Volunteer roles in Bedfordshire

Become a Fundraising Volunteer!

Help make a better life for cats – because life is better with cats

Our vision for volunteering

Volunteering is, and always will be, at the heart of Cats Protection. It’s joyful, inclusive, and driven by people working together to transform the lives of cats, people, and communities. When you volunteer with us, you become part of something truly meaningful.

The difference you’ll make

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Cats Protection helps thousands of cats every year. Our fundraising volunteers play a vital role in making this possible. By using your passion for cats and people, you’ll help raise the funds needed to support more cats and kittens in need.

As a fundraising volunteer, we’ll support you to get involved in a way that suits you best. Whether you enjoy organising events, fundraising online, promoting activities on social media, helping with administration, or coming up with fresh ideas — there’s a place for you here. Whatever your skills or interests, this could be the perfect role.

What you can expect from us

• A warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment in line with our values and behaviours
• Support to help you have a positive and impactful volunteering experience
• Agreed out-of-pocket expenses covered in line with our Expenses Policy
• Access to learning, development, and engagement opportunities

What we need from you

This is a highly flexible role, and you can choose how you’d like to get involved. Opportunities include:

• Face-to-face fundraising – organising or helping at fundraising events, running supermarket collections and fundraising stands, and monitoring collection tins
• Online fundraising – setting up online appeals and writing engaging cat case studies to maximise donations
• Marketing and promotion – spreading the word about fundraising activities via social media and local press
• Administration – processing donations, sorting and recording donated goods, and completing Gift Aid paperwork
• Championing our work – helping to develop new fundraising ideas and increasing community engagement
• Photography – capturing images of cats in care, cats we’re helping, fundraising events, and all things Cats Protection

Time commitment

This role is flexible and designed to fit around your other commitments. You’ll be part of a friendly team raising vital funds — and having fun along the way.

You could be just the volunteer we’re looking for

We’re committed to building a diverse, compassionate, and inclusive organisation where everyone can be themselves and do their best. Together, we’re courageous and compassionate in helping people see the world through cats’ eyes.

Join the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and help make a better life for cats. Together, we are all for cats.

Presbyoptics solutions

We distribute affordable reading glasses through community networks to improve vision access in underserved populations.​

If you enjoy turning big ideas into clear, winning proposals, and you secretly love deadlines, this one’s for you.

We’re looking for a Grant Writer who can help us turn real impact into strong, fundable stories. You’ll work closely with our team to shape proposals, concept notes, and reports that reflect what’s actually happening on the ground in our last mile distribution model .

This role is for someone who:

1. Enjoys writing clear, sharp, and persuasive content.
2. Can translate field work, data, and ideas into funder-ready language.
3. Understands (or is excited to learn about) social enterprises impact in the community, inventory management,health and livelihoods.
4. Aligns with our mission and cares about impact beyond paperwork.
5. Can structure ideas well and meet deadlines without drama.

You won’t be writing theory for theory’s sake. You’ll be helping unlock resources that allows Presbyoptics solutions to scale, position glasses as a tool for livelihoods, build community resilience and diversion from aids . If you believe good writing can move money, and money can move change, we’d love to work with you.

Minimum Hours per Week:

4-6 hours per week

Duration:

6+ months

Jaress Agfinance

We provide women smallholder farmers finance, inputs, training, and market access for climate-smart agriculture.

​Jaress Agfinance Limited is seeking a passionate volunteer to support our mission of empowering women smallholder farmers in Nigeria through climate-smart agriculture and financial inclusion.

The volunteer will help identify grant opportunities, climate finance programs, impact investors, donor partnerships, and funding opportunities that align with our work in agriculture, women empowerment, renewable energy, and rural finance.

Key responsibilities include:
• Researching local and international grant opportunities
• Supporting proposal and concept note development
• Identifying climate and agricultural funding opportunities
• Assisting with partnership outreach to donors and development organizations
• Supporting impact reporting and storytelling

Ideal candidates may have experience in grant writing, fundraising, ESG, climate finance, international development, agriculture, or nonprofit partnerships.

By volunteering with Jaress Agfinance, you will contribute to improving livelihoods for women farmers and expanding sustainable agriculture solutions in underserved communities.

