Volunteering Ideas

There are so many areas that you can volunteer in, so we have made a list below to get your ideas flowing...

People in the community

• Visiting people in need, such as the elderly or disabled people, on a regular basis to provide assistance with shopping, gardenin or other domestic tasks, or simply to keep them company
• Voluntary work in hospitals and care centres
• Visiting prisons or detention centres under the auspices of the proper authorities
• Helping with a local community radio or newspaper
• Sports coaching or leadership
• First aid – doing a course and then making their skills available to the benefit of the local community ie being a first-aider at football matches or dance competitions etc.

Youth work

• Acting in a leadership role in a youth club or uniformed youth organisation
• Helping other young people participate in The Award by acting as a leader for Bronze or Silver participants under the guidance of one’s own Award Coordinator.

Community education and health education

• Working with experienced persons to educate the local community, or specific groups within it, on important issues such as prevention of leprosy or malaria, AIDS education, primary health care, immunisation campaigns, drug/alcohol awareness education
• Teaching a person to read or write
• Assisting in the teaching of primary school children

Environmental service

• Participating in a conservation project, eg. clearing wasteland, cleaning a river, or caring for threatened wildlife or trees
• Caring for a public or school garden
• Providing, maintaining, and encouraging the use of public wastepaper bins
• Working in a clean-up campaign
• Bush and natural environment regeneration

Animal welfare

• Caring for animals under threat
• Assisting with organisations who care for neglected and abandoned animals, such as the RSPCA
• Walking the dog of an elderly or disabled person

Charity work

• Fundraising for a charity – this could be through fundraising events, organising a school fundraising drive.   Don’t forget that The Award is a not-for-profit organisation who relies on fundraising to survive
• Producing a newsletter for a charity
• Creating or maintaining a charity website.

Emergency services

• Helping an emergency service team, eg. fire services, surf life-saving, lifeboats, coastguard, police, mountain rescue, civil defence
• Assisting with local or national disaster operations.