Volunteering for a charity

[Hello1290]

I have a couple of hours a week I could spare and am thinking about doing some voluntary work. I'm not sure what charity to approach though. I have some interest in mental health but I would consider anything really though as it's all about helping. I'm not keen to do fundraising but any office or befriending stuff I think I might enjoy. Has anyone got any advice - is there anywhere I should avoid.

Is there a local volunteer bureau? They will keep a database of local opportunities and try to match your skills, interests and availability.

I volunteer for Shout, for two hours a week from home. Might be worth a look if you're interested in mental health.

I give an afternoon a week to visit the local care home with my dog and spend time with the residents who often have no other visitors.

Thanks everyone. Shout looks interesting I will take a further look. How did you find the online training otterses was it straight forward ?

Homestart is a wonderful charity if you are able to give regular time, and love kids.

www.home-start.org.uk

Thanks Hairy I have heard of Homestart. Think they are great but our local one asks for a commitment of a three hour visit a week which I can't do.

are you somewhere with a village hall? They will bite your hand off for whatever you can do.

Do you have an Immigration Detention Centre near you? Many refugees and asylum seekers in them are isolated from their families and feeling helpless. There are Befriending charities that will match you up with a detainee to visit weekly. An hour of your time each week will mean more to that person than you can begin to imagine. And it's flexible - so you can fit the visit around the other stuff in your life.

do-it.org/ This is a really good place to look for volunteering opportunities.

The training was quite good! It's on the long side, truth be told I work in a similar field and skipped to the assessments for a lot of it.

It's really good as you can pick shifts that suit you week to week, so it fits around most commitments easily.

Could you help with girl guiding? We'd love some volunteers.
In my unit we have a three leaders, an assistant leader (who has some additional needs), an admin person, a young leader and a unit helper. They all do different roles depending on when they are free.
You can volunteer here www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/

I volunteer for Home-Start, and it doesn't need three hours a week! So, if you are interested, don't let that time commitment put you off! Also, some of our volunteers visit families at the weekend, if that would help you.
Foodbank.
Charity shop. Maybe a MIND shop if you are interested in mental health.
Looking after children when parents are visiting family at a local prison.
Listening to children read in schools.

Thank you everyone. There certainly seems to be a lot out there. I think I will look further into Shout as doing something from home would suit me at the minute due to other commitments and the mental health aspect is something I am interested in as well.

Girlguiding might be something too as I have a daughter who could possibly attend the group whilst I volunteer.

Thanks again.