Volunteer roles in Preston

Why we want you

As a community engagement volunteer you and your fellow branch members will create a range of activities to help spread the word about SSAFA within your community to ensure that that our Armed Forces community know that SSAFA are here to help and that we need the public’s support to continue offering our services.

This role is diverse and allows for you to focus on the areas that you have skills or interests in. The role has flexibility and can work around your other commitments.

Below are some examples of possible activities you can take on or be a part of as a SSAFA Community Engagement Volunteer.

What you will be doing

• Activity Organisers - Love planning? Help coordinate amazing events like charity dinners, carol concerts, and local fairs.
• Event Champions - Be the friendly face of SSAFA! Help at events, chat with visitors, sell merchandise, and spread the word about our work.
• Promoting SSAFA Services - Help provide a warm, welcoming presence at Veterans Breakfast clubs, cafes or hubs - offering information about SSAFA services and signposting as appropriate.
• SSAFA Storytellers -Deliver engaging talks to organisations and groups, sharing SSAFA’s incredible history and mission.
• Community Connectors - Collaborating with the Community Engagement Manager to establish a local network, promote SSAFA's services, and respond to community opportunities such as gardening projects.
• Fundraising Heroes - Whether it’s rallying local businesses, organising events, or getting creative with unique fundraising ideas, you’ll play a crucial role in keeping SSAFA’s support going strong.
• Administrators - Are you detail-oriented and love keeping things organised? Assist with branch and event administration, manage schedules and branch calendars, and ensure everything runs smoothly currently being undertaken.

The skills you need

• Be friendly and approachable.
• Confident to engage with the public, potential clients, volunteers and SSAFA colleagues face-to-face.
• Reliable attitude, staying connected with your Branch and/or Community Engagement Manager about your availability.
• Access to public transport or a car to get to events if necessary.
• Basic IT skills would be an advantage.

What's in it for you

• Use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others and make a difference.
• Give tangible and practical support to your local branch by raising awareness of SSAFA.
• Support from your local SSAFA branch and SSAFA Community Engagement Manager.
• Experience, training and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews.
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression!

Disclaimer

SSAFA is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those involved in our work and expects volunteers to share this commitment.

Volunteer Animal Fosterer (RSPCA North West London and South Hertfordshire Branch)

As an animal fosterer, you would be supporting our Branch in providing either our cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, or other small furries with the safety of your home whilst tending to their welfare needs such as feeding and grooming. In addition to this, by providing a temporary loving environment, you will play a crucial role in their wellbeing and socialisation, which will significantly improve their chances of successful rehoming.

We will guide you through the fostering process and ensure that you have all the necessary equipment, food, and veterinary care for your foster. We are also happy to reimburse any other pre-agreed expenses that you may incur through volunteering for us.

Whilst our animals are in your foster care, you will:

• Provide them with care, suitable housing, and a safe environment as per our policies and guidelines.
• Feed, water, and groom them in line with our advice.
• Transport them to any veterinary appointments if required.
• Provide them with your time and patience.
• Help us spread the word about the animals in your care so they might find their forever home quicker.
• Playing and cuddles are also a must! 

What we are looking for in a volunteer Fosterer

• Volunteers aged 18 or over who have had plenty of experience caring for animals.
• Fostering experience is beneficial but not essential as training is provided.
• For their wellbeing, the whole family should be on board with fostering an animal.
• Any existing pets or animals need to have been spayed/neutered (some medical reasons may mean they cannot be so, please let us know if this is the case).
• You will need to live in our branches area (see attached map)
• You will need to be able to pick up supplies from our office in Eastcote and transport animals to the vets for routine and emergency appointments. 

What we can offer you as a volunteer Fosterer

• You will be making a massive difference to the welfare of the animals in your care.
• Join a community which will enable you to meet new people and make new friends.
• Learning new skills through our comprehensive induction and fostering training programme.
• Enhance your CV by adding your volunteering experience.

It is worth mentioning that our animals do have different needs as whilst some are ready for rehoming others may require rehabilitation or ongoing medication. Therefore, we also aim to understand your situation and circumstances to ensure that we match you with your perfect foster animal.

We hope you are interested in volunteering for our Branch.

Our voluntary roles are subject to an informal interview and trial period. We will ask you to provide contact details for two referees, and, depending on the position, you may need to sign an agreement and complete specific training before starting the role.

