Volunteer roles for the Youth and Children sector

Children North East provides life-changing services including vital mental health counselling, community interest projects, support for families in crisis, and safe spaces that help children and young people overcome obstacles and thrive. 

By volunteering in our first flagship charity shop, you are helping us invest in a brighter tomorrow for babies, children and young people across the North East. 

We welcome volunteers aged 18+ who can spare any amount of time - whether a few hours occasionally, regularly scheduled days, or just whenever suits you. 

What you will be doing 

 Engaging with customers, providing a welcoming environment that enhances their shopping experience 

 Processing payments and encouraging sign-up to Gift Aid 

 Accepting donations and accurately completing Gift Aid processSorting, preparing, and organising donated items for display 

 Assisting with creative in-store displays and window arrangements. 

The skills you need 

 Approachable and enthusiasticWillingness to learn 

 Flexible and happy to adapt to a variety of shop activities day-by-dayKeen to be part of a supportive team of staff and volunteers 

What's in it for you 

 Gain valuable experience in retail and customer service 

 Develop your skills and knowledge for your CV and increase your employability 

 Flexible volunteering, designed to suit your availability and lifestyleEnjoy the camaraderie of a welcoming, supportive team 

 Be an integral part of creating positive community impact 

 Join an established charity with over 130 years of history supporting children and families 

Job description

Job description

What is the befriending service?

• The Befriending Service links volunteers 1:1 with a disabled child/young person.
• Links are based on shared interests and activities, which you can enjoy doing together, either in the young person’s home or out in the community.

What experience do I need?

• You do not need any previous experience with disabled children or young people
• We ask that you are friendly, caring, reliable and able to make a commitment to visit a young person regularly.

What will I be doing?

You will volunteer within WECIL’s befriending service for disabled children/young people and their families. This involves:

• Spending time regularly with a disabled child or young person in their home or their local community.
• You will not be asked to administer medication or deliver personal care in this role.

Who am I responsible for?

• You are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the child or young person you are linked with.
• All links are risk-assessed and carefully monitored by your Coordinator.

How often will I be needed?

• We typically ask for volunteers to commit to 1-4 hours a week
• The days / times are agreed between the volunteer and the family.
• We ask for a minimum commitment of 6 months to ensure the child and their family are able to benefit fully from the relationship.

What about expenses?

• Volunteer travel expenses can be reimbursed on receipt of a claim form. You won’t be left out of pocket.

Any Perks?

• Ongoing training and support to develop skills and confidence
• Professional references provided for committed volunteers
• Volunteer socials to meet like-minded people and build friendships
• Expenses are covered
• A welcoming and supportive environment

Time2Share@WECIL is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people and expects its staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of the children we support. 

Unfortunatly we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this role. 

Can you spare 3 hours a week to make a difference to the lives of children? Home-Start Volunteers offer support, friendship and practical help to families.

We are looking for compassionate, non-judgemental and caring individuals to join our community of volunteers to share their parenting experiences and knowledge with families. Home-Start is one of the leading family support charities in the UK and Home-Start Warrington and Cheshire work in Northwich, Warrington and Winsford. Our volunteers provide a weekly, one-to-one home-visiting service. We help families from all backgrounds, with at least one child in the household under the age of 5 years, through their most challenging times.

Your role will be to offer support to a family you are matched with and support them in the way that they would like: this may include help with practical tasks such as getting out of the house, attending appointments, an extra pair of hands on a trip to the park or a playgroup, role-modelling how to play with children or helping to get organised. It could also involve empathising and supporting through emotional issues in a compassionate and non-judgmental way. All visits are a maximum of three hours, once per week and all take place Monday to Thursday, between 9am and 4pm (and only when our office is open).

Home Start also deliver targeted groups to support families, a place for families to connect, learn and play together. Volunteers support Home Start staff to deliver groups for families – from helping to set up/clear away, role-modelling playing with the children to parents and offering friendly emotional support to parents.

We will train you to Home Start Warrington and Cheshire standards of excellence. The training is free and is delivered by a combination of online modules and four, weekly, face to face sessions with one of our Family Support Coordinators. 

The course will cover 

The role of a Home-Start volunteer

Values, attitudes and inclusivity

Confidentiality

Listening and communication

Meeting the needs of families and children

Safeguarding

Our next volunteer course of preparation is due to start in September. We offer the course in two locations - Warrington on Tuesday's or Winsford on Thursday's.

