Thinking about volunteering? How helping others can help you

Volunteering can really make a positive difference in your life as well as helping other people in your community. 

There are hundreds of different kinds of voluntary work, so it’s worth exploring what opportunities might suit you.  

Why Volunteer?

Volunteering has been shown to bring lots of benefits to those who take part, and these are especially valuable if you are not in paid work at the moment.  These include:

• Social connection – a reason to get out of your home and connect with other people, which is key to looking after your own health and wellbeing
• Sense of purpose and achievement – helping to do something around an issue or an interest that you feel passionate about is rewarding and remember, even simple tasks can make a big difference to people in your community or to your local area 
• Learning and practising skills – you might be developing your existing skills by putting them into practice or learning something completely new, discovering abilities you never knew you had
• Employability – if you are applying for a job, your voluntary work experience can go a long way to showing a potential employer what you have to offer and what kind of person you are.
   

What do volunteers do?

As a volunteer you could be involved in all kinds of activities, like collecting and sorting donations, preparing food or drinks, litter-picking, planting, making things, helping with sports events or simply chatting with people who may be feeling lonely.  

In some roles you might bring specialist skills to help a community or voluntary organisation, such as skills in arts and crafts, or repairs and maintenance, or helping with the accounts and funding bids.  Everyone has something to offer.

Search our volunteer jobs here