How to find volunteer work in your local area this Christmas

There’s no better way to fill up your festive period with good cheer than getting involved with volunteering at Christmas. 

To put it bluntly, things are tough right now and people need help. Spiralling inflation is stretching budgets while soaring energy bills are giving people tough choices about heating their homes. There’s speculation the government will U-turn on a promise to increase universal credit.

So get stuck in and help how you can. You never know: what starts out as a festive dalliance might turn into a rewarding-long term commitment.

But as ever, it’s hard to know where to get started. Luckily, it’s not as hard as you might think – and we’ve put together this guide for volunteering at Christmas to put you on the right track.

What kind of volunteer work can I do? 

Food

Food is synonymous with Christmas, but it’s not always a happy association for everybody. As the UK’s largest network of food banks, the Trussell Trust is always on the lookout for volunteers, whether as frontline support within centres or online. On their website, you can enter your postcode and see what options are available in your area.  

FareShare is another nationwide organisation helping the hungry get the food they need. They are looking for centre volunteers, drivers, warehouse assistants or community fundraisers.

You can complete their online quiz to find out what role would suit you best.

Young people 

Christmas is a magical time for most kids but for those children who are less fortunate it can be a sad, confusing and even frustrating period.

Children’s charities across the country are taking donations of money and gifts to distribute at Christmas to make sure no young person has to go without. 

One such project is Grandmentors, where older volunteers can use their wisdom and life experience to guide younger people who need some advice.

The Volunteering Matters website has all the details for Grandmentors openings across the country, as well as other friendship, support and guidance volunteering with young people. 

Homelessness

Being homeless at Christmas is more than just not having a roof over your head, it can also mean no dinner, no presents and even no company. 

Thankfully there are charities working to change that. Searching for “Christmas” or “homeless” on volunteering website Do-It.org presents thousands of opportunities to help people less fortunate this festive season, including centre support work or delivery drivers for cooked Christmas dinners, activity packs, gifts and food hampers.

Older people

Even though the vaccine programme has been a success, many older people have had less contact than they otherwise would and have been missing someone to talk to.

Befriending.co.uk is a network of different charities across the UK connecting willing volunteers with people who struggle with loneliness. You can set yourself up as a ‘befriender’ with organisations like Age UK and many others. 

Volunteering opportunities with and for people with disabilities

As the cost of living crisis bites, people with disabilities will be some of the hardest hit, with their costs to survive typically higher. While a £150 lump sum payment helped, there are still warnings they will struggle, especially as benefits fail to keep pace with inflation.

The Disability Trust provides opportunities for volunteering to support people with disabilities, and if you have a disability yourself then places like Volunteering Matters and Citizens Advice list ways to get involved.

How do I find volunteer work in my local area? 

NCVO, which supports voluntary organisations, has a  centre finder to help you find the ideal role. There are also several other organisations assisting people in finding positions, including the Do-it database, CharityJob, Volunteering Matters and Reach Volunteering. 

And, of course, there are possibilities to do some good in every corner of the country. Here are your options for finding volunteer work in your local area:

East Anglia
London
Midlands
North East
Northern Ireland
North West
Scotland
South East
South West
Wales
Yorkshire and the Humber

Volunteering in East Anglia 

There are plenty of opportunities to find community work near the beautiful East Anglia plains. There are positions in conservation, helping protect the countryside and wildlife across the region through the Countryside Jobs Service. Roles are also available with the National Trust. Volunteer Suffolk (Babergh, Ipswich) and Voluntary Norfolk (Norwich, Fakenham), which have positions including admin support, development managers, walk leaders and befrienders, which means you could make a real difference to an older person who suffers from loneliness.  

Volunteering in London 

Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Team London programme provides roles from approved organisations all over the city. The scheme seeks to encourage Londoners to “become active citizens and to give their time to make the capital a better place”. 

There are hundreds of opportunities available through the programme. Some are one-off and others are ongoing, meaning there is something for everybody. Organisations can advertise positions for free. 

Volunteering in the Midlands

If you are interested in joining the fight against food poverty and becoming a food bank volunteer, there are roles available with FareShare Midlands, the region’s largest food redistribution charity. They take surplus food and get it to more than 35,000 vulnerable people every week. You can put your skills to use by becoming a warehouse assistant, delivery driver or by assisting with office admin. 

In Birmingham, BVSC assists people who want to support their local community. The organisation is currently championing many end-of-year appeals which they say are more important than ever due to the pandemic. Current active campaigns include Toys For Birmingham, the Brum Wish Campaign and Brum Xmas Dinner. Plenty for you to support over the festive period. 

Volunteering in north-east England

VONNE is a voluntary organisations’ network. It’s the regional support body for the North East’s community and social enterprise sector, representing over 1,200 charities, voluntary organisations, community groups, and social enterprises. They have a list of local support organisations and volunteer centres where you can find somewhere to do some good. 

Volunteering in north-west England

Reach Volunteering has various roles available for people based in the North West, from trustee and governorships to short term projects to the ongoing. These range across Crewe, Warrington and Cheshire and have the potential for remote working.

People in Manchester can find ways to help through Manchester Community Central, which offers volunteering opportunities, information on DBS checks, training and resources. Among the most recent positions listed are marketing assistants, van drivers, Christmas hot meal couriers and virtual fundraisers. 

LCVS Volunteer Hub is on hand to help signpost Liverpudlians to local opportunities. They work with charities, community groups and non-profit organisations to “support and increase good practice” and “widen the scope of volunteering”. Those in the city can also use their skills to get emergency food to people in crisis through the North and South Liverpool food banks run by The Trussell Trust.

Volunteering in Northern Ireland

Volunteer Now wants to “connect, build and change” and is a voice for volunteering in Northern Ireland, promoting and supporting opportunities.

There is an ‘Inspire Me‘ page for those who might not be entirely sure what they want to get involved in. Locals can look at the latest roles and view stories and videos to see what others are doing in their communities. 

Volunteering in Scotland 

Volunteer Scotland has opportunities right across the country and they aim to make helping out as easy as possible for Scots who want to give back to their community.

They say volunteering is one of the most rewarding things you can do and offer advice on how to help out during the pandemic. You can also use their site to search for an opportunity in your local area with plenty of potential for home working too. 

Volunteering in south-east England

Reach Volunteering has roles for people in the south east and many major charities have local offices as well. While there is no over-arching regional hub for people looking to help out others in their community, most county councils have volunteering notices on their websites, including Kent, Surrey, and Hampshire.

Volunteering in south-west England

Those based in the south-west can use Do IT to search hundreds of opportunities from volunteer group leaders to shop team members.

The service has been helping working with the government to help people get involved in supporting the most vulnerable people in their homes. For those who might need to stay at home during the pandemic, some roles allow you to serve your community from home. 

Independent what’s on guide Best of Bristol has a useful round-up of “feel good” activities and volunteering opportunities in the city, ranging from positions at Bristol Harbour, Zoo and City Farm. 

Volunteering in Wales 

Volunteering Wales is a national platform where do-gooders can register to help out and those in the third sector can list roles ranging from social care to sport, and most things inbetween.

Volunteering in Yorkshire and the Humber

Community First Yorkshire works with local voluntary organisations, social enterprises and rural communities across the North, South and the West. If you are interested in helping out, you can sign up to their online directory, which is part of the Volunteering North Yorkshire service.

To find positions exactly where you are, we recommend visiting the national databases.