Welcome to the 12 Days of Xmas 2021! Join us as we reveal volunteering roles at 12 local organisations every day from 1st-12th December. Here we go…
Day One: Events Volunteers @ The London Irish Centre
Day Two: Festival Volunteers @ Castlehaven Community Association
And for those of you who don’t know, Castlehaven is in the heart of Camden Town, right near Camden Stables Market.
Interested? Send them a DM or get in touch with Rosa by email: rosa@castlehaven.org.uk
Day Three: Festive Farm Fun Volunteers @ Kentish Town City Farm
| Title | No of Vols | Description | Sat & sun | Fri & Mon |
| Gate counters | 2 | Counting in adults and children | * | |
| Food & drink service | 6 | Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cake, mulled wine, soup | * | * |
| Elves | 2 | Welcoming visitors to santas grotto | * | * |
| Friends of the Farm craft stall | 2 | Display gifts and sell them | * | * |
| Tombola | 2 | Run preprepped tombola stand | * | |
| Runners | 4 | Runners to ensure volunteers are happy | * | |
| Set up each day | 4 | Volunteers to help out in the morning to set up stalls etc from 10am to 12noon | * | * |
| Santa | 2/4 | Dress up as Father Christmas and give out children’s presents | * | |
| donkey grooming | 3 | Member of staff and experienced volunteers only | * | |
| Light treasure trail | 1 | Set visitors up to follow the treasure trail | * | |
| Tattoos | 2/4 | Sticking Christmas tattoos onto the arm of young visitors | * | |
| Home baked goods | Cakes, cookies, mince pies, pastries etc, savoury & sweet are welcome everyday | * | * | |
| unwanted gifts for tombola stall | Any second hand objects such as small toys, jewellery, unwanted gifts, second hand but in good condition | * | * | |
| Crafts, jams, chutneys, stocking fillers | Home baked goods Any home made or donated goods to sell at our friends of the farm Christmas stall | * | * |
Day Four: Admin Support @ Abbey Community Centre
This is what the good people @ ACC say about their role:
Do something amazing for your local community in your spare time! Be creative and gain new skills…We are looking for an enthusiastic and dedicated person to support our volunteer admin:
This role will suit people looking for a longer term commitment who are wanting to gain skills in the Voluntary sector. The purpose of the role is supporting the Centre Volunteer Co-ordinator and Service Leads with administration to ensure the smooth running of Volunteering at Abbey Community Centre.
You are the type of person who is:
• Detail-orientated
• Organised and professional
• Warm and friendly
• Reliable and dependable
• Non-judgmental, patient with a good sense of humour!
• Open-minded, respectful, and compassionate
• A good communicator who knows their boundaries
Interested? Check out this link: https://bit.ly/12Days21Day4
Day Five: Telephone Befrienders @ Deafblind UK
Day Five and we are highlighting Deafblind UK which is looking for Telephone Befrienders. This is what they say about their role:
‘Making a regular call or sending an email or letter to one of our members could make a huge difference right now. So many of them live alone and having the opportunity to speak to another person can be of huge benefit to their general wellbeing.’
Interested? Check out this link: https://bit.ly/12Days21Day5
Day Six: Small Food Donations – Weekly Collection Volunteers @ Holborn Community Assocation
The Organisation:
Our vision is for a thriving, vibrant and inclusive community in Holborn. We work to achieve this vision by supporting individuals, bringing people together and making our community stronger.
We support the community through Arts, Care, Play and Movement activities, largely based across three community centres; Holborn House, 1a Arts and Millman Street Community Centre.
At Millman Street we support people over 55 to improve and maintain their well-being, through an activities programme – such as arts and crafts, tai chi, yoga, drama & mindfulness groups – as well as day care and respite care for some older people who are more vulnerable and isolated.
What the role involves:
These are key roles where a small contribution of time every week helps HCA make a big difference for the older people we work with.
