News

Developing Your Volunteer Experience

3rd June 2021

After a tumultuous year and a half, people across Barnet are looking forward to discovering new volunteering opportunities or rediscovering the joy of giving their time. 

Discover the range of directions you could take in our latestvolunteer role guide.

Getting out to nature

We’ve all had a bit of zoom fatigue and we’d love to get out and about in nature. There are loads of volunteering opportunities available which allow you to enjoy the outdoors whilst helping protect it for others. 

Why not join a friendly team of volunteers at Friends of Finchley Way Open Space? You can expect to help out with all sorts of tasks, including prepping areas for planting trees, shrubs, bulbs and wildflower seeds, watering, cutting and maintaining trails and litter picking. This is a great opportunity to meet others with similar interests and work towards achieving the wider plan for the site. Find out more here.

Fancy turning your hand to gardening? Join Langdon as a Volunteer Gardener. You’ll be working alongside Langdon’s service users, people with learning disabilities and autism. Volunteers here work on a variety of tasks including new initiatives such as pond building, clearing, harvesting vegetables, weeding and planting up new areas to develop an environment that the people Langdon can support and enjoy. This is a lovely opportunity to get out in nature and support Langdon’s excellent work!

Raising money while making friends

Charity shops have been badly affected by the pandemic and they are very keen to recruit more volunteers than ever to join them and use their skills to help sell secondhand items and raise money for good causes. If you are looking to rejuvenate your social circle then volunteering at a charity shop can also be a great way of making friends. 

Join All Aboard Shops to raise money for a variety of causes. They have shops across situated across the borough and are welcoming all volunteers aged 16 and over. Find out more by clicking here.

Charity shops are particularly interested in people with special skills or knowledge – perhaps you consider yourself a fashionista, an expert in valuable cameras, a music buff, or you are great at building a rapport and chatting to customers. Charity Sense is looking for volunteers and has a wide range of opportunities available. Click here to find out more.

Charity shops are also a great starting point for people who have never volunteered before and are looking to gain some experience before taking on other opportunities. The North London Hospice Charity Shops take on volunteers aged 14 plus and require no experience at all. Visit one of their shops and start your volunteering journey now!

Helping children and young people thrive 

National lockdowns and restrictions have had a devastating impact on children and young people, especially with partial school closures. A whole range of charities are looking for volunteers to help young people thrive in the ‘new normal’. 

We all need a bit more fun and friendship, so why not join Transitions UK to become an Aspire Volunteer? You’ll be part of an ongoing support programme for young people across the borough, as a peer volunteer or befriender. Click here to find out more about this amazing opportunity.

If you want to help young people with their education in a school setting, you can sign up to be a Speech and Therapist Volunteer at Hollihock School. Your volunteering efforts would help children with speech and language needs to improve their confidence and language skills. For more information, click here.

Using professional skills to help charities

As charities recover from this challenging period, many are desperate to recruit volunteers with professional skills who have time available to support them. 

If you are good with words and understand social media, you can volunteer to help raise the profile of charities, ensuring they obtain funding and better reach the people who need their support. Eye Heroes are looking for a Communications Volunteer to formulate a communications plan to build their social media presence. This is a great role to improve skills and can be done anywhere- including from home. Apply now!

Bringing people together

If you are looking for a role where you can be responsible for bringing people together, you are not alone. There is an abundance of opportunities for people who want to return to group activities and good company, including this unique role with JAMI as a Drama Volunteer. This role includes facilitating a monthly drama group with appropriate activities for people living with diverse mental health conditions. 

At Volunteering Barnet we have so many more roles available. If you are looking for something more specific than some we have mentioned here, or those available on our website, please get in touch! We have roles to suit everyone.

All our roles are available here: https://barnetvolunteersc19.co.uk/vk/volunteers/search.htm 

Contact: enquiry@volunteeringbarnet.org.uk / 0300 365 9960