskill on a range of topics, e.g. customer service, interpersonal skills, organisational abilities and health and safety

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

Could you share your love of music and inspire someone to grow in confidence through learning the piano? We are looking for a friendly and encouraging Piano Tutor Volunteer to support a resident who has taught himself to play the piano and is keen to develop his skills further. Your support could make a real difference to his confidence, wellbeing, and musical journey!

What you will be doing

• Deliver one-to-one piano lessons.
• Help develop piano techniques, musical skills, and confidence.
• Encourage creativity and enjoyment through music.
• Support the individual to work towards their own learning goals.

The skills you need

• Experience playing and teaching piano.
• Patient, encouraging, and reliable.
• Enjoys helping others learn and develop new skills.
• Can build a positive and supportive relationship with service users.

What's in it for you

• Supporting You - You will have a dedicated volunteer supervisor to support you in your role; Quarterly volunteer forums with the central Volunteering team and volunteers across Hestia; References for job applications
• Developing You - You will gain knowledge and insight into issues that impact Domestic Abuse, Modern Slavery and Mental Health; You will have access to our extensive Learning and Development Programme; 40% of our departed volunteers secured a paid role at Hestia last year!
• Valuing You - We hold annual Volunteer Awards and Celebration events; We reimburse travel expenses and up to £5 for lunch for your volunteering; We hold social events and outings for our volunteers to get together and have some fun

Volunteering Opportunity 

Day Centre Assistant & Companion

What You’ll Do

Support staff and clients at the Mabel Churn Centre to create a warm, welcoming environment for older people living with dementia. You’ll help with social activities and mealtimes to ensure the day runs smoothly.

You will:

· Chat and engage with clients to build a friendly atmosphere

· Encourage and support participation in activities (e.g. arts, music)

· Set up tables and help serve meals and drinks

· Clear tables and keep the space clean and tidy

· Communicate with staff about client needs or concerns

Skills You’ll Use or Develop

· Friendly and compassionate nature

· Comfortable supporting older people, including those with dementia

· Punctual and reliable

· Able to follow instructions and work as part of a team

· Respectful of confidentiality

Time Commitment

4 hours between 10:30 am and 4:00 pm
(Weekdays)

Location: The Mabel Churn Centre, 55b Sunny Road, Enfield, EN3 5EF

Reports to: Day Centre Manager

Ready to Apply?

Our Volunteer Opportunities Pack and Volunteer Application Form are attached and available to download.

If you're interested in joining our volunteer team, simply complete the application form and email it back to us (email provided included in the application pack)

Once we've received your application, we'll arrange an informal telephone chat to discuss the volunteer role(s) you're interested in, answer any questions you may have, and help you find the opportunity that's the best fit for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Women’s Service Intern 

Assist Baytrees Women’s Service team with administrative tasks, event coordination, and direct engagement with service users and volunteers. You will help coordinate and assist in delivering workshops and activities that empower women and girls, while contributing to a welcoming and inclusive environment. This role provides valuable hands-on experience in the charity sector and community education settings, allowing you to develop practical skills in administration, communication, and programme delivery, and gain insight into women’s services and community-focused work.

Main responsibilities:

- Provide admin support, including data entry and record-keeping.

- Help plan and deliver events and workshops.

- Communicate with service users and volunteers.

- Prepare materials and resources for activities.

- Assist with feedback collection and basic monitoring tasks.

- Maintain a welcoming, inclusive environment.

- Follow Baytree’s policies and procedures.

- Complete volunteer questionnaires and evaluations as needed.

- Work directly with clients across Baytree services (e.g. youth clubs, workshops, reception, and befriending activities).

Skills and qualities required:

- Good communication and organisational skills.

- Confident using Microsoft Office.

- Friendly, reliable, and proactive.

- Able to work independently and as part of a team.

- Interest in women’s empowerment and community work.

- Respectful and inclusive approach.

Commitment:

- 2 to 4 days/week (Monday–Thursday), 10:00 am–6:00 pm.

- Duration: 4 to 6 months, with the option to extend.