We regularly collect food donations from local supermarkets and other locations – usually weekly. All locations are within 15 minutes walk of the centre and agreed days/times for collection can be set.
Your help picking up these donations and bringing them back to the centre every week would be hugely beneficial – keeping food donations coming in to our lunch club and emergency support as well as allowing care staff time to focus on duties in the centre.
Donations are not usually large amounts and we are happy to provide a ‘trolley’ or similar to help you transport donations.
There will usually be a cup of tea ready at the end of your journey!!
Interested? Check out this link: https://bit.ly/12Days21Day6
Day Seven: Accompaniment Volunteer for Queen’s Crescent Community Association
Volunteers are needed to accompany the minibus driver on monthly outings or trips to bring older people from their homes to activities at QCCA, 45 Ashdown Crescent, NW5 4QE. We are looking for people who are friendly, patient and kind and enjoy working with elderly people. They must also be fit enough to support people with mobility issues to get on/off the minibus.
You will have made a big different to an isolated person’s life, enabling them to meet friends and get out into the community!
Interested? Contact Mary Pierce, Older People’s Services Coordinator by phone on 07402 354984 or apply through Simply Connect here.
Day Eight: CIC Directors (Trustees) at Helping Hand
Lend us your time and your skills, while gaining valuable experience as a director (trustee), to help us get a new CIC (Community Interest Company) up and running.
You’ll be supporting our founder Queeny to continue and formalise her work of 5 years supporting and bringing together low-income families in Camden.
To continue and grow this work, we are setting up a new CIC, and we’re looking for a diverse team to provide crucial support and challenge in that journey. (We may look to convert to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation at a later stage.)
If you have experience in accountancy, bookkeeping, law, marketing, web design, or other professions useful to a fledgling organisation – amazing – please get in touch!
If you have lived experience of poverty, single parenthood and how important a supportive network can be, and want to share that experience to help others – amazing – please get in touch!
If none of these apply, and you’re someone who is keen to learn, be part of a team, help others, and get stuck in to make a tangible difference to a new charitable venture – amazing – please get in touch!
We don’t necessarily have everything figured out just yet. What we do have are the solid foundations of 5 years’ passionate experience supporting Camden families, plus strong support, belief and donations from many people and organisations across Camden. Now we need you to help us set up as a CIC and grow from there!
Interested? Check out all of the details here: https://bit.ly/12Days21Day8
Day Nine: Lunchtime Wellness Cafe Volunteers at Highgate Newtown Community Centre
Day Ten: English and Maths Tutor at Action Tutoring
Day ten … and Action Tutoring let us know what they are looking for:
‘Action Tutoring is an organisation that enables young minds to succeed by matching them with qualified volunteer tutors across the country. Our work focuses on closing the attainment gap that can severely hinder students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. As an official National Tutoring Programme charity, we run sessions that can add up to five months of progress to a pupil’s knowledge and study skills. With the Department for Education estimating the attainment gap could widen up to 75% as a result of the pandemic, we know our support is needed now more than ever.
As an English or maths tutor, you get to choose one of our partner schools across England to volunteer with across a school term. You can support either in person (following Covid prevention measures) or online (through our virtual classroom). Action Tutoring provides all of our tutors with training and workbooks to use in sessions, pays travel expenses of up to £5 per tutoring session attended, and will also process a DBS check for you.
Participating for just one hour a week you will be able to directly support pupils in building their confidence, and help ensure they leave school with the grades needed to build a bright future, all while developing your own experience!
Apply today at https://actiontutoring.org.uk/
Required Education, Skills and Qualifications
You need to be a fluent English speaker, have achieved an A or B at A-Levels (or equivalent) in the subject(s), or similar subject, and have or are studying for a degree, in any subject. Good communication skills, patience, commitment to the process, and resilience are desired. Experience working with young people is also helpful but not essential. We do review all qualifications and experience however and would encourage you to apply – even if you don’t meet the exact stated criteria.
