Volunteers

Volunteering can be a rewarding experience for all, but we know that it can be tricky to find the right volunteering role for you. The good news is that we promote 100s of local ways to get involved as a in Camden volunteer as well as a number of ways that you can do a search.

 

Start your search online now, find out all the ways you can find your perfect volunteering role, get more info on what volunteering is or subscribe to our mailing list .

Any questions? Get in touch with our Volunteering Services Manager Shafia.

  • Children and young people

    There are many youth clubs and children’s services in Camden. Support for children and young people can include things like mentoring, befriending, sports coaching, nursery playworkers and art project assistants.

    Safeguarding children and young people is very important, so many of these roles require DBS checks and safeguarding training.

  • Older people

    Volunteering for organisations that support older people can include befriending schemes for isolated elderly people, and many organisations rely on volunteers for one-to-one contact as a telephone buddy, visitors or drivers, help with practical tasks or hosting social events for groups.

  • IT

    Volunteering roles in IT can include everything from website maintenance and development to hardware and software maintenance, software development, teaching children to do coding, database management as well as helping older people to use their digital ‘gizmos and gadgets’.

  • admin

    Good admin is the backbone of all organisations, voluntary or otherwise! Most projects require excellent admin to keep track of progress made and to make it easier to submit quality reports on time.

    This is also a good way to get ready for the workplace or to keep your work skills up to date.

  • Drugs Addiction

    Many people who choose to volunteer with services that give support in this area have lived experience of drugs and addictions and / or know someone who has. Often the services overlap with others, such as working with young people, homeless or mental health projects.

    Others may want to use this experience to see if this is an area of health and wellbeing that they would like to get into for paid employment.

  • women

    Every year for International Women’s Day we highlight the many ways that people can support women and girls locally in Camden.

    Opportunities include preparing the future generation of women by volunteering with Girl Scouts, giving support to victims of domestic violence in projects and shelters which support women at their most vulnerable, giving therapeutic support to women as well as mentoring women with business skills.

  • Homelessness

    There are a number of local services which support local homeless people including preparing and serving meals on the street and indoors, leading activities for local residents in hostels, giving a warm welcome and a friendly chat to those who are visiting a drop in as well as organising and distributing food via local food banks.

  • Retail

    Retail volunteering gives you the opportunity to exercise your customer service skills as well as your creative flair for putting together a fabulous window for a local charity shop. You may also choose to stick with ‘back room’ support and sort through clothing and other donations.

    Catering can include things such as preparing meals for the homeless as well as various projects around the borough including students attending local training. Most catering roles will offer food safety training.

  • Heritage

    Camden is very lucky to have so many world-class museums and libraries such as The British Museum, The British Library as well as local heritage arts and cultural venues such as The Jewish Museum, The Dickens Museum, Sir John Soane Museum, the Foundling Museum and Lauderdale House to name but a few. Roles can include things such as stewarding for exhibitions, meeting and greeting guests, assisting with education programmes as well as taking part in events such as Open House and London Design Festival.

  • Your Neighbourhood

    For many of us, volunteering is more attractive the closer it is to home, work or study. You can search for local opportunities by postcode, get involved with your local community centre and all of the projects that they host including providing food for local people and families via food banks and getting active with a local mutual aid group which have been an essential part of the COVID-19 response.

  • Remote Volunteering

    Helplines have always been an essential way for people to get support in their time of need in a confidential way. Local services include supporting older people and those who identify as LGBTQ. A number of services that were previously delivered face-to-face are now being delivered via Zoom, Skype, Facetime or phone. This provides an essential continuity of support to those who need it the most in the time of COVID-19.

  • Conservation

    Camden has a number of excellent volunteering roles to support the local wildlife and environment including weekly outdoor group activities to get fit and keep Camden green and beautiful with Heath Hands and TCV Green Gym as well as maintaining local community gardens such as Waterlow Park, teaching visitors to Hampstead Heath about the local wildlife and helping Camden to become carbon neutral.

  • COVID-19

    It’s safe to say that COVID-19 has affected almost every aspect of life in Camden and beyond. And with this in mind many services are being delivered differently to maintain safety of those who provide services and the service users themselves. Mutual Aid groups have sprung up, as well as food distribution services such as local food banks and Kentish Town Community Centre’s ‘Happiness Hampers’ which are given to families with young children in partnership with local primary schools. Whatever the new normal looks like volunteering will continue to play a part in the local community as it always has.