Volunteers will receive ongoing support and supervision from our Family Support Coordinators and there are opportunities for further training. Your experience, attributes and competencies will be recognised, and you will have the opportunity to develop them further.

Home-Start Warrington and Cheshire is committed to safer recruitment practise as an important part of safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults. Any offer of a voluntary role is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check, two satisfactory references and to have completed our preparation course and signed our Code of Conduct and relevant policies and procedures before they will be able to volunteer with a family or at one of our groups or events.

Make a difference for children in Northwich, Warrington and Winsford and enquire today.

We are seeking an experienced and strategically minded Finance Trustee to join our Board and play a key role in supporting the continued growth and sustainability of Cherry Trees.

In this role, you will provide expert financial guidance to the Board of Trustees, helping to shape the organisation’s long-term direction in partnership with the Chair. You will support the charity’s financial affairs, ensuring they are managed with integrity, transparency, and in line with legal, constitutional, and regulatory requirements.

You will ensure that robust financial systems and controls are in place, with accurate records maintained at all times. Working closely with the Head of Finance, you will monitor and report on the Charity’s financial health, providing clear and insightful analysis to support decision-making.

The role also includes oversight of the preparation of financial reports, annual accounts, audits, and statutory returns, ensuring the Charity meets all its financial obligations and deadlines.

This is a rewarding opportunity to use your financial expertise to make a meaningful impact, supporting a vital charity as it develops and grows.

#Treasurer#Treasurers #BoardTreasurer #CharityTreasurer #Finance Trustee#Financial Accounting Trustee #Treasurer

We are looking for enthusiastic Sports Volunteers to support our weekly sports sessions for young people during term time.

Key requirements:
A hands on approach to supporting and delivering sports activities
Confidence engaging with young people and encouraging participation
Ability to commit to one 2 hour sports session per week during term time
Football skills and experience participating in or leading football activities
Commitment to supporting the mission, vision, and values of ECPAT UK

Experience working with children or young people and an understanding of the importance of safeguarding and a commitment to human rights and equality.

Desirable:
A relevant sports coaching qualification
An understanding of the sector we work in, including child exploitation, trafficking, modern slavery, and the challenges faced by vulnerable young people

 Please look at our volunteers page on our website to see how to apply. 

Are you a young person aged 18-25 ready to connect globally, build skills, and create positive change? Youth Connect is a virtual mobility programme bringing together young people from diverse backgrounds to learn, collaborate, and take action on issues that matter through supported social action in your local community.

Whether you're passionate about helping others or just curious to learn more and put this into practice, this programme will give you the confidence and tools to create meaningful change—right from home. The programme will run from late June - August and is open to young people aged 18-25 globally. 

✨ Open, inclusive, and designed for emerging changemakers.

�� Apply now and be part of a global community shaping the future.

What we're looking for:

We need enthusiastic and outgoing volunteers who can cheer as loudly as possible for our runners as they go past our cheer points. Every year thousands of people join Team NSPCC to take on a challenge and raise money to help protect children and prevent abuse. Together with other cheerers, you'll make a huge difference to how our runners feel – helping them to complete a challenge they've spent months preparing for.

What you'll do:

You'll be joining other lively and enthusiastic cheerers at one of our NSPCC cheer points along the route – be ready for cheering, clapping, whooping or even singing. It's a team effort, so you would also help with setting up the cheer point, giving out t-shirts and cheering materials, making sure the area is kept tidy and helping with packing down.

We have several cheer points along the course, with staggered start times. We'll be in touch to arrange with you what time to arrive, where to meet and what to expect. You don't have to be an official cheerer to come along and support team NSPCC. So if you can't make the full-time or to one of our cheer points, we'd still love to see there, just look up the event time and come along.

What you'll get:

Volunteering at our events is a great way to experience the fantastic atmosphere of event days, without the training! The atmosphere at our cheer points is amazing, and we'll provide you with cheering materials and an NSPCC t-shirt so all you have to bring is your enthusiasm.

You'll be accompanied by NSPCC staff to support you and answer any questions you may have. Refreshments will be provided at the cheer points, and travel expenses will be covered up to the value of £5.

Who's right for the role?

You don't need any prior experience, just a sense of fun, team spirit and enthusiasm. It's important that you're able to spend a few hours outside, spending lots of this time cheering and clapping. You'll also need to stand for a few hours so, if you think this would be difficult, we'd advise bringing along a travel chair. If you are a wheelchair user, please let us know and we can help to identify a suitably accessible cheering point for you.