Benefits:

- We reimburse up to £7 for travel and £5 for lunch expenses for each full day of internship. - Real-world experience in the charity sector.

- Development of admin and people skills.

- Insight into women’s services and community learning.

- Personal fulfilment and social opportunities.

- Supportive, values-driven environment.

- Inclusion in social events, offering opportunities to build connections with other volunteers.

This role is open to female applicants only (Equality Act 2010: Schedule 9: Occupational Requirements). Applicants must be 18 years or older.

About The Pinnacle Centre

The Pinnacle Centre is a third space in Birmingham helping young adults grow holistically. We work across three domains: personal development, sports and wellbeing, and community and belonging.

Vision 2030 is where that work is heading. We're building a multi-purpose centre in Birmingham — sports facilities, co-working space, an auditorium and a café — designed as a home for young adults to train, work, learn and gather.

Role Summary

You own campaigns end to end, and the audience thinking behind them. You take a target — attendance, sign-ups, donations — work out who we need to reach and how, brief the team, and deliver the number.

Key tasks

1.  Audience & planning

○ Define priority audiences and what genuinely motivates each of them to turn up.

○ Own the marketing calendar, mapped to the programme, event and fundraising calendars.

○ Set and publish targets: reach, sign-ups, attendance and return rate.

2.  Campaign execution

○ Build campaign plans with objective, audience, message, channels and timeline.

○ Write clear briefs for Creative, Video and Social, with realistic lead times.

○ Manage paid promotion within budget, and adjust mid-campaign on what the numbers say.

3.  Measurement

○ Track performance against target daily while a campaign is live.

○ Run post-campaign reviews with honest conclusions.

○ Own analytics, CRM data quality and GDPR compliance for marketing communications.

4.  Coordination

○ Coordinate with Fundraising on income campaigns and with Events on ticketing.

○ Support Partnerships with distribution through partner channels.

○ Report to the CMO against target.

What we're looking for

● Campaign management experience with outcomes you can quantify.

● Fluent in analytics and comfortable running paid social.

● A clear brief writer — precise about audience, message and what success looks like.

● Organised; much of this role is running other people's deadlines.

● Persuasive copywriting ability (desirable).

What we have to offer

● Real ownership of a function, not a task list — you will shape how it works, not just execute someone else's plan.

● A seat in a team building towards a 2030 horizon, with a clear line of sight to the leadership team.

● Access to our network of founders, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors through Pinnacle's events programme.

● Training, mentoring and the opportunity to build and lead a team of your own as the organisation grows.

● The reward of building something in your city that will outlast all of us.

Please note: this is currently a volunteer position. Reasonable expenses for travel, equipment and refreshments are reimbursed in line with our Expenses Policy. As Pinnacle grows and funding allows, we expect several senior roles to move to paid positions, and volunteers already in post will be considered first.

Help us tell the stories that inspire communities and save lives.

Our Communications Officers are responsible for sharing the incredible work of North West First Responder Group with the public, volunteers, partners and supporters. From celebrating volunteer achievements to promoting fundraising campaigns and community events, you'll help ensure our message reaches the people who need to hear it.

If you're creative, passionate about social media and communications, and want to use your skills to support a life-saving charity, we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll do

As a Communications Officer, you may:

• Create engaging content for our social media platforms.
• Capture photos and videos at events and community activities.
• Write news articles, volunteer stories and website content.
• Design graphics and promotional materials using platforms such as Canva.
• Help manage and grow our online presence.
• Support marketing campaigns, fundraising appeals and awareness initiatives.
• Assist with media enquiries and press releases where required.
• Ensure our branding and communications remain professional and consistent.

You'll work closely with our Communications Team and wider charity to showcase the impact of our volunteers across the North West.

What we're looking for

We're looking for volunteers who are:

• Creative and enthusiastic with a passion for storytelling.
• Confident using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
• Able to write clear, engaging content for a variety of audiences.
• Organised, reliable and able to work independently.
• Comfortable attending events to capture content when available.
• Keen to contribute new ideas and help grow the charity's reach.

