Where to Find Volunteering Opportunities

Most people DON’T find their volunteering role through a Volunteer Centre, and so we don’t encourage you to just look at our website or even to just ask us for advice – there’s a lot that you can do to increase your chances of finding the ideal volunteer role.

Figuring Out What You Want to Do

It’s ok to know that you would like to volunteer, but not to know exactly what you want to do. However, it’s incredibly helpful if you can give some thought to the kinds of things that might interest you.

Lots of people like to see a list of options and then pick something from it, but that can be very hit and miss. If you can narrow down your search you will find it much easier to find something. It can even be helpful to decide what you absolutely DON’T want to do!

So think about the following: do you have an interest in something already? Forget for the time being whether it’s something you could volunteer for, just think about your interests – art, music, reading, gardening, socialising – would you enjoy volunteering for something that involved your existing interests?

Do you have existing skills that you would love to share? Are you great with numbers, or at writing, maybe you are really good with Excel, or a whizz with computers and other digital technologies.

Are you sporty? Green fingered? Can you play an instrument? Are you really organised? Knowing what you’re good at can really help you to find something fulfilling to get involved in.

Maybe you’re one of those people who says “well, I’m not really good at anything” (just so you know, that isn’t true, even if you think it is!). In this case you might have skills that you would like to gain through volunteering, so focus on that. What kind of role will help you gain skills and experience in office administration? Customer service? Arts and crafts?

You might be looking to build a CV to help you find a paid job, so focus on those key skills and areas that would grab an employer’s attention.

Or perhaps you have some personal story that leads you in a particular direction, such as you or a family member having received support in the past from a charity and so you want to support that charity in return, in which case look for something related.

Finding a Role

Whether you do manage to narrow down your search criteria or not, the next step is finding something to do. Of course I am going to recommend our website. But not everyone uses our website so treat this as a sample of what is out there. If you find something on our site you can apply directly by registering, or you can email [email protected] and Mark will make a referral to your chosen role. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, try these other methods.

First of all, if what you’re looking for is related to a Lancashire County Council service – day care centre, library etc – then check out Lancashire Volunteering Partnership. Here you will find all kinds of county council service-related roles, and don’t be afraid to contact the team to ask if you can’t find something you’re interested in.

If you want to volunteer in the NHS then take a look at the volunteering section on the Health Jobs UK site. It’s important to keep a close eye on this site because there isn’t often stuff available locally and when it does go up it doesn’t stay up, so check regularly to see if anything has updated.

Another good site, though one not used too much by Lancaster groups, is Reach Volunteering. Reach recently got a reprieve, with funders coming together to keep it going. Like the NHS site it’s a good idea to check regularly.

Social media is another great online resource. For example, many local ‘Friends of’ groups, volunteers who support local parks and green spaces, or public spaces like libraries, do their recruiting via Facebook, so if you have a Facebook account why not search for local groups?

Offline, your best way to find a volunteer role is your social circle, family and friends. Do any of them volunteer? If so, where? Could you join them? Have any of them received support from an organisation that needs volunteers? Do any of them know someone, or of something, that could lead to a good volunteering role?

Finally, if you’re confident in doing so, just ask. Any charitable group will welcome the question “could I volunteer with you?” At worst the answer is not at the moment, but even then you’ve made a contact and often a group will take your contact details and get in touch as and when something comes up. Charity shops particularly, because of their location, are used to people dropping in to find out about volunteering, but you can contact any group to ask.

And everything above is about what we might call ‘formal’ volunteering – remember that you can just do stuff if you like, such as a litter pick along your street, or maybe you have a neighbour who could use a hand with something like a bit of shopping. It all counts. Just remember that for certain things, this sort of informal helping out isn’t recognised, for example at the Job Centre. They would encourage you to get involved with a proper organisation.

Hopefully this is helpful but if it isn’t, if you have more questions, or need more assistance, just contact Mark at the Volunteer Centre for a chat.