You'll need to feel comfortable if members of the public ask you about your volunteering role and will simply need to direct them to a member of staff if they have any questions about the NSPCC. We need volunteers with a warm and friendly manner, as the NSPCC is 90 per cent funded by public donations so the impression people have of us is incredibly important.

Please be aware that you'll need to make your own way to your cheer point (we will give you directions).

We can discuss which cheering post would be most convenient for you.

Interested in getting involved? Volunteer today and join our fight for every childhood.

Event: 2026 Royal Parks Half Marathon

Location: London

Time commitment: 11th October - Half a day 

What we're looking for

We need enthusiastic and outgoing volunteers who can cheer as loudly as possible for our runners as they go past our cheer points. Every year thousands of people join Team NSPCC to take on a challenge and raise money to help protect children and prevent abuse. Together with other cheerers, you'll make a huge difference to how our runners feel – helping them to complete a challenge they've spent months preparing for.

What you'll do

You'll be joining other lively and enthusiastic cheerers at  our NSPCC cheer point along the route – be ready for cheering, clapping, whooping or even singing. It's a team effort, so you would also help with setting up the cheer point, giving out t-shirts and cheering materials, making sure the area is kept tidy and helping with packing down.

We have one cheer point along the course, with staggered start times. We'll be in touch to arrange with you what time to arrive, where to meet and what to expect. You don't have to be an official cheerer to come along and support team NSPCC. So if you can't make the full-time or to one of our cheer points, we'd still love to see there, just look up the event time and come along.

What you'll get

Volunteering at our events is a great way to experience the fantastic atmosphere of event days, without the training! The atmosphere at our cheer point is amazing, and we'll provide you with cheering materials and an NSPCC t-shirt so all you have to bring is your enthusiasm.

You'll be accompanied by NSPCC staff to support you and answer any questions you may have. Refreshments will be provided at the cheer points, and travel expenses will be covered up to the value of £5.

Who's right for the role?

You don't need any prior experience, just a sense of fun, team spirit and enthusiasm. It's important that you're able to spend a few hours outside, spending lots of this time cheering and clapping. You'll also need to stand for a few hours so, if you think this would be difficult, we'd advise bringing along a travel chair. If you are a wheelchair user, please let us know and we can help to identify a suitably accessible cheering point for you.

You'll need to feel comfortable if members of the public ask you about your volunteering role and will simply need to direct them to a member of staff if they have any questions about the NSPCC. We need volunteers with a warm and friendly manner, as the NSPCC is 90 per cent funded by public donations so the impression people have of us is incredibly important.

Please be aware that you'll need to make your own way to your cheer point (we will give you directions).

We can discuss which cheering post would be most convenient for you.

Interested in getting involved? Volunteer today and join our fight for every childhood.

Our Second Home is a youth movement that empowers migrants and refugees to flourish in the place that they call home. Our overnight activity camp for young people aged 14-18 is a chance for young people to come together and have five days of fun and excitement, supported by a dynamic and dedicated team of leaders and staff.

An OSH Leader is a supportive adult, a role model, and someone young people can feel safe being themselves around. It’s about creating a warm, fun, and consistent presence during residentials — helping young people with refugee and migrant backgrounds feel welcomed, included, and at home.

Youth Leaders for this project will be responsible for facilitating the camp, and will be directly in contact with, and responsible for, the participants. During the camp they will be ‘on duty’ full-time, meaning that they will spend the whole time with the participants, including at meals.

THIS ROLE IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN THE UK. We will arrange Zoom interviews with applicants separately.

Responsibilities:

• Interacting and forming a bond with the participants
• Creating and running fun and engaging activities for the participants
• Looking after the participants’ welfare, and ensuring that they feel cared for and secure
• Managing the participants’ behaviour and setting clear boundaries

Expectations and requirements:

• All applicants must be interviewed and be willing to provide references on request.
• Youth Leaders must set a positive example of behaviour and involvement for all participants, and adhere to the volunteer guidelines.
• Youth Leaders may be required to prepare activities for participants at the camp. If asked, this must be completed in plenty of time to allow any materials or equipment to be sourced.
• Applicants should be aged 20 or above.
• Applicants must be eligible for DBS clearance (no criminal record that prevents applicants from working with children)
• Youth Leaders must raise any safeguarding concerns swiftly and follow safeguarding procedures
• Youth Leaders must follow all Our Second Home policies and procedures of (which will be explained at the Camp training days).
• Anyone attending an OSH residential must test negative for COVID-19 prior to attending the programme, regardless of whether they have received a vaccine or not.