Minimum Hours per Week:

2-3 hours per week

Duration:

3-5 months

Appear+

We provide psychosocial frameworks, training, and AI tools to combat appearance-based stigma.​

�� Role Summary

Appear+ is not just a product; we are building a system that understands lived experiences of appearance, identity, and psychosocial well-being. We are looking for someone who can help structure insights from user interactions into meaningful patterns.

�� What You’ll Do

• Help categorize and structure lived experience data
• Identify patterns in user responses and behavior
• Support development of simple insight frameworks
• Contribute to how Appear+ evolves based on real use

Essential Skills

• Background in research, psychology, sociology, or behavioral science
• Ability to work with qualitative data
• Strong pattern recognition and structured thinking

Desirable

• Experience with Airtable / Notion / Sheets
• Interest in human-centered AI or social systems

Impact

���� You will help shape how lived experiences become knowledge, and eventually influence systems and society.

Minimum Hours per Week:

2-3 hours per week

Duration:

3-5 months

About YAUK

Youth Advantage UK is a charitable organization that uses a research-led approach to inform policy work and projects that aim to promote and further the human rights of young people aged 11 to 25 across the United Kingdom.

Please note that this is a remote VOLUNTEER role.

We won't accept applications from individuals residing outside of the UK as we operate on the principle of bettering the lives of young people in the UK. Therefore, we require our volunteers to have an understanding of what it is like to live in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Provide support to the CEO on matters of urgency and importance to the organization.
• Manage the agenda for meetings the CEO holds ensuring all actions are allocated for actioning
• Sign post management across the organisation as required
• Handle multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously
• Organizing and coordinating meetings, appointments, and events to ensure efficient time management for the CEO
• Handling Communications: Acting as the first point of contact for the CEO, managing correspondence.
• Preparing reports, presentations, and other documents needed for meetings and decision-making.
• Assisting with various administrative tasks such as record-keeping and office management.
• Coordinating specific tasks as assigned by the CEO
• Acting as a bridge between the CEO and other senior management, ensuring smooth communication

Requirements

• Excellent communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Experience in fast-paced environments.
• Good IT skills.
• Ability to use remote systems.
• Ability to engage with others well.
• Good people skills.

Benefits

• This is a UK-based, 100% fully remote and flexible role.
• Supportive team and management to enhance your skills and build on your experience.
• Your work will help transform and empower many young people’s lives, rights, and interests and assist in promoting equality for all young people.

Why Volunteer with Us?

We are a supportive and friendly organization that takes pride in developing and nurturing our staff and providing them with excellent opportunities to thrive and further encourage their career growth and future aspirations.

We offer a fully remote working environment and a flexible and adaptable working schedule. This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing organization, enhance your skills, and gain valuable experience. If this sounds like you and you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your CV.

We look forward to hearing from you!

About YAUK

Youth Advantage UK is a charitable organization that uses a research-led approach to inform policy work and projects that aim to promote and further the human rights of young people aged 11 to 25 across the United Kingdom.

Please note that this is a remote VOLUNTEER role.

We won't accept applications from individuals residing outside of the UK as we operate on the principle of bettering the lives of young people in the UK. Therefore, we require our volunteers to have an understanding of what it is like to live in the UK.

We are looking to recruit a Communications Manager who can provide strong and stable operational management of the communications teams, directly supervising Senior Officers, while working with the departmental head to develop the department.

Responsibilities

• To provide effective operational management of teams within the Communications Department 

• To directly provide guidance, support and direction to Senior Officers who oversee the teams within the department

• To welcome new volunteers to the department and work alongside the departmental heads to improve team culture

• To plan the work of the department and support with strategic decision making

• To provide support as required to ensure that the communications teams are achieving their goals and making progress

Requirements

• To have at least 2 years of communications and marketing experience

• To have demonstrated leadership skills in a previous professional setting

• To have held a management level position

• To have strong IT and digital working skills

• To be competent in the use of Canva, Wix and social media

Benefits

• This is a UK-based, 100% fully remote and flexible role.

• Supportive team and management to enhance your skills and build on your experience.

• Your work will help transform and empower many young people’s lives, rights, and interests and assist in promoting equality for all young people.

