What Can I Do?

Think carefully about who you would want to help and what you have to offer.

You’ll be committing your personal time so it’s important that you choose something that interests you and that you’ll enjoy doing. Once you commit to an activity, it’s a big responsibility because you’ll let a lot of people down if you fail to turn up.

There’s so many different opportunities out there that there’s bound to be something to suit you. Volunteering projects across the UK are always looking for more people to help them out.

Try to be open-minded about what you could get involved in. Volunteering can be a great opportunity to try something you wouldn’t normally get the chance to do. Or you might want to use your talents and do things you already enjoy doing, whilst also helping others. A lot of volunteers find their work much more rewarding when it involves learning about and befriending new people.

To get you started, here’s a few ideas:

• help out at your local leisure centre during the summer holidays supervising younger children or those with a disability
• be a conservation volunteer at a nearby park or National Trust site
• perform in a production to help raise money for a charity
• volunteer at local festivals, sporting events and exhibitions
• help look after animals at a local sanctuary or shelter
• become a mentor to other young people
• help run a sports team
• help out in a charity shop
• DJ at a local radio station