Explore the latest volunteering opportunities, both locally and online. We'll update these opportunities regularly, so keep checking back to view the newest!
These can be used towards your RED Award activities. Not signed up? Find out more and register for the RED Award.
*Please note, there are University's policy regarding work and study for full-time students applies to volunteering. You can find out more about the limitations of this on our work and study page.
| Opportunity | What will you be doing? | Online or in-person? | Region | Time commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Rising Suns Art Centre | Variety of volunteering opportunities - bar work/ marketing/ fundraising etc. | Both | Reading | Dependent on role |
| Charity Buddy | Charity Buddy help volunteers to support animal welfare organisations whilst using existing expertise. They advertise a range of different opportunities to support organisations and projects | Online | National | Dependent on role |
| Royal Voluntary Service | Our volunteers work in a wide variety of roles; from offering companionship to people who are socially isolated, to providing practical help to those recovering from illness, to working on hospital wards or helping at a vaccination site. | Both | National | Dependent on role |
| Sue Ryder retail volunteer | As a Sue Ryder Shop Volunteer you will have the opportunity to be involved in many aspects of the day to day running of the store including sorting stock, customer service, till work, window dressing and more. |
In-person | Reading | Not specified |
| British Red Cross support line volunteer | Some of those you will be helping will need emotional support as they are experiencing loneliness and isolation. Others may need help accessing their medication or food, or to be signposted to an external agency who can provide further support. |
Oneline/telephone | National | 4.5 hours per shift - minimum of 26 shifts |
| National Youth Advocacy Service |
The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) is a UK charity providing children's rights and socio-legal services. It offers information, advice, advocacy and legal representation to children, young people and vulnerable adults though a network of advocates throughout England and Wales. |
In-person | National | Dependent on role |
| Change Grow |
As a Volunteer Recovery Outreach support, you will be working with a team to support people with their or their own loved ones’ drug and/or alcohol issues. |
In-person | Reading | Not stated |
| Keen London | If you enjoy sports and fun, volunteer with KEEN London and help them run free weekly sport and game sessions for children and young adults (age 5-25) with a wide range of disabilities. |
In-person | London | Volunteers are asked to attend at least 2 session a month for a minimum of 6 months. |
| The Sapphire Foundation Soup Kitchen |
The Sapphire Foundation Soup Kitchen rely on their donations and volunteers to support and feed over 150 people every week. |
In-person | East London | Volunteers needed at 5pm on Thursdays. |
| Royal Voluntary Service – Hospital Volunteer |
Supporting the NHS, the Royal Voluntary Service offers a wide range of hospital volunteer opportunities. |
Dependent on role | National | Dependent on role. |
| Centrepoint volunteer |
Centrepoint is a charity that has a positive impact on homeless young people’s lives. Through various roles, Centrepoint’s volunteers support young people’s career ambitions, engage them with their services and programmes, help them into accommodation or give them a little extra nudge to try something new. |
Both | National | Dependent on role. |
| National Youth Engagement Network |
Join a group of active citizens who are enthusiastic about impacting change in their community. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Phrase Detectives | Phrase detectives helps to improve future generations of language technology by indicating relationships between words and phrases, to create a resource rich in linguistic information. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Sands | Knit or crochet blankets to go inside memory boxes to bring comfort to parents after the death of a baby. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Post Pals | Help Post Pals to ‘post a smile on a sick child’s face’ by sending cards, letters and little gifts to ill children and their siblings in the UK. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Guide Dogs | Guide Dogs helps blind and partially sighted people across the UK through the provision of guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services. They have a range of voluntary roles, and you can search by your postcode to find opportunities close to you. |
Both | National | Dependent on availability |
| Localgiving | Localgiving specialises in supporting vital grassroots causes that are working on the frontline during COVID-19. This digital volunteering focuses on remote tasks that can be completed from home. |
Online | National | Dependent on project |