Why Volunteer with Us?

We are a supportive and friendly organization that takes pride in developing and nurturing our volunteers and providing them with excellent opportunities to thrive and further encourage their career growth and future aspirations.

We offer a fully remote working environment and a flexible and adaptable working schedule. This is an excellent opportunity to join a growing organization, enhance your skills, and gain valuable experience. If this sounds like you and you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your CV.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Job Description:

Job Summary We are seeking a motivated and creative Social Media Manager to manager our social media team. This role is ideal for individuals looking to share their experience and skills in public relations and social media management. As a Social Media manager, you will be responsible for developing and implementing our social media strategy, helping to enhance our online presence and engage with our audience effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage and show leadership to our Social media team
• Responsible for creating engaging content for various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
• Monitor social media channels for trends, feedback, and engagement opportunities.
• Help manage the scheduling and posting of content across all platforms.
• Collaborate with the marketing team to develop campaigns that align with our brand voice and objectives.
• Conduct research on industry trends and competitor activities to inform content strategies.
• Support the analysis of social media metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns and suggest improvements.
• Host team meetings and contribute ideas for enhancing our social media presence.
• Report to senior management

Requirements

• Strong interest in public relations and social media management.
• Excellent written communication skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Familiarity with various social media platforms and their best practices.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team environment.
• Creative mindset with the ability to generate innovative ideas for content creation.
• Basic knowledge of graphic design tools (e.g., Canva or Adobe Creative Suite) is a plus but not essential.
• A proactive attitude towards learning and personal development.

This internship offers an excellent opportunity to develop your skills in a supportive environment while contributing to meaningful projects that impact our brand's visibility and engagement online.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This role is an expenses only role. Expenses will be reimbursed

We would require you to work for 3 days a week.

Job Type: Internship

Contract length: 6 months

Work Location: Remote

We are seeking an organised and enthusiastic Volunteer Recruitment Officer to utilise their excellent administrative and personal skills to advertise for, shortlist and onboard new volunteers.

Location: Remote (although ability to join occasional face-to-face training and meetings in Bounds Green desirable)

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 find themselves in crisis where they need assistance to feed themselves and their families.

The role: 

• Liaise with different team leads to create enticing job descriptions for new volunteer roles

• Post and manage volunteer adverts on different recruitment websites like Indeed, Charity Job and Third Sector Jobs

• Review applications and shortlist suitable applicants, which will include speaking with them to answer questions and collaborating with the relevant team lead to organise interviews or opportunities to visit us to learn more

• Update the database with applicant contact points and recruitment progress

• Support with onboarding new volunteers, e.g. ensuring they have completed the relevant registration forms, provided any necessary documents,and are able to join our on-line communities. 

Person specification: 

• Excellent written and verbal communication in English

• Fantastic organisational skills

• Experience in administrative or recruitment roles desirable but not essential

• Willing to learn about what we do and why, to engage applicants to join us

Benefits:

• 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

At the heart of Ronald McDonald House Charities, is a simple belief: families belong together, especially when a child is seriously ill. Every day, we support parents, siblings and carers at one of the most challenging moments of their lives, offering not just a place to stay, but space to breathe, connect and cope.

We are the UK’s leading provider of family accommodation, with a network of 14 Houses supporting around 530 families each night. Thousands more families use our Houses each year as a place to rest, refresh and gather strength before returning to their child’s bedside. Yet demand continues to exceed supply, and too many families are still facing long commutes, sleepless nights on hospital chairs or in cars.

Over the next five years, our ambition is clear: to help more families and to serve them better, expanding both our accommodation and our programme of emotional and practical support. To help guide us through this pivotal phase, we are seeking to appoint two new Trustees to our Board:

• Trustee – Paediatric Experience: We are looking for a Trustee with significant paediatric expertise and a strong understanding of the clinical and hospital environment. This may be from a senior paediatric, nursing or allied health background, or with strategic or operational experience from the children’s health sector. You will bring insight into the realities facing children, families and healthcare teams, helping the Board make informed, compassionate decisions.
• Trustee – Finance & Investments: We are also seeking a Trustee with strong finance experience, including knowledge of investments. You will provide strategic oversight and constructive challenge around financial sustainability, reserves, investment strategy and stewardship, supporting our long term growth and resilience.

