Make a Difference days
Enrich your University experience by making a positive difference to others and develop an abundance of new skills through volunteering. Play an invaluable role through participating in rewarding one-off and short-term volunteering in the local community. There are also unique online opportunities, where you can make an impact nationally and globally.
Make a Difference days are opportunities for students and staff to volunteer, help others and support causes that impact the local community. These one-off and short term activities don’t require ongoing commitment, giving you the opportunity to gain experience and support your personal development, wellbeing and sense of community.
The Trussell Trust Leicester South Foodbank
Volunteer Warehouse Packer
The Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity and community of food banks providing practical support to people who can’t afford the essentials. The Trussell Trust’s vision is to end the need for food banks.
Acting as the link between food donations coming in and reaching those in crisis, as a Warehouse Packer, you’ll support the smooth running of your local food bank. You’ll be part of a team sorting and packing food in the warehouse.
Time for Trussell Volunteer
- Can you create great social media content?
- Do you want to make a positive impact?
Time for Trussell volunteers help raise awareness of the work that the Trussell Trust do, using social media.
By sharing our social media messages, you can help the Trussell Trust campaign for change and build a consensus among the public to ensure that everyone can afford the essentials.
If you have good online communication skills and working knowledge of at least one social media platform, you could help us raise awareness and call for change.
IntoUniversity volunteer mentors and academic support tutors
IntoUniversity is a nationwide educational charity that supports under represented young people with their educational journeys. From their learning centres, they run after-school academic support sessions and mentoring.
How can you help?
Volunteer mentors and academic support tutors are needed to help make a real difference as positive role models in the lives of the young people who need that additional help. The roles would be great for anyone who has an enthusiasm for education, strong interpersonal skills and the ability to use their initiative.
Summer Reading Challenge 2024
The Summer Reading Challenge encourages children to keep reading during the summer holidays, ensuring they are ready for a great start to the new term in the autumn.
This year’s Challenge is called Marvellous Makers and it’s all about creativity! From dance to drawing, junk modelling to music, there’s something for everyone.
The Summer Reading challenge will begin in Leicester libraries on Saturday 29 June and will run until Sunday 15 September.
Find out how to get involved in the Summer Reading Challenge in different areas of the country.
Cancer Research UK Race for Life Event Volunteer
Sunday 14 July 2024, Victoria Park, Leicester
Cancer Research UK are looking for flexible, friendly and enthusiastic volunteers to support their events across the UK. Whether you’re going solo, bringing a friend or part of a larger group, your support means that their events can run smoothly and raise money to fund lifesaving research.
Before the event, you can specify what you’d like to do on the day. You can choose one of the following roles:
- Event Day Volunteer
- Course Marshal and Obstacle Marshal
- Enquiries and Admin Volunteer
- Lead Bike
Further information about each role can be viewed on the CRUK website.
CRUK volunteering roles are open to everyone. If you have any accessibility needs or queries, please get in touch via email – volunteering@cancer.org.uk.
Learn more about CRUK have events and opportunities
Students Union Volunteering Hub
The University of Leicester Students Union also work with a range of voluntary organisations and charities who opportunities that you can sign up to now. You can also record your volunteering hours through the Students Union online portal called the Volunteering Hub.
Visit the Volunteering Hub to view the latest volunteering roles.
Virtual and micro-volunteering
Micro-volunteering enables you to offer your time in small chunks. You can manage how often you take part in micro-volunteering activities and can fit them flexibly around other commitments. Roles are mainly virtual and can be done using a lap top or phone. Examples of micro-volunteering and online roles include:
Warning Zone
Educational tour volunteers needed for Warning Zone.
As a life skills centre for children aged 10-11 years who visit them on a school trip, Warning Zone relies on the generosity of volunteers to guide small groups of children around their interactive life skills centre. They educate the children on how to keep themselves safe both online and offline, helping them to recognise hazards, assess risk, avoid consequences and navigate the many different aspects of growing up that they might face such as peer pressure and coercion. Their interactive safety centre has life-like zones covering areas such as fire safety in the home, building sites, water safety, arson, road safety, railways, alcohol, knife crime, grooming, cyber-bullying, posting photos online and so much more.
