Social Care/Development Volunteer Roles in Greater London

Are you passionate about making a meaningful difference in your community? Do you have expertise in finance and a desire to contribute to a cause that positively impacts lives? If so, we invite you to join our team as a Finance Trustee for our esteemed charity which is going through a period of renewal! We are developing a series of social enmterprise hubs across the country.

At Toc H, we are dedicated to serving local people through our social enterprise hubs across the country. Our organisation has been serving the community for over 100 years, providing essential services and support to those in need.

Role Description: As a Finance Trustee, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the financial integrity and sustainability of our charity. Your responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing the financial management and reporting processes.
• Reviewing and approving budgets, financial statements, and financial policies.
• Providing strategic guidance on financial planning, and risk assessment.
• Collaborating with the finance team and fellow trustees to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Representing the charity at finance-related meetings and events.

Qualifications:

• Strong background in finance, accounting, or related field.
• Previous experience serving on a board of trustees or similar governance role preferred.
• Knowledge of nonprofit financial management practices and regulations.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Commitment to the mission and values of the charity.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.

Why Join Us:

• Make a meaningful impact: Your expertise will directly contribute to advancing our mission and helping those in need.
• Professional development: Gain valuable experience and expand your skill set in nonprofit governance and finance.
• Networking opportunities: Connect with fellow trustees, staff members, and community partners who share your passion for making a difference.
• Fulfillment: Experience the satisfaction of knowing that your contributions are making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Join us in our commitment to creating positive change and building a brighter future for our community.

UK Reads is looking for passionate individuals to join our team as Volunteer Literacy Workshop Facilitators. As a Workshop Facilitator, you'll have the rewarding role of delivering engaging literacy workshops to children and young people in schools, primarily focusing on the East London area.
 

About us:

Established in 2013, the United Kingdom and Europe World Literacy Foundation have been dedicated to building strong communities through literacy and education. In 2018, UK Reads was introduced to provide literacy support through distributing books and resources nationwide while delivering author-led workshops to children to inspire the next generation of readers who lacked resources and opportunities to develop and excel. Additionally, UK Reads works to facilitate a global pen pal project, inspiring young writers and offering them a platform to connect, fostering cultural awareness and enhancing writing skills.

About the Project:

UK Reads: Literacy Impact East London specifically  focus on children and young people aged 11-18 years. The project is designed to reach young people from diverse, low-income backgrounds and ethnic minorities. We have observed that approximately 85% of our beneficiaries come from low-income families, 10% of our users are students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), reflecting the diverse range of learners we aim to support. Additionally, 45% of our beneficiaries come from Black minority communities, highlighting the importance of promoting inclusivity and addressing potential disparities in literacy outcomes.

We acknowledge that low literacy rates often vary through boroughs and are committed to reaching the most underserved, underrepresented, and marginalised young people across East London. We collaborate with schools and community organisations to implement a tailored intervention that addresses the specific needs of each group, offering a diverse range of services to expedite the development of foundational literacy skills. 

Responsibilities:

Support in delivering literacy workshops to children and young people in schools, creating a safe, collaborative, and enjoyable learning environment.
Offer encouragement and motivation to participants to enhance their literacy skills and confidence.
Assist in setting up activities and managing logistics to ensure smooth workshop days.
Implement workshop activities safely and professionally.
Reflect on workshop practices with school staff to identify areas for growth and improvement.

Requirements: 

Individuals from educational backgrounds, teaching, youth support roles, and tutoring may find this role particularly compelling.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to engage and motivate participants.
Genuine passion for supporting disadvantages children and young people.
Valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance or willingness to undergo checks.

If you're passionate about literacy education and making a positive impact in the lives of children and young people, we encourage you to apply for this exciting volunteer opportunity.

Do you love to support and empower people? We are looking for compassionate champions to join our volunteer mentoring programme. Help mentees build confidence, get established in community and develop independence. The Build mentoring programme supports survivors of modern slavery. A volunteer mentor is paired with a co mentor meeting fortnightly in the community with a mentee; being a friendly support, setting goals, exploring opportunities and life skills. All volunteer mentors are supported and accountable to the Build Coordinators. This role is voluntary and unpaid (costs incurred for refreshments related to the mentor role will be reimbursed).