We are committed to building a Board that reflects a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds and lived experiences. We warmly welcome applications from first time trustees as well as those with prior board experience, and we are particularly interested in candidates who bring empathy and a deep understanding of the challenges families face during a child’s hospital stay.

We begin this next chapter from a position of strength, with the continued backing of the McDonald’s system alongside a clear ambition to diversify income and strengthen our organisation. By 2029, we aim to grow income to over £20m while reducing reliance on any single source.

If you share our values and want to help shape a future where more families are supported, together, we would love to hear from you.

How to apply
To download a full copy of the candidate brief and learn more about the role, please click the ‘Apply’ button, where you will be redirected to the website of our recruitment partner, Tall Roots. Applications should include a CV and a covering letter explaining why you would like to join our Board and how your skills, experience and values would enable you to make a strong contribution as a Trustee at Ronald McDonald House Charities. If you would like an informal discussion about the opportunities, please email Mark Crowley at Tall Roots.

United Nations CSO, Centre for Big Synergy, seeks a Partnerships Advisor/Lead to lead strategic partnerships for various educational and creative programs including the World's biggest sustainability film festival and awards.

What will you be doing?

This is an opportunity to build a very high profile network for furthering your career and also to gain professional esteem and presence.

Big Syn Institute (BSI) is a part of the Centre for Big Synergy and has been organising the Big Syn International Film Festival (BSIFF) since 2019.

The partnerships lead will work closely with senior leadership to identify and engage in commercial and strategic relationships with key partners, both online and offline, for the activities of BSI, London for various creative projects it runs including the World's Biggest sustainability film fest & awards.

Since 2019, the Big Syn Institute has hosted the festival has reached over 50M people and in over 120 countries. Through relevant shorts, features, animations, documentaries, CSR videos and Public Service Videos, Charity films, the festival advocates the United Nations 17 Global Goals and also celebrates the work of UK's marginalised filmmakers. 

OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY award-winners, as well as other luminaries from film and media, sustainability, and policy have been part of the festival and have supported it since inception. Winners from the festival have eventually won OSCARS and EMMY awards

We are looking for a motivated networker with a can-do attitude who enjoys networking and establishing relationships. The partnerships manager, working closely with our team must be able to:

• Identify, cultivate, and secure high‑value funders, corporate patrons, and philanthropic partners.
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of investors, donors, and strategic collaborators.
• Develop compelling partnership propositions, sponsorship decks, and investment narratives tailored to each stakeholder.
• Lead negotiations and close partnership agreements that advance the institute’s creative, cultural, and educational objectives.
• Work closely with executive leadership to align partnership strategy with the institute’s mission and long‑term vision.
  • Collaborate with programming, marketing, legal, and finance teams to deliver high‑impact partnerships.
  • Monitor industry trends, funding landscapes, and corporate CSR priorities to anticipate new opportunities.
• Take ownership as one of most important people associated with the BSI's activities, festivals and awards
• Think strategically to identify and establish new partnerships whilst exploring new engagements with the existing partner network
• Communicate with a very high professional standard with the leadership of partner organisations, some being the biggest corporations in their sector
• Maintain a database with existing and new partnerships and updates on progress made
• Explore ideas, both in house, and with potential and new partners, to come up with creative ideas of collaboration to further common goals

What are we looking for?

A committed and meticulous person, passionate about making the world a more sustainable, safer and peaceful place

• Proven experience: 3 or more years of communicating and working with senior leadership across organisations and identifying potential partners and stakeholders
• Strategic Relationship Builder: able to cultivate trust with senior executives, philanthropists, brand leaders, and industry stakeholders.
• Commercially Astute: understands how funding, sponsorship, and co‑financing models work across film, culture, and corporate CSR.
• Compelling Communicator: exceptional written and verbal communication, able to craft persuasive pitches, proposals, and partnership narratives.
• Diplomatic and Credible: carries themselves with the gravitas needed to represent an institute in high‑level settings.
• Creative Thinker: able to design partnership concepts that feel fresh, mutually beneficial, and aligned with the institute’s mission.
• Resilient and Proactive: comfortable navigating long sales cycles, complex stakeholders, and shifting industry landscapes.
• Highly Organised: manages pipelines, reporting, and stewardship with precision.
• Mission‑Driven: genuinely committed to the cultural, educational, or social purpose of the institute.