Benefits
Through tutoring with us our volunteers are able to develop a wealth of transferable skills that employers love (interpersonal, organisational, communication) all whilst making a great impact. We currently have volunteers aged 18 to 80 years, from all different backgrounds, including students, working professionals and retired individuals! You have the opportunity to build relationships directly in your community.’
Interested? Find out more info about local schools and how to apply for the roles on the Action Tutoring website.
Day 11: Virtual Visit Hosts at I Can Be
‘We are seeking professionals who are passionate about widening children’s aspirations. We are also looking for people who, with guidance, will feel able to talk about their job in a way that is clear and easy to understand. I Can Be volunteers also need to be personable and enthusiastic, so that they can engage with and inspire children.
I Can Be is a registered charity. Our visits programme introduces children to the world of work, to broaden their horizons and help them discover the breadth of opportunity around them. Our main programme is for inner-city primary school girls aged 7–8 years old. We also run a smaller programme for boys (ICB Boys).
As an I Can Be volunteer you will host a virtual visit (or a series of visits) with a group of 10 children in your workplace. You will answer the children’s questions, tell them about your job and career path, and then work with them on an activity related to your job.
Each virtual visit last for 45 minutes and takes place within the school/working day (at 10.30am or 1.30pm). The children are always accompanied by at least one member of their school’s staff.
All volunteers have a briefing with a member of the I Can Be team before their first visit to run through the format for a virtual visit, answer any questions and make sure they feel fully prepared.
Interested? Check out all of the details and apply here: https://bit.ly/12Days21Day11
Day 12: Outreach Volunteers at Streets Kitchen
This is what they say about their role:
Streets Kitchen is a UK & Ireland grassroots group working to help the homeless community, providing daily outreaches with food, clothing and information that benefits our streets. We work in partnership with others across the UK and beyond.
Can you #GiveAShift? We’re always in need of new volunteers! Inductions for new volunteers are every Wednesday and Saturday, you can sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/streets-kitchen-induction-session-for-new-volunteers-tickets-141748063273
Want to volunteer? Due to the nature of our work, all volunteers must be over 18. We ask that you join a 30 minute induction call before volunteering. Induction calls are via Zoom every Wednesday 7pm and Saturday 11am. You can sign up by selecting a date on the Eventbrite page.
If you are unable to use Eventbrite or Zoom, please email getinvolved@streetskitchen.org
Streets Kitchen is organised and run by volunteers, many of whom have been homeless and used a Streets Kitchen service themselves. We very much appreciate all our volunteers who help the homeless in many different ways.
- We provide hot food and drinks, clothing, and community outreach at around twelve locations across London. Working in partnership with other groups, our volunteers are on the street every day.
- We work with many Libraries and Tricky Period to collect sanitary towels and Tampons, find out more – https://www.facebook.com/TheTrickyPeriod/
Becoming a volunteer with Streets Kitchen is not only about providing hot food and drinks, it is really much more than this:
- Being able to listen, sometimes to a very sad and upsetting story.
- Being able to give help to someone who has a history, which may include crime or severe addiction issues.
- Understanding that everyone has a past, some may be quite bad, some not so much, it is essential that you can talk, listen and be non-judgmental.
- Being able to deal with people who are at the very end of their tether, who may be suicidal, who may be angry at the system and try to take their frustration out on you.
- Having patience and strong willpower is essential.
- Understanding that when people decide to tell you their story, what they are doing is placing a lot of trust in you and hope that you can keep it confidential.
- Understanding that everyone who visits Street Kitchen and uses its services are people just like you and I, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect no matter how hard it may be.
- Most of all, just being able to listen and smile can make someones day.
- As a volunteer you may be required to liaise with other agencies in order to help someone, this in itself can be a frustrating duty as you try to find the correct agency and then try to get that agency to help.
- What we ask is that you treat everyone with dignity, respect and as human beings.