Previous communications or marketing experience is welcome but not essential. If you have enthusiasm, creativity and a willingness to learn, we'll provide the support you need.

What you'll gain

By joining our Communications Team you'll receive:

• The opportunity to make a real impact by raising awareness of our work.
• Experience in charity communications, marketing and digital media.
• Opportunities to develop skills in content creation, branding and public engagement.
• Access to training and continuous professional development.
• A chance to build a portfolio of work while supporting a growing charity.
• Recognition as part of an enthusiastic and supportive volunteer team.

Every post you publish, every story you share, and every campaign you support helps us reach more people, recruit more volunteers, raise vital funds, and ultimately strengthen the communities we serve. Your creativity could help save lives.

Help support cats in the North East of Scotland!

As a charity we can help thousands of cats each year thanks to the generous donations from our supporters. Raising funds is a key role in our charity, helping to raise the vital funds needed to help more cats and kittens in need.

As a fundraising volunteer, we will support you every step of the way to ensure your time at Cats Protection is a positive and rewarding one. Whatever time you can give really does make a big difference We have lots of exciting activities to choose from for example attending a fundraising event, fundraising online, promoting fundraising activities on social media, handling administrative tasks, or contributing to the development of new fundraising ideas. Whatever your skill set, this role could be perfect for you!

It is a flexible role, you have the choice to be involved in the following:

o face-to-face fundraising – organising or helping with fundraising events, attending supermarket collections and monitoring collection boxes.

o online fundraising – assisting with online appeals, increasing social media engagement to maximise funds raised.

o bringing new ideas! - We always love to come up with new ideas to raise funds for cats and we’d love to help bring yours to life.

o engaging with your local branch and Fundraising Hub and feeling like an integral part of the team.

You will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge though Cats Protection’s learn online system, providing you with the skills to thrive as a fundraiser.  You’ll also have the chance to meet new people and be part of a dedicated team of volunteers.

Money raised by our volunteers enables us to put cats first. Cats are at the centre of all we do. We care for them, ensure their welfare, and help others to understand and better support them.

We're looking for someone with:

o Sympathy to cats and our values

o Happy to be part of a team of dedicated volunteers and employees.

o Flexible and adaptable to different events/activities

o Open to new ideas and ways of fundraising

o Good communication and team player

Our Fundraising Volunteer roles are very flexible, often certain times of the year are busier than others. You can choose your level of involvement to suit your schedule!

At Cats Protection we believe our volunteers should be happy and confident in their roles. We provide support and guidance from our National Cat Centre and through our regional and local volunteer groups and teams. We offer engaging online and face-to-face training, expenses and have policies and processes to help volunteers get the most out of their time with us.

The wellbeing of our people is important and at Cats Protection we are committed to safeguarding children, adults at risk and all those that we encounter as part of our activities.

Thank you for your support and sharing in this commitment and for everything you will do during your time with Cats Protection!

We’re looking for a Volunteer Data Administrator to support our Criminal Justice Services. Can you offer 6 hours a week.  By sharing your time, skills, and experience, you can make a real difference to the lives of the people we support.

As a Volunteer Data Administrator, you'll play an important role behind the scenes, helping us understand our impact and improve the support we provide. Working alongside our Data Analyst, you'll help keep information accurate, support reporting, and ensure we have the data we need to make informed decisions.

This is a great opportunity to develop your administration and data skills, gain valuable experience, and be part of a supportive team working towards better outcomes for individuals and communities.

You'll be:

Helping to keep records accurate and up to date

Supporting data collection and reporting

Carrying out simple quality checks

Identifying trends and insights that can help improve services

Contributing to meaningful work that supports positive change

We're looking for someone who:

Has good attention to detail

Is confident using Microsoft Office, particularly Excel

Communicates well and can work independently

Understands the importance of confidentiality

Wants to use their skills to support others

What you'll gain:

Valuable experience in data administration and reporting

Ongoing support and development

Home based volunteering

Please read the attached volunteer role description for further details about this role.