Events Volunteer - Lancashire (various)

Do you want to raise some money for Shelter, while having fun along the way?

Information about the role

This role involves supporting at a range of events to help raise money and awareness to tackle the housing emergency. It’s a really flexible opportunity. Once you’re signed up, we’ll let you know about upcoming events and tasks, and you can decide which you’d like to do. 

Location: Lancashire (various)

Suggested contribution: It’s up to you! Ideally, you’d help out at least 4-5 times per year, but this is flexible. 

Availability: This is a varied opportunity with events taking place at different times and on different days throughout the year, including evenings and weekends. You can choose the events that best suit your availability. 

The above is the essential information you need to know. You can apply now by clicking ‘fill in an application’ or read on more for details. 

Main activities may include:

This is a flexible and diverse role. Here are some of the activities you might get involved in:

• Represent us at a range of events including, community fairs, gigs, Pride marches, sporting events and street stalls.

• Support some of our fundraising activity such as holding collection cans in public spaces or bag packing in supermarkets.

• Help us grow our movement for change by supporting petitions and raising awareness of our calls to action through social media.

• Other one-off tasks such as web-based research.

This role fights the housing emergency by raising funds that enable Shelter to provide advice and support and campaigning for change. The events you’ll be attending are also great for raising awareness of the housing emergency and how people can get involved to help tackle it. 

Benefits of volunteering with Shelter

Volunteers are essential to Shelter’s mission to end housing injustice. We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds. The insights and life experiences our volunteers bring to Shelter are valued as much as their contribution through volunteering.

We aim to provide our volunteers with a positive experience. This is by prioritising accessibility and tailoring the support we provide to the needs of the individual. We make sure our policies and processes are equitable, which means that no-one is unfairly disadvantaged while volunteering because of their background or identity.

Your skills and experience 

The most important thing for this role is that you are passionate about joining our fight for home!

Supporting you

• You will be provided with an induction into your role, access to relevant learning and a copy of our volunteer handbook.

• The role, including learning and communications, are flexible, so can be tailored so they best suit your needs and preferences. 

• You will be able to claim reasonable volunteering expenses in line with Shelter’s volunteer policy. Where financial circumstances would be a barrier to volunteering, we may be able to offer these funds in advance. 

• You will be able to access our volunteer support package, including our colleague assistance programme and Shelter’s network of mental health first aiders.

Next steps

You can apply for this role by clicking ‘fill in an application’. If you need to apply by an alternative method, please contact us.

We will then get back to you about your application. Shortlisted applicants will have a recruitment conversation to discuss the role further.

Upon offer of role, you will be asked to declare any unspent convictions. Having a criminal record does not automatically mean you can’t volunteer with us. We will have a conversation with you to discuss the convictions in relation to the role you have applied for. Sometimes it may limit the ways you can get involved. Please contact us if you require more information.

Are you interested in making a difference to the lives of children and young people? Is there a skatepark in your area? If so, this role could be for you.

We are a UK registered youth development charity that uses teaching and learning to skateboard in a structured and supportive environment as a platform to develop the skills and abilities of children and young people.

The Role: Chapter Leader

As a Chapter Leader with the Skateboarding Foundation (SF), your role is to set up and run a Local Chapter that gives young people access to skateboarding and life skills through the SF ‘Eduskate’ programme.

Training, materials, resources, equipment and ongoing support, advice and guidance will be provided.

Key responsibilities

Your key responsibilities include:

• Setting up and running the chapter
• Recruiting coaches
• Recruiting learners
• Coordinating the delivery of the coaching programme
• Raising funds and spreading the word
• Helping us monitor and evaluate the programme
• Giving three/four hours a month of your time

You’ll have overall responsibility for the chapter’s activities, compliance, and smooth running. You’ll provide direction and support to your chapter committee, chair meetings, and ensure volunteers, coaching programmes, and fundraising are well managed.

The role involves motivating the team, planning chapter development, and stepping in where needed to keep things on track. You’ll also liaise with the national Board of Trustees, keeping them informed of key decisions and changes. 

Strong leadership, organisation, and a passion for youth development (and ideally skateboarding) and the charity’s mission are essential.

Do you want to be inspired by the impact of education? Schools across Burnley and the surrounding area are looking for skilled volunteers to support education by becoming school governors.

What will you be doing?