| ILGA World | As an ILGA World volunteer, you will be joining in the global fight to end human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, whilst gaining experience in the working with an international non-government organisation. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Hidayah | Hidayah provide support, education and welfare for the Muslim LGBTQ+ community. Hidayah are currently seeking volunteers to assist with social media and graphic designing. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Crowd2map | Crowd2map helps girls fleeing female genital mutilation (FGM) who come from very remote villages, that are absent from any map. Volunteers contribute their time to adding roads and buildings into a free open-source global map, so that help can reach those in remote locations. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Freerice | When playing Freerice, every correct question answer triggers an advertisement that appear on your screen. Every advertisement you see provides a financial payment to the World Food Programme to support changing lives across the globe. | Online | National | No set hours |
| Tutor the Nation | Tutor The Nation is looking for university students, recent graduates and experienced tutors to volunteer 1 hour per week to provide free 1:1 online tutoring to disadvantaged GCSE and A-level students. | Online | National | 1 hour per week for a minimum of a school term |
| Distributed Proofreaders Volunteer |
Distributed Proofreaders convert public domain books into eBooks. Volunteering for Distributed Proofreaders is great for someone with an eye for detail and passion for preserving literary history. |
Online | National | Dependent on availability |
| Sense volunteer | Sense provides those with complex disabilities with support and opportunities to experience the world. Sense offers varied volunteering roles such as volunteering in a Sense shop, joining an Sense holiday, volunteering as a Sense buddy or even giving time to a Sense fundraising group. |
Either | Dependent on role | Dependent on role |
| CSSC volunteer | CSSC is a volunteer organisation, with each region and area within it run by a team of volunteers who manage the area finances, run local events, local sport, help with marketing or communications. CSSC is looking for volunteers who would start up and support online and virtual activities, that encourage members to get active and feel happier throughout lockdown. |
Online | National | Dependent on role |
| Care4Calais |
Support asylum seekers and refugees as they arrive in the UK with a range of support tasks including things that can be done both virtually in person. |
Either | National and local (use the map on the page to find the local group) |
No set hours |
| Learning Ally Volunteer | Learning Ally relies on volunteers to share their talents and create human-read audiobooks that provides support in helping them reach the 30 million students who struggle to read. |
Online | National | Dependent on role |
| Studenteer | Studenteer was formed to serve as an educational platform encouraging the next generation of professionals to develop skills in the world of work, support a cause that matters to them and virtually network with a diverse range of individuals and organisations during this challenging time. |
Online | National | Dependent on role |
| Dimensions | Dimensions support people with learning difficulties and autism to achieve more. They have a number of online volunteering opportunities available. |
Online | National | Dependent on role |
| HenPal volunteer | As a HenPal volunteer you will become a ‘pen pals’ with an elderly individual to create friendships through letter writing or visual correspondence, reducing social isolation among older people and engaging their interests. |
Online | National | Subject to volunteer availability |
| Tarjimly Volunteer |
The Tarjimly app connects refugees, asylees, immigrants, and those that support them with multilingual volunteer translators. |
Online | International | Dependent on availability |
| Coachbright | Volunteer to support schoolchildren from disadvantaged backgrounds as a tutor. | Online due to COVID-19 | National | Minimum of 12 weeks (1 hour per week) |
| English teaching with Reading Refugee Support Group | Help refugees to practice and learn English on a one-to-one basis. | Online | Reading | 10 weeks |
| Cancer Research UK Shop Volunteer |
Cancer Research UK are looking for a shop volunteer to assist in the Broad St store. This role includes tasks such as serving customers, sorting through donations and cleaning the store etc. |
In-person | Local (Broad St, Reading) | Dependent on availability |
| Thames Valley Police Vocalists Volunteers |
Thames Valley Police Vocals choir that performs at events including their Open Day, carol concerts and Road Death Memorial Service. They are looking for volunteers to join the choir at events and Saturday morning rehearsals. |
In-person | National | Varied |
| NHS Volunteer Responder | The NHS are recruiting volunteer responders to help secure the NHS and social care sector during COVID-19. There are varying roles available (listed on application website). |
In- person | National | Currently ongoing |
| FoodCycle Volunteer | FoodCycle provides free, nutritious takeaway meals to those in the community who needs it. FoodCycle volunteer roles include cooking, collecting or hosting. |
In-person | National | No set hours |
| Girl Guiding Volunteer | A girl guiding volunteer will volunteer with girls at unit meetings every week. Volunteers can choose to work with Rainbows, Brownies, Guides or Rangers. |
In-person | National | Usually at least one hour a week |
| Museums Partnership Reading (The MERL & Reading Museum) |
The Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL) and Reading Museum aim to offer volunteering opportunities to the local community to improve wellbeing, connect people to their personal histories and identities, and get to know more about Reading's rich cultural heritage. |
In-person | Reading | Dependent on role. |
| Me2 Club is a charity who support children with additional needs and disabilities in the Wokingham and Reading Boroughs attending mainstreams activities such as uniform groups, sports clubs and drama groups. This is achieved by matching a child with a 1-1 volunteer who can support them throughout such activities. |
In-person | Reading |
1-2 hours a week. 8 hours of training required also. |
|
| RSPB Volunteer | RSPB offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities dependent on the requirements of your local center. |
In-person | National | Dependent on role |
| Zooniverse Volunteer | Zooniverse offers a few different volunteering roles, these include: • Zooniverse project volunteer This role includes classifying the data of various research projects, there are plenty of different projects on the website available. • Zooniverse beta tester This involves working through classifications on the beta project to check that it works, checking for any bugs, and filling out a questionnaire at the end. • Zooniverse project moderator Project moderators help moderate discussions and act as a point of contact for the project. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Project Implicit | You will be required to assist in psychological research on thoughts and feelings by taking an Implicit Association Test (IAT) from a list of various topics. |
Online | National | No set hours, each test takes 10-15 minutes |
| Be My Eyes Volunteer | You will be required to provide virtual assistance to the visually impaired through the ‘Be My Eyes’ app. This app allows a visually impaired individual to live video call a volunteer for help with tasks such as: checking expiry dates, distinguishing colors, reading instructions, navigating surroundings. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Translate Without Borders volunteer | You will be required to be fluent in one other language, other than your native language. There is various engaging projects where translating assistance is required – further information on these projects is available on their website. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| LibriVox Volunteer | This role required reading and recording chapters of books within the public domain (books no longer under copyright) and make them available for free on the internet. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Missing Maps Volunteer | This role requires you to use OpenStreetMap to help map areas where humanitarian organizations are trying to meet the needs of vulnerable people. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Smithsonian Digital Volunteer | This role involves using transcription to make historical documents and biodiversity data more available. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| UN volunteer | UN volunteering offers lots of different online volunteering opportunities depending on your skills. These skills may range from translation, writing and editing, technology development, research, art and design etc. There is a wide variety in the UN volunteering opportunities available, for example: conducting online English classes for youth in West Bengal, software developers for school management systems |
Online | International | Weekly hours vary with each volunteer opportunity |
| ZSL Volunteer | Supporting ZSL conservation work by tagging animals seen in live videos and images provided by ZSL. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Loving Hands volunteer | Using knitting, sewing and crocheting skills to craft items to donate to charities and groups all over the world. There are various Loving Hands groups across the UK, more information on this is available on the website. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Write On volunteer | This volunteer opportunities involves writing to those in need. There are several different types of Write On campaigns to get involved, for example: • ‘Love for the Elderly’ is a group dedicated to writing kind letters to perhaps lonely, elderly individuals • ‘Braid Mission’ is a program dedicated to sending cards to local group homes and facilities that house youth who are separated from their loved ones. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Trussell Trust foodbank volunteer | Local foodbanks across the nation are requiring volunteers to: sort and pack food donations in their warehouses, collecting donations from supermarkets,delivering food to those in greatest need |
In-person | National | Hours may vary between foodbanks |
| Volunteer West Berkshire | Providing help to those most vulnerable in the local community during Covid-19, this includes tasks such as: delivering essential items, poviding transport to appointments. There are similar volunteer schemes available in most areas nationwide, however, tasks may slightly vary. |
In-person | Local - West Berkshire | Hours dependent on individual availability |
| Reach Volunteering | Reach volunteering will match individuals with specialist professional skills, such as in IT, to charities requiring their help on either short-term projects or ongoing projects. |
