Great Places to Volunteer
Britain is full of excellent charitable organisations that you can join and there are plenty of volunteering opportunities that require different skills and training and mean that you make the most of your time as a volunteer.
The National Trust was established in 1894 and started off with only three volunteers. The idea was to preserve land and tenements of beauty and historical significance for people of the United Kingdom. Currently the Trust has 61,000 volunteers (the largest of any charity) and 226,200 members. As a volunteer you could be take part in running the houses, which involve running tours or dressing up in period costumes talking as household members. If you prefer to get your hands dirty then you can become a gardener maintaining the vast number of parks and estates the Trust looks after. If you are a young person hoping to bulk up your CV you can take internships or do your work experience with the Trust and finally if have ideas about how the trust should be run, volunteer with the Governance and decide how the Trust should be governed and run.
WRVS or the Women’s Royal Volunteer Service, was originally set up for women to aid the Air Raid Precaution Services of Local Authorities and tell families about air raid precautions. The name was changed from the Women’s Royal Volunteer Service to the WRVS in recognition of the men who make up 11% of the 60,000 strong volunteer force. As a volunteer you could be helping out in the many cafe and tea bars that run in local hospitals around Britain, or aid older people with their day to day lives, by taking them to the shops, walking their dogs or being part of the ‘Meals on Wheels’ service.
British Red Cross was created in 1870 to help give aid to those on both sides of the Franco-Prussian War. They have served and helped in every major war since then, even bringing the very first motorised ambulances to the front lines in WWI. They currently have 31,000 volunteers who work in four main areas: emergency response and first aid, health and social care, migration services and other volunteering. Emergency response and first aid means you would providing aid and support during natural disasters, to families whose homes have been destroyed and even setting up first aid tents and festivals. Health and social care could require you to help evacuated families find temporary accommodation while also providing practical and emotional support, take part in the hospital transport service and even care for people in their homes. Migration services involves you tracing and communicating with refugees families abroad and helping refugees adjust to life in new country and show them were vital services are. Other volunteering means you could either help run charity shops or help fundraise for the Red Cross.
All these volunteer opportunities would aid your local communities and give something back to these charities that do such great work and provide excellent service for the people of the U.K.



Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience, for both yourself and the part of the community you are volunteering for. You can volunteer for any number of different tasks, jobs and activities, many of which benefit members of your local community in whichever capacity you are volunteering in, and you will also find that it has some benefits for job prospects and employer’s opinions.
A good way to raise money for a cause or an organisation is to host a sponsored event. The nature of the event is entirely up to you, but it may be useful to bear in mind what cause you are raising money for, and to plan an event accordingly. It is also important to think about what sponsor would be most beneficial for your cause, as a sponsor completely unrelated to what it is you are raising money for would look odd.
Most charities depend on donations to survive and to fulfil their mission, and often canvass the general public seeking donations, or organise events at which donations can be collected. However, most charities, in order to continue being relevant and useful, depend on more than such small pockets of public donations; private donations from wealthy individuals or companies make a great deal of difference too.
Charity is the act of benevolent giving to those in need, traditionally those not related to the giver. What is meant by ‘giving’ can refer to money, items such as clothes and food, or time, either directly or through a charitable organisation.