What difference will you make?

Billions of people globally, are unaware of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) let alone take any steps to create a more sustainable world for themselves and in the process for others in this complexly interconnected world.

This highlights the need for such initiatives to educate the British as well as global societies about the UN SDGs. Your contributions can educate and inspire millions to act on the SDGs and bring positive changes that will impact all of us in this complexly interconnected world.

Most importantly your efforts will  ensure that the film festival and the UK's marginalised filmmakers (LGBTQI+, women, disabled and ethnic minorities) get even more visibility, thus furthering the motto of the festival to celebrate inclusion and diversity whilst inspiring the civic society to act on the Global Goals. It will also help partner organisations join forces and work in synergy to amplify the impact of the initiative through communal as well as individual efforts. Thus, benefitting more lives that we would have helped acting alone.

United Nations CSO, Centre for Big Synergy, reaches over 250M in over 120 countries. We are seeking a research and outreach lead to help reach potential partners for various UK and global programmes. 

What will you be doing?

An opportunity to contribute to world leading projects impacting millions of people across the globe. Projects span across multiple sectors such as film and media, education, DEI, environment and climate change amongst others.

• Research key stakeholders/potential partners that fit our target audience. Working on LinkedIn and other partnership platforms
• Identify and collect details and impact of potential partner leads
• Compile, format, and maintain clean, accurate databases
• Cross-check data for accuracy and support wider outreach and campaign activity

This role is very flexible and can be fitted around your availability.

What are we looking for?

A committed and meticulous person, passionate about making the world a more sustainable, safer and peaceful place.

• Have some experience of research and working with senior leadership across organisations and identifying potential partners and stakeholders
• Ability to research and maintain database of potential partners, work on lead generation and follow ups
• Prompt communication and timekeeping, ability to deliver on time
• Maintain confidentiality and utmost standards of professional etiquette.

What difference will you make?

Billions of people globally, are unaware of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) let alone take any steps to create a more sustainable world for themselves and in the process for others in this complexly interconnected world.

Our projects and initiatives help educate the British as well as global societies about the UN SDGs. Your contributions can educate and inspire millions to act on the SDGs and bring positive changes that will impact all of us in this complexly interconnected world.

It will also help partner organisations join forces and work in synergy to amplify the impact of the initiative through communal as well as individual efforts. Thus, benefitting more lives that we would have helped acting alone.

We are looking for volunteers to join the GBSL project run by the Sickle Cell Society and help increase life-saving blood donations in Black-heritage communities.

What you’ll do:

• Raise awareness about the importance of ethnically matched blood for people with Sickle Cell
• Help grow the movement through community events and social media
• Encourage friends, family and community networks to register as donors
• Share facts and real stories about blood donation

We’re seeking friendly, reliable individuals aged 18 or over 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!

You have the time to become a volunteer in your community; you might be looking for work experience, the opportunity to meet new people, or keep active.

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.

What you will be doing

• Undertaking shop related tasks agreed with the Manager, for example:
• Chatting to customers, giving great service on the till.
• Selecting, sorting, and pricing donated stock.
• Visual merchandising: creating eye-catching window and in-store displays.
• Accepting donations from members of the public, speaking to the donors and asking them a few questions..
• Following clear instructions to label donations in order to maximise income.
• 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
• Happy to speak with other people, and follow instructions to complete a task

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
• Possible references for future employers

We’re seeking friendly, reliable individuals aged 18 or over who want to make a difference in their community by helping their local Oxfam shop to stay open for as long possible. We need people to open and close the shop, and ensure volunteers know what tasks to undertake so the shop can run smoothly.

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!

You have the time to become a volunteer in your community; you might be looking for work experience, the opportunity to meet new people, or keep active.

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.

What you will be doing

• Undertaking shop related tasks agreed with the Manager, for example:
• Opening or closing the shop.
• Ensuring that the shop is ready to trade or cashing up at the end of trade
• Allocating tasks to members of the volunteer team.
• 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
• Confident communicator

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
• Possible references for future employers