Either | National | Hours vary with each volunteering project |
| Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK | This is another organization that partners up volunteers to their local community aid group. Each group has varying volunteering tasks that they coordinate to help their neighbors who require assistance. | Either | National | No set hours |
| eBird volunteer | Assisting in global bird research by simply tracking your bird sighting on the eBird website - contributing to a community network of worldwide birdwatchers. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Amnesty Decoders volunteer | Using your device to sift through pictures, information and documents to help expose human right violations. There are various projects available on their website. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| 7 Cups volunteer | 7 Cups listeners offer emotional support to those that need it via online chat by simply listening to their personal troubles. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| VocaliD volunteer | VocaliD volunteers record personal voice notes for VocaliD to enhance their research in building unique digital voices to uplift those who rely on assistive technology, and to diversify the voices they hear. | Online | International (requires fluency in English) | No set hours |
| Project Gutenberg volunteer | Volunteers assist in proofreading eBooks prior to their publication. | Online | International | No set hours |
| Crisis Text Line volunteer | Provide online support for those in a crisis over text. Volunteers aid those texting the crisis text line through active listening, collaborative problem solving and safety planning. |
Online | National | 2-4 hours per week, 200 hours in total |
| American Cancer Society virtual volunteer | You will work alongside team members to complete a ‘Relay for Life’ - a virtual online relay completed using avatars in the ‘Second Life’ 3D virtual world. This virtual event raises money for the American Cancer Society. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Virtual camp volunteer | There are several virtual camp volunteer projects you can join from home available to suit your interests, including: personal development, environment, languages and arts and crafts. |
Online | International | Varies depending on chosen project |
| TED Talk Translator | TED Translators are a community of volunteers who subtitle TED talks so that the talks may reach a global audience. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| Project Plumage | Help to extract colour information to answer key questions about bird colour evolution by analyzing photographed museum specimens. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Maturity of Baby Sounds volunteer | Help researchers to understand the early stages of language learning by classifying short recordings of babies’ speech sounds. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Take action for insects volunteer | Help The Wildlife Trusts in taking action for insects and see how you can practically help the insects in your own home and garden! | Online | National | No set hours |
| Run, Herring, Run! volunteer | Help count emigrating herring through online footage to help researchers further understand this threatened fish species. |
Online | National | No set hours |
| Samaritan listening volunteer | As a listening volunteer you’ll answer calls and messages from people who really need someone to talk to. You’ll be based in one of 201 branches in the UK. |
In-person | National | Hours dependent on volunteer availabilty |
| F cancer vounteer | Become a remote F cancer volunteer and help support charities fighting cancer. You can join a variety of projects to help from website design to social media. |
Online | National | Vary depending on project |
| CHD Living volunteer | ‘Adopt a Grandparent’ campaign partners an individual with an elderly in CHD Living Home, to provide them with company through having phone/video calls and sending photos/postcards/letter via post or email. |
Online | International | No set hours |
| YUoR Community Champions | Full details can be found on our Community Champion webpages. | Phone/ online | Supporting Reading are (but can be done remotely) | No set hours |
| Student Minds | One in three students report clinical levels of psychological distress, with students facing academic, social and financial challenges. We believe it does not need to be this way, all students and members of the university community should be able to thrive at university. Join us and become part of a passionate and innovative team working hard to transform the state of student mental health. |
Both | National | Vary depending on role |
| Starting Point | Starting Point provides mentoring and creates opportunities for young people in the Reading area. The young people are predominantly vulnerable or facing disadvantage, not in education, employment, or training, or are at risk of leaving education early/being excluded. By partnering with the local community, we match each young person to a mentor who is best suited to them. The mentor provides consistent and reliable support, helping the young person towards a brighter and more hopeful future whilst celebrating small steps along the way. |
In-person | Reading area | Vary depending on role |