Whether you live alone or want to do more to help this Christmas, there are loads of reasons to get involved with some volunteering during the festive period, whether that’s on Christmas day itself, or in the build-up to Christmas.
From serving up Christmas dinners to the homeless to calling someone with loneliness for a good natter on Christmas day, there’s never been a better time to join the one million people in the UK who currently give up their time at Christmas to help those in need.
Volunteering is a great way of giving back and doing your bit if you aren’t in a position to donate money, and it’ll also leave you feeling like you’ve done something amazing!
To help get you thinking about the ways you can volunteer this year, we’ve rounded up some of the best charities in the UK that are looking for volunteer workers over the festive season.
Christmas volunteering opportunities
Volunteer for Crisis at Christmas
This is the 51st year Crisis are providing somewhere warm and a hot dinner for homeless people in their many centres across the UK. Each year, Crisis call on volunteers to help with a variety of support services for their visitors and they're currently looking for:
Find out more about volunteering and the volunteering roles currently available at crisis.org.uk.
Give homeless young people a future with Centrepoint
Another homeless charity who are always looking for volunteers are Centrepoint. They work to help young people who are homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless. Their volunteering opportunities include Helpline advisors, gardeners, admin roles, music tutors, independent life skills coaches and catering tutors.
You can find out more about volunteering with Centrepoint at centrepoint.org.uk.
Offer your time to Age UK
From helping out in an Age UKshop or joining the Age UK Telephone Friendship service where you commit to a weekly telephone call with someone experiencing loneliness, there are a number of ways you can volunteer your time this winter that don't even require you to leave the sofa.
Find out more about the volunteering services with Age UK at ageuk.org.uk
Volunteer with The Salvation Army
Helping to make a difference to the lives of some of the most marginalised and underprivileged people, The Salvation Army are currently looking for volunteers to get involved with all kinds of activities at their community charity shops. If you could offer a couple of hours a week on a regular basis, find out more.
Help the local food bank with The Trussell Trust
Between December 1-3, volunteers for the Trussell Trust volunteered at their local Tesco stores to spread the word about the importance of food donations to local food banks and encourage Tesco shoppers to donate a few of their items during their weekly shop.
The volunteers spend a few hours greeting customers and sharing with them the work of The Trussell Trust to hopefully get some food donations in return. Although this year's volunteering period is over, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the website for next year. There are also plenty of other volunteer opportunities with The Trussell Trust all year round.
How do I find volunteering opportunities in my area?
NCVO work with a number of accredited volunteer centres that span the country to find volunteers all year round. You can use the handy map on their website to find the local volunteering services near you.
Visit ncvo.org.uk to find out more.