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What is volunteering?

Volunteering is about giving your time and skills, without pay, for the benefit of others, the local community and very importantly yourself!


You can learn new skills, build confidence, make new friends, or simply take pleasure in being a part of something or supporting a cause that you believe in.


Volunteering is usually done with non-profit organisations, including charities, community groups, social enterprises as well as statutory organisations (such as the NHS, the police and local authorities). Private companies sometimes offer their staff time to take part in employee volunteering.


It’s worth noting that volunteering is a choice freely made by each individual.
Before you start to look at the options available in Camden and beyond it is important to think about what you want to get out of volunteering. Keep reading for inspiration.

Why volunteer?

Well, that depends on you! People volunteer for all sorts of reasons including:

  • As a stepping stone into paid employment
  • To put something on your CV
  • To get a reference
  • To get practical experience whilst studying
  • To meet new people
  • To try something new
  • To have fun
  • To do something you enjoy
  • To use skills or qualifications you already have
  • To get out of the house
  • To gain confidence
  • To feel useful and valued
  • To feel better, perhaps after a long-term illness
  • To feel part of a team
  • To feel more part of the community
  • To give something back to the community
  • To contribute something other than money to a cause that you feel passionately about
  • Doing something different than your usual routine

 

Need more information? Have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.

How to volunteer

…Helping out, lending a hand, being a good neighbour, giving something back, getting some experience…


Whatever you want to call it, volunteering comes in all shapes and sizes.

 

We have hundreds of opportunities for you to get involved in over 30 areas of interest and over 30 types of activities. And there are a number of ways you can do a search for your perfect match. Hooray!

Online or by phone

Please leave a message on our voicemail with your contact details and we will phone you back.

 

Search online for roles in Camden with Simply Connect (for general volunteering) and Plinth (formerly Time to Spare) (for short-term, flexible volunteering) 

 

In person

Visit us at a volunteering fair
Volunteering Fairs are a chance to:

  • Meet a handful of local organisations that are recruiting volunteers
  • Search for volunteering opportunities in Camden
  • Ask questions about volunteering

There is no need to book. Just drop-in.
The dates for your diary are in the Events section.

One-to-One appointments available by telephone or Zoom

  • Appointments last around a half hour, and we will help you contact the organisation(s) while you are with us
  • Before you arrive, have a think about why you want to volunteer and what you want to get out of it, as well as the times of day, areas of Camden and the skills you want to give and gain.

Employer-supported volunteering

There are many different reasons why employers give their employees the chance to volunteer during work time. Whatever the reason, Raquel is the person to find the right fit for your company. More details, including an enquiry form are on the Business Volunteers page.

Skilled volunteers

You may want to volunteer to use a skill that you have, and share with with an organisation in Camden. You can search for skills via our database of local volunteering roles on Simply Connect. Or why not advertise your skill on your social media and tag us?

 

We are happy to retweet/regram/repost. You can find us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Under 18s

There is an easy way to do a search for volunteering roles for young people under 18 via our online database and search tool Simply Connect. It is quick and easy to use, completely self serve and gives you direct access to organisations that are recruiting volunteers in Camden now.

Step-by-step instructions on how to search Simply Connect for Under 18s:
1. On Simply Connect click the dark blue ‘SEARCH’ button. This will take you to the Role Search page.
2. Scroll down the Role Search page and click on the light blue ‘ADVANCED SEARCH’ button.
3. From there scroll down the screen and choose the age range from the ‘ROLES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’ section and then click on the green ‘SEARCH’ button. The results will display in the box below.
4. If you are interested in any of these roles click on ‘DETAILS AND CONTACT’. From there you can ‘REGISTER INTEREST’, and the organisation will get in touch with you directly.

Let us know how you get on. And if we can be of any more help.

Search for volunteering roles

You can start your search for volunteering online now with a selection of easy peasy self-serve websites.

 

Choose Simply Connect for general volunteering roles, and Plinth (formerly Time to Spare) for flexible, short-term volunteering roles.

 

Remember also that we have a number of ways to search for volunteering roles, check out How to Volunteer for full details. 

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