To sign up, please email volunteer@warningzone.org.uk or call +44 (0)116 262 9739.
CoachBright online volunteer
CoachBright are a social mobility charity that exists to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds become more independent and resilient so they can lead the lives they want. Volunteers work with pupils in schools to build confidence through academic coaching.
St John Ambulance
Volunteering with St John Ambulance is a fantastic way to enhance your CV, meet new people, and learn lifesaving skills. Most volunteering opportunities are community based and full training is given after you have been accepted to do your chosen role.
View the range of roles available and apply
Barclays Digital Champions
The Barclays Digital Champion programme provides a way to build and develop digital skills within organisations and communities, helping people get the most out of technology to thrive in the digital world.
You don’t need to be a digital expert to become a Digital Champion but you do need a passion for helping others. We’ll give you all the training, resources and support you need.
To become a Digital Champion you’ll join three 90 minute virtual sessions hosted by Barclays Digital Eagles where you’ll meet like-minded people who want to become Digital Champions too.
Age UK day care passenger assistant volunteer
To volunteer with Age UK, all you need is some spare time and a passion for helping others.
Patient and friendly volunteers are needed to provide support within an Age UK community day centre situated on Humberstone Gate in Leicester City Centre. The role will involve assisting the day care team in delivering optimum quality of care and support to their service users. This may include assisting the minibus driver when picking up and dropping off clients from 8.30am to 10.30am and/or 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
No previous experience is needed as full training will be given. You would need to have the physical ability to help move and support older people and have good team working and communication skills.
If you are interested in applying, please email volunteer@le.ac.uk for more information.
Age UK befriender befriending volunteer
Could you spare 20-30 minutes a week as a telephone befriender to make a couple of weekly phone calls to Age UK service users who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness to offer support and companionship?
You also have the option to do regular face-to-face befriending for 1 hour a week which could be at a day centre location or in the older person’s home.
If you are interested in applying, please email volunteer@le.ac.uk for more information.
Environmental volunteering with Leicester City Council
Leicester environmental volunteers fulfil a vital role in keeping our parks and open spaces, waterways and streets clean and well maintained so that we can all enjoy them.
Make a difference in a park near you and enjoy the benefits of the wide-open spaces, fresh air and physical exercise.
Roles include gardening and horticulture, conservation, environmental improvements, litter picking and more.
Short term opportunities
Hospital meet and greet volunteer
Meet and greet volunteers support patients and visitors in finding their way around hospital sites and are highly visible to patients and visitors within public areas of the hospital (Leicester General Hospital or Leicester Royal Infirmary). You need to be smart in appearance, friendly and approachable, with good communication skills to make a good first impression. The role involves:
- Giving directions or accompanying patients and visitors to their destination
- Transporting patients to and from outpatient appointments by wheelchair
- Giving general information about the hospital
- Collecting prescription requests (from clinics) for the hospital pharmacy
- Deliver e-greetings to wards
- Liaise with the Buggy Service
- Distribute posters, leaflets, booklets around the hospital
Learn more about the roles available
Age UK volunteers and fundraisers
Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland is celebrating 70 years of support in 2022. They have a busy year of exciting events and activities planned, which you can support through fundraising and volunteering.
Action Tutoring
Volunteering as a tutor with Action Tutoring is an easy and rewarding way to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people living in your community. It’s your chance to give back, share your skills and boost your CV.
By volunteering for just one hour a week, you will directly support disadvantaged pupils to build their confidence and help ensure they leave school with the grades needed to build a bright future, as well as developing your own skills.
Park Run event volunteers, Victoria Park, Leicester
Park Runs are free, weekly, community events all around the world.
Volunteers make parkrun happen. They do all of the high-profile tasks at the event like marshalling, timing, result recording, setting up the running course and more, as well as all the behind-the-scenes roles too.
Whatever you want to do, there is a role for you. To volunteer during a Saturday morning Park Run, you would need to register by the Thursday before, so your name can be added to the volunteer rota in advance. Email leicestervictoria@parkrun.com to help.