The Role

• To create a safe, compassionate, and healthy mentoring relationship
• Provide the mentee with tools and techniques to navigate a pathway to achieve things that are important to them
• Provide practical support to the mentee where appropriate (eg signposting)
• Support a mentee to identify and establish goals and life skills that are important to them
• Liaise with the mentee and fellow mentor to arrange safe and suitable meeting places including date and time
• Debrief with your co-mentor after each meeting and provide a brief written record of the discussion for the Mentoring Coordinator
• Work with your co-mentor to model ‘healthy community’
• Manage the trio’s refreshment expenses for reimbursement

Skills you need

• Compassion, empathy and active listening skills
• Ability to be able to help people feel at ease and build confidence
• To help people draw out personal goals and things that are important to them
• Have a passion and desire for wanting to transform and support the lives of people
• Be sensitive to someone who has experienced trauma
• Ability to keep confidence and professional boundaries
• Reliability and good time keeping
• Commitment to safeguarding and a willingness to raise concerns where necessary
• Experience of supporting others navigate and integrate into community
• Access to car/public transport and flexibility around location 

What you will get from us

• Online or face to face training prior to working with mentees:
• Volunteer Induction and specialised programme training
• e-learning courses relating to Safeguarding, Data Protection and Equality & Diversity, IT and Data Induction
• Ongoing support sessions from the Build team
• Ongoing training with an emphasis on trauma informed practice Commitment
• 12-month commitment period
• Meet with mentee and co-mentor fortnightly for 1-2 hours
• Commitment to write up debriefs and any relevant actions between meetups
• To able to complete all required training
• To be able to attend a minimum of 4 training sessions per year

All roles within the mentoring programme need:

• Mandatory checks including DBS
• Two satisfactory references
• Completion of induction training
• An informal interview and introductory period
• Have a passion and desire for wanting to help and support people

Are you a good listener? Are you able to manage group conversations and ensure people feel comfortable together and that groups run smoothly? We need you to facilitate our weekly telephone groups that offer blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to socialise with others. This is a telephone-based role that you can do from home. You will need access to a landline and/or mobile phone We ask you to commit to a minimum of 3 hours per week to facilitate 3 or more Talk and Support befriending groups per week which will be at the same day and time each week. Each group runs for an hour.

• Effective listening skills
• Good verbal communication skills
• Work with wide range of people

• Home Based: over the telephone (this role requires you to have a landline or mobile telephone)

• This role requires 2 references

Are you a good listener?  We need you to facilitate one of our weekly telephone groups that offer blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to socialise with others.  You will contribute to the group to ensure that all participants feel comfortable and the group conversations run smoothly.

We are particularly looking for volunteers to support in the following;

*Craft group – someone with an active interest in any sort of craft e.g. knitting, crochet, embroidery, card making etc

*South Wales Valleys group – someone from or with knowledge /experience of the area

*Powys - someone from or with knowledge /experience of the area

You can make a difference…Age UK Wandsworth is a small, local, independent charity that has been working with older people in the area since 1963. We rely on your support to keep serving the older residents with in the Wandsworth community. We have a dedicated team of experienced staff and a large network of dedicated local volunteers. Our aim is to enable everyone to age well in Wandsworth. We would love your help to be able to continue to support older Wandsworth residents

Joining our amazing team of volunteers is a fantastic way to give back to the community by providing company and support to an older person in your area.

About the role 

We are looking to find a volunteers for our Memory Lane Project to assist us in providing sessions that will be stimulating, engaging and include a variety of activities that could include word and memory games, paired and group discussions, puzzles and board games, seated exercise and physical activities such as parachute and ball games and target practice.

 You will have fun and enjoy this sessions on a Friday between 11.00am – 1.00pm

About the service 

Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre, where we support older people, adults with dementia, and adults with disabilities between 10am-3pm Monday-Friday. This could include supporting our dementia groups, or providing a hairdressing or nail care service as a treat for our service users.

What will make you a great fit for this role?

• Friendly
• Patient
• Great listening skills

You can make a difference…Age UK Wandsworth is a small, local, independent charity that has been working with older people in the area since 1963. We rely on your support to keep serving the older residents with in the Wandsworth community. We have a dedicated team of experienced staff and a large network of dedicated local volunteers. Our aim is to enable everyone to age well in Wandsworth. We would love your help to be able to continue to support older Wandsworth residents

Joining our amazing team of volunteers is a fantastic way to give back to the community by providing company and support to an older person in your area.

About the role 

We are looking to find a volunteers for our Memory Lane Project to assist us in providing sessions that will be stimulating, engaging and include a variety of activities that could include word and memory games, paired and group discussions, puzzles and board games, seated exercise and physical activities such as parachute and ball games and target practice.