Governing bodies are responsible for the strategic management of a school and will make decisions about a wide range of issues

The core responsibilities involved are:

• Ensuring accountability
• Providing support and challenge to the schools senior leadership team
• Monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress
• Budgetary allocation and control
• Shaping plans for school improvement and overseeing their implementation
• Setting the school’s aims and values
• Appointing senior members of staff including the Head Teacher

The governing body is usually split in to a small number of committees, each responsible for one area such as finance or pupil achievement. These committees will meet separately from the main governing body to discuss relevant issues in more detail. Discussion is then fed back at a full governing body meeting.

A school governing body is made up of representatives from the school, the parents, the local authority and the local community.

What are we looking for?

You don’t need any specific skills or experience to be a school governor. You must be over 18, but you don’t need to be a parent or have experience working in education. Often, it’s the outside perspective you can bring that a school needs.

Professional experience in areas such as HR, finance, law, or project management are all useful to a school. But soft skills such as leadership, communication, and problem solving are also great additions.

What difference will you make?

Governors make decisions that affect schools for years to come. Our recent impact survey found that our volunteers bring £9.9 million worth of value to schools each year, and 9/10 volunteers would recommend being a governor to a friend. 

As a governor, you can visit the school to gain an understanding of the culture and ethos and to get the most out of the role. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet children, parents, and teachers, and see the impact of your work first-hand.

What's in it for the volunteer?

Volunteering as a school governor is a challenging but rewarding role. As part of the governing board, you’ll:

• help schools overcome challenges to ensure a bright future for children in your community
• work collaboratively with people from different backgrounds, challenging your own perspective and broadening your network
• gain experience outside of your job description and skills you can bring back to work

Before you apply

You will need to complete an application form and will have an interview with the school. DBS checks will be taken up

Do you want to be inspired by the impact of education? Schools across Bolton and the surrounding area are looking for skilled volunteers to support education by becoming school governors.

What will you be doing?

Governing bodies are responsible for the strategic management of a school and will make decisions about a wide range of issues

The core responsibilities involved are:

• Ensuring accountability
• Providing support and challenge to the schools senior leadership team
• Monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress
• Budgetary allocation and control
• Shaping plans for school improvement and overseeing their implementation
• Setting the school’s aims and values
• Appointing senior members of staff including the Head Teacher

The governing body is usually split in to a small number of committees, each responsible for one area such as finance or pupil achievement. These committees will meet separately from the main governing body to discuss relevant issues in more detail. Discussion is then fed back at a full governing body meeting.

A school governing body is made up of representatives from the school, the parents, the local authority and the local community.

What are we looking for?

You don’t need any specific skills or experience to be a school governor. You must be over 18, but you don’t need to be a parent or have experience working in education. Often, it’s the outside perspective you can bring that a school needs.

Professional experience in areas such as HR, finance, law, or project management are all useful to a school. But soft skills such as leadership, communication, and problem solving are also great additions.

What difference will you make?

Governors make decisions that affect schools for years to come. Our recent impact survey found that our volunteers bring £9.9 million worth of value to schools each year, and 9/10 volunteers would recommend being a governor to a friend. 

As a governor, you can visit the school to gain an understanding of the culture and ethos and to get the most out of the role. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet children, parents, and teachers, and see the impact of your work first-hand.

What's in it for the volunteer?

Volunteering as a school governor is a challenging but rewarding role. As part of the governing board, you’ll:

• help schools overcome challenges to ensure a bright future for children in your community
• work collaboratively with people from different backgrounds, challenging your own perspective and broadening your network
• gain experience outside of your job description and skills you can bring back to work

Before you apply

You will need to complete an application form and will have an interview with the school. DBS checks will be taken up.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone with experience in business development, corporate partnerships, account management, sales, CSR, philanthropy, or fundraising to use their skills to make a tangible difference in the lives of refugees.
You will play a key role in helping Plateful Café develop relationships with local and national businesses, generating support through corporate donations, sponsorship, employee volunteering, catering contracts, and long-term strategic partnerships.

Key Responsibilities
Corporate Engagement

• Identify and research prospective corporate partners aligned with Plateful Café's mission.
• Develop and maintain a pipeline of potential supporters and business contacts.
• Introduce Plateful Café to local businesses, corporate foundations, and employers.
• Arrange introductory meetings and networking opportunities.
• Support the development of corporate partnership proposals and presentations.