Essential skills:

• Flexibility, adaptability and ability to improvise
• Ability to build connection quickly with peers and young people
• Ability to work in a team and communicate effectively
• High level of organisation
• High levels of empathy and patience
• Awareness and sensitivity that some participants might be suffering from trauma

Additional desired skills:

• Experience working with and/or caring for young people aged 14-18
• Experience working with refugees and/or asylum seekers
• Experience working with young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Language skills: Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Tigrinya, Somali
• First Aid training
• Creative or artistic abilities
• Sports leadership
• Ability to prepare fun and engaging activities for young people

We particularly encourage applications from those who have lived experience of being a refugee.

Please ensure you are available to come to all the following events - specific dates can be found on the application form:

• Training
• Pre-Residential Prep Day (on site)
• Residential, in full
• Feedback & thank you afternoon

QUOTES:

• “Having the professional [welfare] support made me feel very support and more comfortable with the work” – BT
• “The atmosphere of fun, respect, care, and community is what made the young people so comfortable and connected” – BT
• “The leaders were all awesome – it was incredible to work in a team so full of hard working, intelligent, experienced people” – BT
• “Seeing the kids bursting out of their shells and that being the norm rather than just exceptions was just incredible.” – CA
• “It honestly surpassed anything I could have hoped for” – LK

Structure:

Youth Leaders will be supported by the Welfare Support Lead(s), who will be their main contact in the build to and throughout the camp. The Welfare Support Lead(s) will run team meetings at the end of each day and be on hand to advise and manage the Youth Leaders.

Children’s charity Mentor Link is recruiting Volunteer Mentors from the West Midlands and Gloucestershire area to provide one to one support to vulnerable children and young people in schools and the community. Mentor Link are keen to hear from people in business and the community, who would be interested in becoming a Volunteer Mentor to support a young person to achieve their full potential. The mentors are specially trained to listen to and support young people and aim to improve their self- esteem and engagement in learning. The charity has an excellent track record of success in achieving positive outcomes with children and young people.

Someone experienced at basic graphic design ie. flyers and posters, to work remotely, at times suited to you. Currently we have an account with Canva that can be shared with you. Primarily this role is for doing a 1 page monthly newsletter however if you wanted to do more, it could be for 2-6 flyers and/or posters a month too, depending on how much time you would like to put into the role.

St Basils is looking for a new Non-Exec Director / Trustee with Marketing & Communications experience to join our Board

About Us

St Basils works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities and ultimately prevent homelessness.

We help just over 4,000 young people each year across the West Midlands, with services in Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Our services range from providing supported accommodation to outreach, advice, support, employability and engagement services to help young people regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives, gain skills, confidence and employment and move on. The aim is to help them successfully break the ‘cycle of homelessness’ so that they can go on to experience a bright, fulfilling future and never return to a state where they are at risk of homelessness again.

About our Board

We are a registered provider of social housing, a charity and a company limited by guarantee, meaning our Board members are both Directors and Trustees.

To navigate our challenging regulatory landscape, we need to be tightly governed. At the heart of this is a Board with the right knowledge, values, skills and diversity, all whilst working towards our vision that homelessness should not be part of growing up.

As a member of St Basils’ Board, you will be a guardian of St Basils’ charitable purpose. You will be responsible for holding the Senior Leadership Team to account through constructive challenge and support, and for ensuring St Basils’ strategic priorities are met.

You will form part of St Basils’ governance framework, providing oversight of key business areas, such as business planning, safeguarding, risk, finance, health and safety, EDI and business development. 

Our Board is made up of 14 members, 2 of which are designated for young people who have lived experience of homelessness and / or St Basils’ services.

St Basils has adopted the RACE Equality Code and is actively seeking applications from those from Black communities to ensure our Board is reflective of both the young people that we serve and our dedicated workforce.

About the Role

We are looking for a voluntary Director / Trustee with expertise in marketing, communications and/or public engagement to increase the reach of our campaigns. Our new Board member will need to strong networking and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to open doors and build relationships.

As our Marketing & Communications Board Member, you will:

· Ensure marketing initiatives align with the organisation’s goals and regulatory requirements.

