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Essentials Opportunities Volunteering Latest opportunities
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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
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
Deafblind UK Volunteer
Deafblind UK are looking for a telephone social group volunteer. In this role, you will be assisting in facilitating small telephone groups that enable members to make the most of their time together, encouraging chat and engaging conversations. Dual sensory loss can be isolating; however, telephone social groups can assist in tackling loneliness.  
Online National One hour+ per fortnight
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
Apart of Me – Lead Game Developer
Apart of Me is a charity dedicated to supporting bereaved children, young people and parents. Apart of Me is looking for a lead game developer to assist with the Apart of Me therapeutic game that was created to help young people who have experienced loss. 
Online National Estimate 3-7 hours per week
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.

Numberfit Videographer/ Photographer

Numberfit mixes math education with sport, story, music and fun to create empowering and equal access learning experiences. The require a volunteer videographer/ photographer to assist in launching new offerings and developing new resources for use in schools and homes.  Online National Hours flexible around volunteer

Thames Hospice Charity Shop

Thames Hospice is a local charity that provides expert care for those in East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire living with life-limiting illnesses. Thames Hospice require retail volunteers to help run their charity shop. 

In-person Reading

A few hours a week, dependent on volunteer availability.

Me2 Club

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
Covid Call volunteer Covid Call volunteers offer a free telephone service to aid those in their community who are self-isolating.  This could be aiding them in finding out how they may access food supplies or just having a friendly chat. 
Online National Volunteers can sign up to shifts, dependent on their availability
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
Re-action volunteer For one week, with a small group of participants, you will be given the tools via video call to help those in your community who need it the most. The 
Online International One week (Monday - Friday)
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

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