Latest volunteering opportunities | University of Reading

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 Awards activities. Not signed up? Find out more and register for the RED Awards.

*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.

Accessibility & Inclusion

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
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 colours, reading instructions, navigating surroundings.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10
Dimension	Dimensions support people with learning difficulties and autism to achieve more. They have a number of online volunteering opportunities available.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 5, 10
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 5, 10
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3
Me2Club	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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 5, 10
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.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10
Smart Works	What will you be doing? Smart Works Reading opened in October 2015 with a vision of bringing the dressing and interview coaching service to women within the Thames Valley for free.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours, RED Sustainable Action Award SDG 5
Tarjimly Volunteer	The Tarjimly app connects refugees, asylees, immigrants, and those that support them with multilingual volunteer translators.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10 RED Global Engagement Award
TED Talk Translator	TED Translators are a community of volunteers who subtitle TED talks so that the talks may reach a global audience.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours

Animal Welfare

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 15
Run, Herring, Run! Volunteer	Help count emigrating herring through online footage to help researchers further understand this threatened fish species.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 14

Arts

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
The Rising Suns Arts Centre	Variety of volunteering opportunities - bar work/ marketing/ fundraising etc.	In-person	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours

Community

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
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 neighbours who require assistance.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3
CSSC (Civil Service Sports Council) 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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
Museums Partnership Reading (The MERL and 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
National Youth Engagement Work	Join a group of active citizens who are enthusiastic about impacting change in their community.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours

Conservation

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 15
Project Plumage	Help to extract colour information to answer key questions about bird colour evolution by analysing photographed museum specimens.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
RSPB Volunteer	RSPB offer a wide range of volunteering opportunities dependent on the requirements of your local centre.	In-person	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 15
ZSL Volunteer	Supporting ZSL conservation work by tagging animals seen in live videos and images provided by ZSL.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 15
Zooniverse Project Volunteer	Zooniverse offers a few different volunteering roles, from data analysis, beta tester and project moderators to help moderate discussions and act as a point of contact for the project.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - depends on activity RED Global Engagement Award - depends on activity

Creative

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
Letters Against Isolation	Send Self-Isolating Seniors Letters to Brighten Their Days!	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
Sands	Knit or crochet blankets to go inside memory boxes to bring comfort to parents after the death of a baby	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours

Education

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
Coachbright	Volunteer to support schoolchildren from disadvantaged backgrounds as a tutor.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4
English teaching with Reading Refugee Support Group	Help refugees to practice and learn English on a one-to-one basis.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4 RED Global Engagement Award
The Access Project	Help a student from a disadvantaged background beat the odds and get to a top university by signing up as a volunteer tutor with The Access Project.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4

Projects

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
By the People	Help transcribe Library of Congress documents. Volunteers create and review transcriptions to improve search, access, and discovery of these pages from history.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
F Cancer volunteer	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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10 RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 4
Maturity of Baby Sounds Volunteer	Help researchers to understand the early stages of language learning by classifying short recordings of babies’ speech sounds.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10 RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Global Engagement Award
Project Gutenberg Volunteer	Volunteers assist in proofreading eBooks prior to their publication.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
Reach Volunteer	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.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - depends on activity RED Global Engagement Award -depends on activity
Smithsonian Digital Volunteer	This role involves using transcription to make historical documents and biodiversity data more available.	Online	RED Award - Volunteer 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. There are also other volunteer roles such as graphic or webpage designers.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award -SDG 10 RED Global Engagement Award

Welfare

Opportunity	What will you be doing?	Online or in person?	Awards Link
Amnesty Decoders Volunteers	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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10, 16 RED Global Engagement Award
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.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 2, 3
Cancer Research UK Shop Volunteer	Cancer Research UK 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10 RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3
FoodCycle	FoodCycle provides free, nutritious takeaway meals to those in the community who needs it. FoodCycle volunteer roles include cooking, collecting or hosting	In-person	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 1, 2
Forward	Be part of our global network working towards ending FGM, child marriage and violence against women and girls.	Online	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3, 5, 10 RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 1, 2 RED Global Engagement Award
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 10
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award -SDG 3
Royal Air Forces Association	Volunteering for the RAF Association is a great way of developing your skills and meeting new people, at the same time as supporting members of the RAF community in your local area who need your help.	Online	RED Award - Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
Royal Voluntary Service - Hospital Volunteer	Supporting the NHS, the Royal Voluntary Service offers a wide range of hospital volunteer opportunities.	Both	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer 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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 1, 2
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 1, 2
UN Volunteers	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.	Online or in-person	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award -depending on activity RED Global Engagement Award - depending on activity
Volunteer West Berkshire	Providing help to those most vulnerable in the local community during Covid-19, this includes tasks such as: delivering essential items, providing transport to appointments.There are similar volunteer schemes available in most areas nationwide, however, tasks may slightly vary.	In-person	RED Award- Volunteer Hours RED Sustainable Action Award - SDG 3
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	RED Award- Volunteer Hours

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