· Support St Basils’ PR and marketing initiatives by bringing knowledge of current marketing tools

· Help identify opportunities to increase the visibility and impact of St Basils’ campaigns.

· Leverage personal and professional networks to enhance the charity’s reach, partnerships and fundraising potential.

· Work closely with the Director of Income Generation & Value Capture to ensure St Basils’ marketing and communications strategies are being implemented effectively.

• Contribute to trustee discussions and decisions on broader charity strategy, risk management and financial oversight.

Our new Director / Trustee will sit on our Business Support & Audit Committee which oversees central functions, including Finance, HR, Fundraising and Marketing. This committee meets virtually, one a quarter.

Although the role is voluntary, reasonable expenses will be paid for costs incurred in undertaking the role.

About You

You will be an experienced professional in marketing, communications, PR or brand strategy, ideally with experience in the youth or homelessness sectors.

You will demonstrate sound judgement and be able to challenge confidently and constructively, although you do not need to have Board experience.

Understanding of governance and the responsibilities of a charity trustee is desirable, but training will be provided.

You will work within the principles of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and understand the needs of the diverse young people we serve.

You will put the needs of young people first, be passionate about ending youth homelessness and share our mission, vision and principles.

Time Commitment

You will need to be able to attend the majority of Board and Committee meetings, one of each is held each quarter (8 meetings total per year). Each meeting will last around 2 hours and will normally be held late afternoon/early evening (usually 4pm – 6pm). Board meetings are held in person at St Basils’ Head Office in Birmingham, and Committee meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The dates for meetings are set by calendar year, towards the end of the previous year.

Meeting papers will be shared via an online portal one week in advance of the meeting to allow for sufficient preparation time.

A Board away day is held each year, usually October, and every other year this includes an overnight stay. This will be fully paid for by St Basils.

We encourage Board members to visit our accommodation services to deepen understanding of our work and support effective governance and decision-making. We would like all Board members to make 2 visits a year if possible.

All travel expenses incurred in attending Board meetings / conducting site visits will be reimbursed by St Basils.

What’s in it for you?

We offer a series of essential online training courses (for example GDPR, Cyber Security, EDI, Safeguarding, Risk Management) and the opportunity to do additional online or in-person training, such as Psychologically Informed Environment training. As part of our commitment to race equality, we provide mandatory Anti-Racism training for all staff and Board members.

You will be part of a knowledgeable and supportive Board and have the opportunity to work alongside young people with lived experience.

You will have the guidance of a knowledgeable Chair to support your development as a Director / Trustee, and you will have access to St Basils’ Senior Leadership Team to help you fulfil your role.

St Basils is a learning organisation and therefore we are able to support and develop Board members who are new to the role. In addition, St Basils has membership with the Board Development Agency, which provides our Board Members with access to webinars and development tools specific to housing sector Boards.

Being a Director / Trustee at St Basils is more than just attending meetings – if you would like to contribute to an organisation that has young people at its core, where you can visibly see the difference you are making, then this is the role for you.

For further information please see the link to the full job pack.

We welcome early applications and will interview on a rolling basis.

This fundraising role is enjoyable, very varied and could involve tasks such as:

· Helping out on a stall for a few hours at a fair.

· Raising awareness of HOLG at corporate/commercial partner events.

· Helping out on one of our social fundraisers such as quiz nights, theatre nights, concerts etc.

· Running a raffle or tombola.

· Being an ambassador to raise awareness to the work of HOLG.

· Prepare, set up and take down for events (including gazebos, etc).

The list is not exhaustive and will often depend on what fundraising opportunities we have through the year!

We are also keen to establish a team of helpers to identify locations and distribute and manage our collections boxes at restaurants, shops, pubs, leisure centres – indeed, anywhere that would be willing to host!

This role is working therapeutically alongside a child/young person on one of our bereavement support programmes in a group setting.  Ideally you will have experience in working with children.

You will be working therapeutically with your allocated child.  You will have a group leader who will guide you through the structure of each day. There is also a program manager who will oversee and facilitate the whole weekend program.

You will also be expected to attend a debrief at the end of the weekend and also complete detailed documentation on the child/ young person you have been working with.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided during a weekend.  We will pay 45 pence per mile to cover your travel expenses. We will provide training (Safeguarding Children, Volunteer Induction Day and other specialist training days).

You will also have the opportunity to observe a weekend programme in action before you work with a child / young person. We will pay for your DBS check and provide you with a t-shirt with our logo on.