Is anybody willing to share what they do for voluntary work?

[florentina1]

Since losing my dog I have lots of time on my hand . I really would like to do something to get me out of the house. I help out at the food bank once a week, but there are no more shifts available.

I am mid 70s and fit, but I no longer drive, and my IT skills are only average. I have looked on our LA website for volunteering but nothing really grabbed me.

i hope that by finding out what others are doing it might inspire me.

I'm the Chair of DCs primary school PTA.

Maybe look at the websites of charities you support or align with your interests etc & see what volunteer vacancies they have?

I used to be an RNIB befriender.
Had training sessions over a few weeks and then got matched with an elderly blind woman who I visited for a few hours every other Sunday.
I'd take her to the local shopping mall and we'd have coffee and a snack and a bit of shopping.
Just a chance to chat for a few hours.

Volunteering with vulnerable families

I work once a week as a receptionist in a local hospice.

You say you already support a food bank but no more shifts are available - could you contact the organisers and see if there’s anything else that needs doing? I run a FB and even when our shifts are full there are about five ongoing tasks I’m stuck with that I’d love someone to join in on - everything from coming in to take interesting photos of our work to ringing up recipients for feedback to seeing how our food hygiene stacks up to looking at grants etc.

Odd bits related to clinical research.
My local Healthwatch.
The Hygiene Bank.
With a Royal Collage (ad hoc)

My husband volunteers as a child’s mentor with a local charity (he had no experience apart from being a parent). I volunteer as a breastfeeding peer supporter, through the children’s centre. Again, You don’t have to have breastfed a baby as full training is provided. I also volunteer Marshall at parkrun and junior parkrun when I’m not running.

Our ambulance service has welfare volunteers who take refreshments to crews waiting at hospital - they do it in pairs, you only need one driver - or to the call centre staff. Everyone is very grateful.

I volunteer at our local grassroots football club, I am assistant secretary for the junior teams, welfare officer, registrations officer, run the tea and coffee shop every other Sunday, do the bar on a Saturday night once a month, organise the kids' Xmas party, attend committee meetings once a month and organise/help out at the various fundraising event throughout the year. We have 14 junior teams, providing access to football for approx 200 children and young people. It's a great club to be involved in and I've met some good friends through it. We are very grateful for any amount of time volunteers can give, so if you've got a local club with junior teams they would most probably be very grateful for your help!

I volunteer for a museum.

I take in donations of baby clothes and baby equipment like bouncy chairs and Moses baskets, clean everything up and wash and iron the clothes.
Then we get referrals from health visitors and midwives of families who really need some help, and everything goes off to a new home.

I volunteer weekly at a soup kitchen in my local town.

I am amazed and truly grateful to every one for your responses.
I am going to contact Cinnamon Trust, our local hospital and our library.

For helping in Schools, would you just write to the Head Teacher?

I home check and do adoption support for a rescue charity. It’s lovely seeing people get matched up with new little family members 🙂

Volunteer in a Memory Cafe for Alzheimer's and Dementia patients and their caters.
And in a beautiful gift shop of which all profits go to a cancer charity.
Also look after my grandchildren over 2 days and 2 nights weekly.
All very rewarding and enjoyable.

I work a few hours a week in a cat shelter.

I'm an Independent Visitor, which is a befriending/mentoring role for a child in the care system. Would recommend it.

Oh and one of my retired friends does meet n greet / direction giving at the local
hospital.

Joined a local community orchard this year. Watched the trees grow, sown wildflower seeds, learned loads about apples. Recent delicious apples harvested. Met some good people who care about the environment. Have previously dog walked for an animal rescue, also very rewarding to see the dogs become more happy and confident and then finding lovely new homes.

Citizens Advice? You don't need amazing IT skills, as long as you can look things up on a browser and copy and paste etc. Lots of varied questions so it's always interesting and it's good to feel you're really made a difference to someone's life.

Volunteer with the Home Start scheme.

You get training and police checked. And ongoing training if you choose.

There are 4 levels of referral to the scheme.
The starting level is a family who might need a bit of encouragement, right through to the top level which might be children at potential risk.

All families have a child under 5 as that's the cut off.

You can go cuddle the baby, help with making meals, play with other children. It's a befriending service to families going through hard times.

Junior park run, litter picking, trustee for a charity, volunteer at events for prostate cancer UK.

I used to volunteer for GG until they went all TWAW and I left.
Now I'm on the committee of our local, free community magazine.
When I retire I'm going to find some more volunteering to to, maybe with Rotary.

I helped set up a food bank almost 15 years ago and was a trustee for 5 years
Committee Chair
Head of fundraising
Cook

Currently a community gardener and do the window displays and sort stock at a charity shop.