Volunteers Required

On this page we list the voluntary organisations that have contacted us asking if we could help them appeal for volunteers.

Many organisations are constantly seeking people to help them and you can be confident that the organisations on this page will welcome you if you contact them. We will add to it as different organisations approach us and if you know of any, let us know at

feedback@laterlife.com and we'll include them, too.

The Careers Development Group (CDG) is a dynamic charity that seeks to help those who are unemployed find and sustain employment. Many of the people they support have multiple barriers to employment, including lack of recent work experience, disabilities, health problems and lack of relevant employability skills.At the moment (January 2012) they are looking for volunteers in London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight. If you are interested, contact Susanna Ward at Susanna.Ward@cdguk.org

The Home Library Service. Throughout Hampshire, local libraries offer a Home Library Service to people who through illness, disability or other problems are not able to visit the library themselves and don't have anyone who can go on their behalf. Volunteers pick books, or audio books, for the customer and then deliver them to the customers home. As the people we visit are often vunerable they have to ask each volunteer to complete a CRB form. The CRB is done free of charge through HCC. If you  would like to take up this volunteer opportunity you can contact  Lois Lang, or Jill Reilly on 01256 814280. (This telephone number is operational from mid April 2012 - before that they are on 01256 478670).
 

Crimestoppers. Crimestoppers – the independent crime-fighting charity that helped UK Police make 8264 arrests in the last year – is now seeking volunteers to take it into the next stage of its development.

Across the United Kingdom Crimestoppers has more than 460 volunteers helping to fight crime and its Committees in the Eastern Region hope that the 500th volunteer will be among those it is trying to attract from across the region. The Eastern Region covers Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. However, you may apply wherever you live to the appropriate region.

• The committees, which focus mainly on fund-raising and increasing its profile in the community, want to hear from anyone aged over 18 who believes that they can bring ‘new talent’ to its thinking and planning.

  “Around 40% of the anonymous crime related information we now receive is made on-line rather than traditionally by telephone, reflecting an on-going change in how many people now perceive Crimestoppers and how they can interface with it,” said Regional Manager, Ann Scott.

  “We want new volunteers to join those already behind the scenes at Crimestoppers to be able to bring new ideas and techniques to a crime-fighting charity that has continued to evolve with the times since its inception 23 years ago. There is a wealth of skill, knowledge and experience already on the committee but those with fundraising, media, marketing and event organization skills are being asked to join them. A day in the life of a volunteer is so varied – one day they can be doing an appeal for a recent murder and the next they can be organizing a black-tie dinner.

  “More than 1.2 million anonymous calls have been made to Crimestoppers to date – showing that the public invest a great deal of trust in the charity. This has resulted in 100,000-plus arrests and charges, more than £114 million of goods being recovered and £202 million-plus of drugs seized across the UK.

  “We believe that volunteers play a vital role in ensuring that Crimestoppers maintains a high profile and remains the number one choice for anyone wishing to give information about crime and criminals anonymously if they feel unable to go to the Police. Many people do not realise that Crimestoppers is a charity – they think it is the TV programme Crimewatch or part of the Police. Volunteers also work hard to explain what we mean by anonymous. Calls/IP addresses cannot be traced, calls are not recorded, and people will not have to give a statement to the Police or go to court”.

• For more information please go to www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Anyone interested in volunteering for Crimestoppers should e-mail ann.scott@crimestoppers-uk-org

              If you live in East Anglia, click on this link for a direct link to your area:    

              http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/in-your=area/east-of-england       

• Fostering. The over-50s is a target group for fostering agencies because they have the experience, knowledge and time to provide excellent foster placements for vulnerable children. If you think you would like to foster, or find out more about it, go to www.simplyfostering.co.uk/ where you will find out all you need to know. Strictly speaking, fostering isn't voluntary work because you get paid for it, but we include it here because clearly it is the sort of activity for which you need commitment and belief.

