Befriend an older person
Age UK’s telephone friendship service matches you with an elderly person who would enjoy a weekly chat about anything and everything, from what they have been doing to how they are feeling or their hobbies.
Buy coffee for a stranger
Many cafés and pop-ups happily partake in “paying it forward”, where you buy a coffee or tea for the next customer without them knowing. The idea is that they go on to do the same at a different time, and so you set in motion a chain of kind acts.
Help children learn to read
National literacy charity Bookmark gives children the reading skills and confidence they need for a fair chance in life through a flexible volunteer-led programme. Volunteering requires one hour a week, reading stories and playing games with a child aged between five and nine, and takes place on a secure online platform.
Or adults…
Reading is an essential part of life, but many adults in the UK are unable to do so and are often ashamed to ask for help. Read Easy UK delivers one-to-one reading coaching to adults and is always looking for volunteers.
Say ‘good morning’
You don’t need to change the world to spread joy. A simple “good morning” to a stranger or a smile to your fellow commuters is sure to brighten their day.
Map a disaster zone
You can help relief efforts from the comfort of your own home by mapping disaster zones. Volunteers use satellite images and a drawing tool to mark up buildings, rivers and roads in remote areas that may not have been mapped before. This helps organisations such as the Red Cross, who are often first to respond, make more informed decisions about disaster relief. Visit missingmaps.org to learn more.
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Tidy up your local cemetery
Many cemeteries run volunteer days, which include helping with headstone maintenance and gardening, while Eyes On, Hands On need volunteers to keep veteran graves neat and tidy.
Drive an animal ambulance
A unique way for animal lovers to help with local wildlife: RSPCA animal rescue volunteers collect injured, sick or orphaned animals – including birds, hedgehogs and cats – and transport them to vets and rehabilitation centres. Volunteers need to have access to a vehicle and a smartphone – all other kit and training is provided.
Donate stem cells
For someone with blood cancer or a blood disorder, a stranger donating their stem cells could be their best chance of survival. Existing blood donors can ask to join the NHS register during their next donation. Blood cancer charities DKMS and Anthony Nolan also have their own registers, while pregnant women can even donate their umbilical cord after birth.
Lend someone vision
Using the Be My Eyes app, virtual volunteers can help a blind or low-vision person to go about their daily tasks. Through a live video call, you can help to solve problems such as checking expiry dates, distinguishing colours, reading instructions or navigating new surroundings.
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Volunteer at your local food bank
Charitable, non-profitable organisations, food banks help people who are struggling to afford enough food and rely on donations and volunteers. You can help by delivering food parcels to local centres, processing donations or meeting and greeting people as they enter the food bank and directing them towards further support. With 1,200 food banks across the UK, check the Trussell Trust website for your closest.
Send a card to sick children
Brighten the day of a child struggling with illness by sending them a card, letter or email. You can talk about your pets or hobbies or ask them about their favourite book character – anything that will help make their day a little easier. Visit postpals.co.uk to learn more.
Go plogging
Popular in Sweden, plogging – a mixture of “jogging” and “plocka upp”, a Swedish term for “picking up” – involves making a conscious effort to pick up any litter you come across while out walking or jogging.
Foster a cat
Hundreds of cats need temporary homes across the UK. Becoming a cat fosterer means you take care of a cat in need while the charity Cats Protection finds them a forever home. All the cat’s expenses are covered; you just need to have enough time to feed and give them attention, take them to vet appointments, and accommodate visits from potential adopters.
Lend a hand to migrants
Help refugees, migrants and asylum seekers run cookery classes in their local community with Migrateful. The scheme encourages community integration and employment, and volunteers can lend a hand behind the scenes with preparation and washing, or you can pay to attend the cookery class.
Host a book club
Spreading joy can be as simple as starting a book club. Not only will it help you make new friends, it brings the community closer together and helps to combat loneliness. Penguin has a helpful guide on how to set up a book club, whether in person or online.
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Plant trees
There are plenty of tree planting schemes across the UK, including the Woodland Trust, Coed Cadw in Wales and Heart of England Forest. Look online for open days when you can get involved in tree planting, unloading saplings in tree nurseries and surveying woodland.
Give old clothes a new lease of life
When upgrading your work wardrobe, give old items a second life and help women across the world achieve financial independence with Dress for Success. This not-for-profit organisation empowers unemployed women by providing them with professional attire and support to enter the workforce.
Shop local
One of the best ways to give back to your community is to shop locally. By supporting local producers, retailers and businesses, you are putting money back into the local economy, supporting local employment and making a sustainable choice by reducing food miles. It has also been shown that shopping local can help boost happiness and a sense of belonging.
Become a puppy socialiser
A dream opportunity for dog lovers, Support Dogs needs homes for puppies between the ages of eight weeks old until 14 months old, when they begin their full-time training. These dogs will go on to help people with autism, epilepsy and other disabilities, so a loving home is a must.
Walk a dog
The Cinnamon Trust provides dog walkers for elderly and terminally ill people while they undergo treatment, or when they are too ill to do so themselves. Check their map online, register as a volunteer, and you will be alerted when local help is needed.
