Volunteering within the community

Volunteer to support your local community

Royal Voluntary Service volunteers have been supporting their communities since 1938 by offering vital services and practical help to local people in need of a little extra support.

What will I do as a community volunteer?

Our rewarding community support roles are a great way to give back and get involved with your local community. From visiting people who are isolated and struggling at home, to helping out at a community lunch or social club, there’s plenty of choice.

We help people find ways of using their individual skills, talents and time to support others.

If you’d like to see some of the ways you can help in your community, read on to find out more about which local volunteering role is right for you.

Find local community volunteer opportunities near me

Let’s take a look at the voluntary work in your area and we’ll show you all the ways you can Play Your Part and offer support in your local community.

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It feels great to give back to my community.

Preeti, a volunteer coordinator and her team of volunteers give their time at a daily lunch club so that older people can come together with friends new and old to enjoy tasty food and good company. "I love connecting with my fellow volunteers and all the lunch club members."

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How can I volunteer in my community

We work with local communities to support them however they need. This means volunteering opportunities can change depending on where you live.

These are just some of the community volunteering roles we offer:

Phone companion volunteer

When you become a phone companion volunteer for our Calls with Care service or as a Telephone Support Volunteer with NHS and Care Volunteer Responders you’ll make regular phone calls to older people offering companionship and good conversation. Your telephone befriending with them will ensure that they are safe and well and help to identify any unmet needs that can be supported by other Royal Voluntary Service volunteers or local services.

Volunteering your time will support people who feel lonely or isolated and aims to help improve their mood, confidence and feelings of wellbeing. We’re sure that this activity will be of as much benefit to you as the person you call.

Royal Voluntary Service volunteer talking on the phone

Dementia support volunteer

Help people in your community living with dementia to stay connected and social by volunteering at one of our support groups.

Whether you’re setting up brain stimulating activities or serving tasty lunches at a group, you’ll also be making great friends and providing participants with valuable social connections that are key to their wellbeing.

You might also be supporting their carers too, helping everyone involved to continue to do the things they love, stay healthy and keep in touch with their community.

Find dementia support volunteer opportunities

Community Companions volunteer

As a Community Companions volunteer you will offer your time and company to somebody that might not have anyone else to rely on nearby.

That might mean going for a walk or joining a group together. You might just be popping in for a cuppa and a chat, but you’ll be helping to build their confidence and restore their connections with others.

Find a Community Companion volunteer opportunity

A Royal Voluntary Service volunteer having a conversation

Volunteer Responders

NHS and Care Volunteer Responders is a flexible volunteering programme supporting the NHS and healthcare across England. The programme continues to evolve with new volunteering activities being introduced.

Volunteer Responders is an app-based volunteer programme where volunteering tasks are sent directly to your phone through the GoodSAM app. You can turn yourself on and off duty depending on your availability which means that you can easily fit volunteering around your day.

Sign up for local volunteering activities ranging from Community Response, Telephone Support, Driving Support and Site Support including stewarding and Ambulance Support. If you have the highest level of DBS check needed to carry out activities then you'll be covered to carry out any current and future activities in the programme.

Volunteers need to be over 18 and own a smart phone.

Visit Volunteer Responders

NHS Volunteer Responder volunteer Vaccination Stewards at Rochdale

Lunch club volunteer

If you’ve got a lunch time to spare once or twice a week, you could volunteer at one of our sociable lunch clubs, which the people we support say are ‘real lifelines’.

You’ll soon become part of the team in these social groups that offer much more than tasty home-cooked food. You’ll be offering participants who might live alone, or find it difficult to get out, the chance to enjoy a meal in the company of friends.

You don’t have to be a Jamie or a Nigella to get involved, we need servers, coordinators, drivers and washer-uppers as well as cooks.

Find a lunch club volunteer opportunity

Royal Voluntary Service lunch club volunteer

Social clubs & events volunteer

Social club volunteers offer up a raft of imaginative social and physical activities to bring people together. Community centres, cafés, village halls, libraries, sheds, pubs and restaurants – all it takes is a space and a volunteer like you to organise. With Royal Voluntary Service you can either set up something new or help out at an existing group.

We’ve seen social dining clubs, dance and exercise classes, music lessons, cooking and baking, art, photography, crafting, comedy and even graffiti art classes. They all bring people together to do something they enjoy - boosting their health and wellbeing in the process.

Find a volunteer opportunity

Community Transport volunteer

Community Transport volunteers are like the friend you can call on for a lift. By offering transport, you’ll be helping people in your community unable to use public transport to stay active, independent and social.

You might take them to and from appointments, visits with friends, community groups or just down to the shops. It’s amazing the difference you can make just by offering an hour now and then. All you need is a car and a little spare time.

Find a Community Transport volunteer role

Royal Voluntary Service volunteer delivering shopping

Home Library Service volunteer

Home Library Service volunteers bring the wonders of the local library to those that are unable to visit themselves.

If people in your community can’t make it to the library, due to restricted mobility or disability for example, you can be the person to bring them books, audiobooks, films and music that will transport them to another world.

But in this role, volunteers deliver so much more than just books and films. Not only does reading help with feelings of isolation and loneliness, but you’ll offer a friendly face and a chat that will brighten up someone’s day.

Find Home Library Service opportunities

Emergency Response volunteer

Emergency Response volunteers can be called on to lend a hand in a crisis. The role is flexible which means you can fit volunteering in around your availability and what you can do to help.

Just by being there, ready to help out in your local community wherever you’re needed, you are making a difference. You could be the reason our services are able to remain open to support those who need them. This could be by lending a hand at a lunch club or a social club when regular volunteers are unable to make it through ill health or transport issues.

Find Emergency Response volunteer roles

Young adults, volunteer to help your local community

Whether you're fresh out of school or are still a student, your community needs you. Volunteering is a fantastic way of giving back to your local area. It's also a great chance for you to help yourself, by learning new skills and meeting new people. If you're up for a new challenge, take the first step and find out more about volunteering with us at Royal Voluntary Service.