• Elders Voice. Elders Voice are trying to recruit volunteers who are recently retired and they have a number of volunteering opportunities. They have volunteers who do office work and befriend older housebound people. They also need drivers, gardeners, club organisers and people to help in their day centres. They would really like to find recently retired people who would like to remain active in their own community. Elders Voice is based in Kensal Green, but have activities all around Brent. They have also had volunteers from neighbouring boroughs such as Camden and Harrow. Contact Lisa Ehlers, Community Development Manager, on 0208 206 7513 or email her at LisaE@eldersvoice.org.uk
• Manchester Neighbourhood Care Groups Association. This an organisation that supports older people who experience difficulties in later life. You can contact them through their website: http://www.mncga.co.uk/
• Macmillan Cancer Relief. They need people to support the community fundraising activities of Macmillan and to be ambassadors for the work of the charity in supporting people affected by cancer. In particular, they need people in various parts of London but there are also roles in other parts of the country. Contact them through the Macmillan website. If you live in London, you can contact Tamara Justice, Fundraising Manager NW London, on 0208 222 9017.
• Leukaemia Research. This organisation raises funds for research into leukaemia and needs people to help raise those funds through a whole variety of events. If you want to give local support, contact the Community Fundraising Team on 020 7269 9008 or at rporter@lrf.org.uk . If you'd like to help with sporting events, ring 020 7269 9001 or at sportsevents@lrf.org.uk. For helping to organise special events, contact Georgina Fitt on 020 7269 9003 or at gfitt@lrf.org.uk.
• Approach. This is a Staffordshire-based charity(www.approachstaffordshire.co.uk) They require people with their own vehicles to take one or two elderly people to their day care centre once a week and then return them home at the end of the day.
• The Samaritans. Each branch of the samaritans is self-funding and there are always vacancies for listening, support or fund-raising volunteers. The Barnsley branch has a particular need at the moment (February 2008) and there is a dedicated phone number - 01226 785769. To volunteer in any area, contact 08705 62 72 82. To find out more about the Samaritans, go to the web site: www.samaritans.org.
• Advocacy in Action. Advocacy in Action works alongside vulnerable adults in Surrey who need particular support in making the decisions that will affect their quality of life. They need active trustees to help them grow and they also need people to learn to become advocates or befrienders. If this sounds as if it's for you, please email: mail@advocacyinaction.org or phone 01306 881804
• The Genesis Appeal. This charity is a breast cancer prevention charity that is based in the Nightingale Centre and Genesis Prevention Centre at Wythenshawe hospital in Manchester. The centre has gardens all the way round its perimeter and several court yards. They need volunteers for two or three hours a week to help maintain them. Contact Lynda Ellis on 0161 291 4405 or email lynda.ellis@genesisuk.org
• Young Enterprise. Young Enterprise has a vision “that all young people will have the opportunity to gain personal experience of how business works, understand the role it plays in providing employment and creating prosperity, and be inspired to improve their own prospects, and the competitiveness of the UK.” In order to achieve this vision, more volunteers are needed each year. Young Enterprise operates a number of programmes for young people on a learning-by-doing principle and volunteers work alongside experienced teachers and lecturers showing the young people how to undertake a range of business tasks, including running a real company. Find out more at www.young-enterprise.org.uk if you are based in London. If you want to volunteer in London, you can also email mikeo@yelondon.com
• ChildLine in Scotland require volunteers across the UK to fill various roles. In particular, they are looking for volunteer counsellors. You would answer calls on the telephone helpline and then counsel the children and young people who call. They also want people to go into schools and young people's groups to talk about the services offered by Childline. The number to ring if you would like to help is 0870 336 2993 and the link to their website is: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Applications/survey_internet/scripts/takesurveypower.
• aspx?surveyid=78&rx=true.
• Thrive is a small national charity that helps disabled people make use of gardening to change their lives. They need a Volunteer Treasurer to join the Board of Trustees. Amongst the duties will be to attend full Board meetings five times a year at the National Office at Beech Hill, just outside Reading, Berkshire. If you are interested, please ring Michelle Hill on 0118 988 5688 or email her at: michelle.hill@thrive.org.uk
• The Royal British Legion are looking for help in three ways. They need poppy collectors; volunteer caseworkers who answer phone calls and visit people in their homes to identify and assess the need for assistance; and hospital and housebound visitors who provide a link to the outside world. Go to their website for more details.
• Home Link provide support for families with young children who are under stress and experiencing difficulties in south Edinburgh and Midlothian. If you would like to volunteer with Home Link, go to www.homelinkbefriending.org

Let us know of any organisations that you know about or with whom you're involved and that want volunteers. Laterlife will do its part in helping those organisations get helpers.

Voluntary work can be incredibly rewarding and if you're someone who wants to give something back to the community, then it is definitely something that will give you immense satisfaction. But you need to think carefully about it before you take the plunge so that you make the right choice for you and therefore for the organisation involved.

So make sure you read the rest of this Guide to get a proper overview of voluntary work in order to help you make the right choice. Just click the links in the box.