Income Generation

• Help secure financial donations, sponsorships, and in-kind support.
• Identify opportunities for corporate grant funding and charitable giving programmes.
• Promote employee fundraising opportunities and workplace giving schemes.
• Explore sponsorship opportunities for training programmes, events, and community activities.

Catering and Enterprise Development

• Promote Plateful Café's corporate catering services to local businesses.
• Identify opportunities for meetings, events, lunches, conferences, and hospitality catering.
• Support the development of long-term catering relationships and repeat customers.
• Help position Plateful Café as a preferred socially responsible catering supplier.

Employee Volunteering and Skills Sharing

• Develop opportunities for corporate volunteering.
• Encourage businesses to provide mentoring, employability support, and workplace visits for our trainees.
• Build relationships that create pathways into employment for refugees completing our training programmes.

Strategic Support

• Provide advice on corporate engagement and relationship management.
• Help strengthen our corporate partnership strategy.
• Support impact reporting and stewardship of existing partners where required.

We Are Looking For Someone Who Has
Essential

• Experience working in a corporate environment, business development, account management, sales, marketing, CSR, partnerships, fundraising, or a related field.
• Excellent networking and relationship-building skills.
• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders and business leaders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and proactively.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and supporting refugees.

Desirable

• Experience within the charity or not-for-profit sector.
• Knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG, or social value initiatives.
• Experience securing sponsorships, partnerships, or fundraising income.
• Existing business networks in London.
• Experience developing corporate volunteering programmes.

What You Will Gain

• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of refugees and people seeking asylum.
• Experience supporting a growing and ambitious social enterprise charity.
• The chance to shape and influence our corporate partnerships strategy.
• Opportunities to meet business leaders, charity professionals, and community partners.
• A reference and recognition for your contribution.
• The satisfaction of helping create employment opportunities and brighter futures for people rebuilding their lives in the UK.

Our Values
At Plateful Café, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to contribute, belong, and thrive. We celebrate diversity, value lived experience, and use food to bring communities together.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from individuals with experience of migration, displacement, or supporting diverse communities.

As a Volunteer Donor Relationship Co-ordinator, you will play a crucial role in forming and maintaining relationships with our donors, ensuring they feel valued and appreciated, whilst forming & implementing a strategy to keep them donating. This role would suit someone who is confident, enthusiastic about building strong connections, and passionate about the welfare of refugees & asylum seekers.

Key responsibilities:

• Identify and approach local high net worth individuals/businesses to approach for a regular donation
• Develop a donor relationship strategy aimed at maximising engagement and satisfaction.
• Personally reach out to existing donors to thank them for their contributions (& send seasonal cards/other personalised messages to maintain positive relationships).
• Build relationships by engaging with donors via phone calls and emails to understand their motivations for donating and gather feedback used to improve our efforts.
• Encourage previous donors to continue their support.
• Keep detailed and accurate records of all our donor interactions to ensure we have up-to-date information on our supporters.
• Create and distribute surveys to gain insights into our donors’ needs and expectations.
• Further down the line, host webinars or live Q&A sessions to answer donor questions and provide updates on our work.

Requirements:

• Strong communication abilities
• Proficiency with google docs/sheets
• Excellent organisational skills
• A confident individual who is comfortable engaging with a diverse range of people
• Pro-active approach and work with minimum supervision
• Can commit a minimum of 2 hours per week

GHRI is seeking qualified Nutritionists and Dietitians to provide nutritional guidance and support through our telemedicine platform.

Responsibilities

Conduct nutrition assessments

Develop personalized nutrition recommendations

Educate patients on healthy eating habits

Support preventive healthcare initiatives

Requirements

Degree in Nutrition, Dietetics, or related field

Strong counseling and communication skills

Passion for health promotion

GHRI is seeking volunteer pharmacists to provide medication guidance and pharmaceutical care through our telemedicine services.

Responsibilities

Counsel patients on medication use

Identify potential drug interactions

Promote medication adherence

Provide pharmaceutical information to patients and healthcare teams

Requirements

Degree in Pharmacy and valid practicing license

Strong attention to detail

Excellent communication skills

GHRI is looking for compassionate nurses to support patients through our telemedicine platform.

Responsibilities

Assist with patient assessments

Provide health education and counseling

Support follow-up care for patients

Monitor patient progress and report concerns

Requirements

Nursing qualification and valid license

Excellent communication skills

Passion for community health and patient care

Are you passionate about making a real impact in global healthcare?