 You will have fun and enjoy this sessions on a Friday between 11.00am – 1.00pm

About the service 

Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre, where we support older people, adults with dementia, and adults with disabilities between 10am-3pm Monday-Friday. This could include supporting our dementia groups, or providing a hairdressing or nail care service as a treat for our service users.

What will make you a great fit for this role?

• Friendly
• Patient
• Great listening skills

Can you spare a few hours a month to support STAMP Revisited, a local mental health charity?

We are, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), which has provided advocacy services for the people of Teesside for almost 30 years, and we are currently looking for new Trustees to join our Board.

Our advocates provide advocacy to adults who are experiencing mental health difficulties that impact on their ability to make their voice heard and are unable to independently navigate personal issues such as aspects of their health, finances, or housing needs.

Trustees are essential to the success of a charity, and the Board is the charity’s governing body. Trustees are responsible for ensuring the charity meets its objectives and are responsible for its general administration and control of the charity.

If you are interested in finding out more about being a Trustee and sitting on our Board, we would love to hear from you. Our Board welcomes people from diverse backgrounds, aged 18 or over with a wide range of skills. We are keen to welcome people who have personal experience of mental health challenges, including service users and carers.

​We hold new volunteer inductions throughout the year, so apply ASAP to be in time to join the next one.

Action for Refugees in Lewisham works to relieve poverty and isolation amongst refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants in Lewisham. At the Rainbow Club supplementary school we aim to help children between the ages of 4 and 11 to improve their literacy, numeracy and social skills in a friendly and supportive environment.  We need your skills and enthusiasm to assist the teacher in the delivery of a literacy and numeracy class and work with other volunteers to develop a programme of recreational activities. The Rainbow Club runs on Saturday mornings during term-time.

Your duties will include:

• Arriving punctually for the 9am briefing by the Rainbow Club Headteacher;
• Working in a team with other volunteers and teachers to deliver literacy, numeracy, arts, sport activities – this includes ensuring children remain engaged throughout the lesson and carry out set tasks as instructed by the teacher;
• Working one-to-one with specific children if and when required;
• Filing classroom work and homework in children’s individual files and keeping all materials and resources tidy and properly stored;
• Liaising with parents as and when required for example distributing leaflets and news about future meetings and events and also assisting with parents' day;
• Following the teacher’s policies on discipline and classroom management;
• Supervising the children during break times;
• Supporting the children during class trips;
• Ensuring classrooms are clean and tidy at the end of each day – this may include being part of a regular team rota;
• Providing feedback and comments to the volunteer coordinator and Rainbow Club manager when required.

Make a lasting impact! - MENTORS NEEDED!

Calling all undergraduates, postgraduates, corporates/ professionals, and anyone eager to inspire young people!

Become a mentor and make a lasting impact on young people in Hackney aged 9-18 years. We are looking for individuals ready to inspire, guide, and empower our youth. Join us in shaping bright futures! 

What is the Best You Can Be Mentoring Programme?

The Best You can Be Mentoring Programme is a community-led initiative supported by the Mercers fund. It aims to engage young boys and girls from the ages 9-18 years of ethnic minority backgrounds living in or attending a school in Hackney, in a 12- month mentoring relationship. 

The programme focuses on three key areas:

1. Improving school engagement

2. Educational attainment

3. Supporting young people in building future plans

Activities might include helping with homework, helping students with reading, writing, maths and science, life skills, understanding the working world and sharing skills and experiences, playing a board game, financial literacy support, CV writing, writing an article for the mentoring magazine and group trips to places of interest. 

Note: Mentors must be willing to undergo an enhanced DBS check and a comprehensive mentoring and safeguarding training programme before being matched with a student. The ACS will cover the cost of the DBS check and provide training.

Do you have good listening skills?

Are you friendly and caring?

Can you offer 2-4 hrs a month to support  people living with and affected by MND?

Then you could become a Support Volunteer (Association Visitor).

We are looking for volunteers who can provide friendship, information and support to people living with and affected by MND.

Volunteers play an important role in the MND Association. They help to ensure that people with MND and their families receive the support and services they need.

This rewarding role is flexible and can fit in around your other commitments. Full training is provided and all out of pocket expenses are reimbursed.

About us

MND is a fatal, rapidly progressive disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles refuse to work. It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breath. It kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis, and it has no cure. 

The MND Association was founded in 1979. Our mission is to improve care and support for people with MND, their families and carers. We also fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments and brings us closer to a cure for MND.