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Give blood
Each donation takes only 10 minutes and can save up to three lives – plus you get free biscuits. Everyone who is eligible is welcome. Simply sign up online, call 0300 1232323 or use the NHS Blood app.
Share your skills
From DIY work to gardening and knitting, there are dozens of organisations on the look-out for people with handy skills. WellChild encourage volunteers to be part of accessible garden renovations for those with disabled children, while Project Linus needs knitting volunteers to create quilts and blankets for sick and traumatised babies, children and teenagers. Visit wellchild.org.uk; projectlinusuk.org.uk.
Be kind
Go out of your way to pay a compliment to a stranger, give a family member a call or bake brownies for a friend who’s going through a tough time. Sometimes it’s the little gestures that count.
Match with a child in care
The National Independent Visitor Network is a nationwide statutory scheme that matches volunteers with a child in the care system. The main goal is to give children a stable adult relationship where the adult is not a social worker or teacher, but someone who just wants to spend time with them and do fun things, such as go bowling, to the park or out for lunch.
Become a museum volunteer
Many museums rely on the kindness of strangers to keep them running. Check out your local museum to see if they need volunteers to help as gallery guides, visitor greeters or even gardeners.
Help new parents adjust and make friends
Blaze Trails empowers parents to connect with like-minded people and get out in nature with their babies. They have 40-plus groups across the UK, all run by volunteers who are helping parents build relationships and explore their local communities. Mindful Mums and Mothers for Mothers are always looking for women to help run their support services for mums in the perinatal period. Visit: blazetrails.org.uk, blgmind.org.uk, mothersformothers.co.uk
Support local wildlife
The UK has experienced a decline in the numbers of hedgehogs, honeybees, and several types of birds, which scientists say is due to habitat loss, pesticides and global warming, among other things. There are a few different ways you can support and protect local wildlife, from growing bee-friendly flowers in your garden to installing a bird feeder or a hedgehog home.
Leave cheerful notes
Writing positive notes and leaving them on benches, in cafés or on people’s cars can brighten someone’s day in the simplest way. Try anything from “Have a lovely day” to “You got this”.
Take part in a beach clean-up
Beach clean-ups are a great way to make friends and help protect the environment. Many are advertised online or in local papers, but if you can’t find one, why not try organising your own? Londoners can sign up to volunteer with Washed Up Cards, who make greeting cards from litter found in the Thames.
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Donate old tools
If you are doing a clear-out of the tool shed and have a few old hammers and spades lying around, donate them to Tools With a Mission. The charity reconditions old tools and sends them to the developing world to help people develop skills and livelihoods. Check the list of what is needed online.
Become a mentor
Give the gift of knowledge by becoming a mentor or tutor. It can be as informal as taking a new colleague out for a coffee to see how they are doing and offer support, or signing up to organisations such as Meet a Mentor, Arts Emergency or Breadwinners, which matches you with a refugee looking for employment. Visit: meetamentor.co.uk, arts-emergency.org, breadwinners.org.uk
Spread LGBT+ awareness in schools
Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, needs young ambassadors (aged 18-25) to deliver talks in school, where they can tell their own stories, spread awareness and give young people access to more information and support.
Answer phones at the Samaritans helpline
Each day, people who struggle with loneliness, depression or suicidal feelings turn to Samaritans’ 24/7 Helpline for non-judgemental support. On the other side of a phone call or text message, they find a caring listener ready to provide compassion – and you can be that caring listener. Jessica Sampson, 28, from London, has volunteered for three months: “It’s tough work, knowing that the person on the end of the line feels suicidal or depressed, but it’s so rewarding knowing that you’re helping someone in need.”
Donate your wedding dress
Instead of forgetting about your wedding dress in the loft, why not donate it to charity? The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation and Gift of a Wedding accept second-hand dresses, which are gifted to terminally ill patients wishing to get married. Cherished Gowns and Dresses for Angels also take in wedding dresses, which are repurposed as burial gowns for babies that have passed away. Visit weddingwishingwell.org.uk; giftofawedding.org; cherishedgowns.org.uk; dressesforangels.co.uk
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Join a Community Garden
Keep green fingers busy by taking up a plot at your community garden. Grow fresh produce for the community, teach a new skill and help to support the local environment and wildlife.
Become a breastfeeding peer supporter
Breastfeeding can be a tricky and emotional time for a mother. Support and encouragement from someone who has experience with the trials and tribulations can make all the difference. Train to be a peer supporter with the Breastfeeding Network.
Check on your neighbours
Anyone can be going through a tough time even if, on the surface, it doesn’t seem that way. Knock on your neighbours’ doors and ask how they are doing, or invite them round for tea, biscuits and a natter.
Swap books with strangers
Get involved with BookCrossing, a global scheme which aims to make the whole world a library. You send a book on a joy-spreading journey by leaving it in a public place with instructions on how to pass it on when it has been read.
Be a sports buddy
Sign up to accompany someone with autism or a learning disability to sports events or exercise, making their experience smoother and less stressful than it might be otherwise. You can also sign up to be a gig buddy for music events.