The Global Health Reform Initiative Foundation (GHRI) is looking for a Volunteer Partnership Coordinator to help us expand our reach and build meaningful collaborations with hospitals, organizations, and supporters worldwide.

�� About GHRI

GHRI is a global health initiative focused on improving access to healthcare for underserved communities through telemedicine, digital health solutions, and strategic partnerships.

�� Your Role

As a Volunteer Partnership Coordinator, you will:

Reach out to hospitals, NGOs, and healthcare organizations for collaboration

Identify and connect with potential partners and sponsors

Support outreach to investors and donors

Assist in developing partnership proposals and presentations

Help grow GHRI’s global network and visibility

�� Who We’re Looking For

Strong communication and networking skills

Passion for healthcare, humanitarian work, or social impact

Confidence in outreach (email, LinkedIn, messaging)

Self-motivated and proactive mindset

Experience in marketing, sales, or partnerships is a plus (but not required)

�� What You Gain

Hands-on experience in partnership development and global outreach

Opportunity to build a strong professional network

Letter of recommendation and recognition for your contribution

Flexible, remote working environment

Be part of a mission that saves lives and improves access to healthcare

Unify Giving is a social impact platform on a mission to transform the way people support those experiencing homelessness and hardship. We are building technology that connects donors, businesses, charities, and vulnerable individuals in a transparent, dignified, and meaningful way.

Our platform is being built by a passionate community of volunteers, innovators, technologists, and social impact leaders who believe business can be a force for good.

As we continue to grow, we are looking for dedicated individuals to join our Sales & Partnerships Team.

Who We’re Looking For

This opportunity is ideal for:
 •  Experienced sales professionals between roles who want to stay active and build something meaningful.
 •  Aspiring sales professionals looking to gain real-world experience.
 •  Individuals returning to work after a career break.
 •  People who are passionate about helping others while developing valuable commercial skills.
 •  Self-motivated individuals who believe in loyalty, integrity, and long-term relationships.

Most importantly, we’re looking for people who genuinely care about making a difference.

What You’ll Be Doing
 •  Building relationships with businesses and potential partners.
 •  Introducing organisations to the Unify Giving mission.
 •  Helping secure merchant, corporate, and community partnerships.
 •  Identifying opportunities to grow our impact.
 •  Representing a platform focused on social good and innovation.
 •  Contributing ideas and helping shape our growth strategy.

What You’ll Gain
 •  Hands-on sales and business development experience.
 •  Mentorship and support from experienced founders and business leaders.
 •  The opportunity to build your professional profile and network.
 •  Meaningful references based on performance and contribution.
 •  Experience working within a fast-growing social enterprise and technology platform.
 •  The satisfaction of helping create real social impact.

Our Culture

At Unify Giving, we believe loyalty works both ways.

We understand that many talented people are facing difficult circumstances in today’s job market. We value commitment, effort, honesty, and character above polished CVs.

If you join our team, you’ll be treated with respect, supported in your development, and given opportunities to grow alongside the organisation.

We’re not simply looking for salespeople.

We’re looking for people who want to be part of a movement that combines technology, business, and compassion to help humanity.

Interested?

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 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.

This is an opportunity for someone who holds a PhD or Research Master’s degree to join our team as a Research Manager, and use their experience in guiding and managing our research function(s). Initially there will be a focus on managing the preliminary research function, which carries out research on specific topics to best inform, guide and direct our work in protecting the rights and interests of young people.

Responsibilities

· To manage welfare of researchers

· Look after day to day management and support of teams, stand in for absences (including undertaking research tasks, where necessary).

· Monitor and report on performance

· To advise on and provide feedback on matters of research

· To line manage senior researchers

· To advise on, guide and manage research workflow, ensuring of ethical research and policy compliance

· To ensure of a focus on organizational goals

· To lead planning as required

· To have oversight on research being carried out and the outcomes of such, ensuring it is to a high standard

You will need

· A PhD or Master’s degree

· To have experience operationally in a research role

· To understand how to motivate a team and manage others

Benefits

This is a UK based 100% fully remote and flexible role with a time commitment of 5 hours per week.

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 organisation 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 organisation, enhance your skills, and gain valuable experience to help you begin your career in Research as we endeavour to grow our organisation and continue to make positive changes to the lives of young people. 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!