We are looking for individuals with professional or lived experience of working with children in our Haringey Refuges. Our volunteer playworkers are passionate about play and providing a welcoming and safe space for all children.

About the Role

As a volunteer play worker, you will work in partnership with the Sessional Play Worker and Family Support Worker in the planning and delivery of play sessions. Most children will be between the ages of 2-5 years.

Playworker volunteers will lead and assist a variety of activities such as arts and crafts, games, etc. to engage and support the children’s emotional wellbeing and enhance their confidence and resilience. Activity sessions will be carried out in the refuges, supported by the Sessional Play worker.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking volunteers who have:

• Shared vision, mission and values of Solace Women’s Aid
• Professional and/or lived experience of working with children
• Understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people
• Ability to communicate effectively with children aged 0-5, parents and staff
• Basic knowledge of child development
• Organisation and time management skills

Although not essential, we would welcome applications from volunteers who have a formal qualification in working with children, young people and families, or who have knowledge of trauma-informed approaches to working with children and young people.

What can you gain from this opportunity?

Volunteers will gain:

• Experience of facilitating play sessions for children in recovery from domestic abuse
• An insight into the experiences of children in recovery from domestic abuse.
• Experience in working in partnership with Sessional Play Workers in the planning, delivery and evaluation of play sessions in a refuge/community setting.
• Opportunity to attend training and social events with other Solace Women’s Aid volunteers.
• Being part of a supportive team who aim to build on the strengths and skills of all our members.

We offer great volunteer induction training, where you will be fully supported to understand, and carry put every aspect of the role. Training includes CPD accredited courses, and the opportunity to apply to complete the level 3 Understanding Domestic Abuse Award (DAPA), which is recognized by the Home Office.

At Solace we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for our volunteers. The Service Users we support come from all backgrounds and we want to reflect that in our volunteering team. We are happy to consider any adjustments you might need to support you in your role. If you would like to discuss this further with the volunteer team, please let us know. This will not affect your application.

Solace recognises the expertise and perspective that women with lived experience bring to their volunteering roles. We also recognise the potential for re-traumatisation that may occur whilst volunteering. We will therefore consider each volunteer opportunity on a case by case basis, with a focus on the suitability of that individual for that specific role. Suitability for the role will be determined by the Service Manager at the point of interview and will not be solely based on the length of time elapsed since receiving a service. Women cannot volunteer for a service in the same borough as where they received Solace services.

This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to female applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, and Part 1. Section 7(2) e of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Are you passionate about supporting people in your community?  Would you enjoy supporting our service users by giving them an opportunity for social connections?

If so, we could do with your help.  We are looking for friendly and enthusiastic Face to Face Befriender Volunteers for the Kensington and Chelsea area and would like to hear from you.

What you will be doing

• Agree a mutual time and frequency to meet in the local community
• To develop and promote a positive relationship with your befriendee
• To encourage your befriendee to engage in social activities and support them in doing so whilst building their confidence
• To support your befriendee in developing their goals and social skills
• Encourage your befriendee to make links with community services, based on their identified goals

The skills you need

• Good listening and communication skills
• Ability to provide a supportive and inclusive atmosphere which motivates and inspires others
• Willingness to engage in activities in the community
• Able to maintain strict confidentiality and follow professional boundaries

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 - Valuing You - We hold annual Volunteer Awards, outings, celebration, and social events for our volunteers to get together and have some fun; We reimburse travel expenses and up to £5 for lunch for your volunteering.

Keeping in regular contact with our members to check on their wellbeing is one of our key services.

Our Wellbeing Volunteers contact a range of different members every week to make a friendly 'check in' call and have a chat. During these calls, you'll provide the opportunity for our members to talk, offer friendly support and make them aware of the Deafblind UK services available to them.

Whatever the conversation you’ll be making a positive difference!

This is a home based role so you don't need to be 'local' and you don’t need experience to become one of our Wellbeing Volunteers. The majority of our members communicate with clear speech so no specialised skills or knowledge is required. You just need to be comfortable chatting over the phone and be able to commit to a regular weekly time slot to make calls to our members. Some knowledge or experience of sight and or hearing loss would be an advantage in this particular role and confidence in speaking with people of all ages and backgrounds. 

We provide full training and ongoing support in this role and ask for a minimum commitment of three months.

We require you to have Wifi and access to a PC, tablet or mobile device. This is to allow you to complete training, have access to the Deafblind UK phone system and to submit online contact logs.

Volunteering with our charity is special because you get to hear  first-hand the difference you make to people’s lives. Click on 'apply' and make a difference today!