Last Autumn, I found myself standing in the rain outside a community kitchen in London, nervously holding a bag of aprons. I’d signed up as a volunteer cook after months of feeling disconnected in this vast city.
Chopping vegetables alongside strangers who quickly became friends changed everything for me. I discovered the joy of creating meals for those who needed them most. But most importantly, I found my own sense of belonging in the city’s landscape.
If you’re seeking that same sense of purpose and connection, you’re in the right place. London offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities that can transform not only the lives of those you help but also your own experience of this magnificent city.
1. Volunteer Centre Greenwich
Media credit: volunteercentergreenwich
Website: https://www.vcgreenwich.org.uk/
Address: Equitable House, 1st Floor, 7 General Gordon Square 10
Contact Details: +44 20 8317 3817 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 9 AM to 5 PM
Pricing: Free
What I like most about Volunteer Centre Greenwich is the volunteer befriender role. It’s a role where you offer friendship and support to a lonely person. Imagine the satisfaction it will give you knowing you’re saving a fellow human from going south.
I like the role where you will support parents with autistic children as well. Aside from helping them, you’re also becoming aware of the noble sacrifices and unconditional love of these parents. It’s fulfilling and informative at the same time.
Lastly, I love Volunteer Centre Greenwich’s approach to the volunteering process. They will let you create an online account and put all your interests there so organisations across Greenwich can see them.
Pro Tip:
Sign up for their newsletter so you’re up-to-date with the latest volunteering opportunities across Greenwich and its surrounding areas.
2. KEEN London
Media credit: keenlondon
Website: https://www.keenlondon.org/
Address: Unit W1, 8 Woodberry Down
Contact Details: +44 20 7686 3172 and [email protected]
Pricing: Free
I like the coaching opportunities KEEN London gives to people in their downtime. Here, you can support kids with additional needs—collectively called athletes—every Saturday from late morning until early afternoon.
You could be the coach for games like ball games and other playground games. This is a perfect opportunity if being a basketball team coach is on your bucket list.
Aside from coaching athletes, I also appreciate the “behind-the-scenes” roles they offer to volunteers. One of them is being a digital champion. You will support the charity by liking, sharing, and commenting on their posts regularly.
Pro Tip:
Support them from your home by filming creative reels about them and uploading them to social media platforms.
3. Time to Help (UK)
Media credit: timetohelpuk
Website: https://timetohelp.org.uk/
Address: 6th Floor, Alliance House, 29-30 High Holborn
Contact Details: +44 20 3239 1111 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 10 AM to 6 PM
Pricing: £
Time to Help is the perfect organisation if you want to help other people and travel abroad at the same time. They offer trips where you can visit developing countries with other volunteers and spend time with the local people there.
What’s great is that they visit many countries. They don’t stay in just one country. Some developing countries you can travel to when you join them are Uganda, Kenya, and the Philippines.
Lastly, I appreciate their sub-projects, especially Talkin Bubble. It lets you provide emotional support to people over the phone. This is very helpful to individuals who are stuck inside their homes and have no one else to talk to.
There is, however, a small fee. The fee will be used to cover the expenses of the trip, including the accommodation, transportation, and meals.
Pro Tip:
Time to Help has many crowdfunding projects, so you can also support them by donating to one of those projects.
4. London Play Design
Media credit: londonplaydesign
Website: https://www.londonplaydesign.org.uk/
Address: Turnham Rd
Contact Details: +44 20 4519 9401 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 10 AM to 5 PM
Pricing: Free
London Play Design is the ideal charity for corporate organisations. Their programmes target companies that want to make a positive impact on the community, especially children.
Some of the things you and your colleagues could do when you volunteer are landscaping, demolition, and carpentry of playgrounds across London. The roles are available every weekday from 10 AM to 3:30 PM.
What I love most is that companies can partner with them to create a bespoke playground. The funds will come from the volunteer company, and the builders will be the company’s employees. This was exactly what my company did.
Pro Tip:
Volunteer if you are a newly graduated or still a design, architecture, or engineering student in the UK schools to gain practical experience.
5. Link UP London
Media credit: linkuplondonuk
Website: https://linkuplondon.org/
Address: Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 9 AM to 5 PM
Pricing: Free
I’m amazed by the wide range of volunteering gigs Link UP London provides to people. This is the organisation where all skills and professions can be used. They have opportunities for marketing strategists, writers, and even human resources personnel.
True to their name, they will link you to charities across the city that need professional assistance. Most projects may last for months with just a couple of hours of commitment per week. You can do the tasks at your preferred time of day.
I volunteered here once for an organisation that needed SEO assistance for their website. I chose to work for them because I love what they do for the youth. They support voluntary organisations to provide opportunities for young people.
Pro Tip:
Share your expertise with an organisation and help them solve their problems through flash consulting. It’s a 1.5-hour event that happens every few months.
6. Action Tutoring
Media credit: actiontutoringuk
Website: https://actiontutoring.org.uk/
Address: 8-10, Fivefields, Grosvenor Gardens
Contact Details: +44 300 102 0094 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 9 AM to 5:30 PM
Pricing: Free
I admire Action Tutoring’s passion for helping kids in disadvantaged situations. Their mission is to help young people reach their full academic potential by providing tutoring services to schools. They will give you an opportunity to shape the hope of the country.
I appreciate the choice they give to volunteers to tutor students. You can tutor kids either in person or online. This means you can teach them anywhere you want.
It’s up to you if you want to tutor one or three kids, as long as you can handle them all. The primary areas where you will teach them are English and Mathematics.
Lastly, I love the workbooks they provide to volunteers. It shows their desire to help volunteers provide the best possible tutoring services to their pupils.
Pro Tip:
Make sure you can commit one hour daily for at least 10 weeks, as it’s the minimum length for every student you will handle. The maximum length is 20 weeks.
7. Crisis
Media credit: crisis_uk
Website: https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-help/london/
Address: 50-52 Commercial St
Contact Details: +44 300 636 1967 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Pricing: Free
I admire Crisis members’ empathy for people with no place to stay. Their mission is to make homeless people feel valued, loved and cared for. Volunteering here will make you understand that being homeless is not a choice through people’s real stories.
The role I appreciate most is the community connection volunteer for the Eritrean people. One of the role’s duties is to find homeless Eritrean individuals and connect them to Crisis.
Another duty of the role is building connections with Eritrean organisations. You can talk to organisations like churches and support groups on Crisis’s behalf. This is to have a better chance of helping Eritrean people end their homelessness for good.
Pro Tip:
Volunteer during the Christmas season to have the best experience of this volunteering opportunity. Crisis provides hotel services to homeless people during this season.
8. Volunteer Centre Hackney
Media credit: volunteerhackney
Website: https://vchackney.org/
Address: Unit 13, Springfield House, 5 Tyssen St
Contact Details: +44 20 7241 4443
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 10 AM to 5 PM
Pricing: Free
I love the refugee mentoring opportunities Volunteer Centre Hackney provides to people. The role revolves around helping young refugees adjust to life in Hackney.
I also love Digital Skills Champion, a volunteering gig for techy people. The role aims to improve people’s knowledge and skills in the technologies they have, such as mobiles. You may experience teaching people how to set up an email as well.
Lastly, I appreciate their volunteering opportunity regarding gambling. This role makes you an ambassador who spreads awareness about gambling and its harmful effects. It’s a great opportunity, as gambling has been detrimental in the past few years worldwide.
Pro Tip:
You must have baking skills when volunteering as a refugee mentor, as the role’s main goal is to get them employed selling baked goods.
9. Community Southwark
Media credit: cosouthwark
Website: https://communitysouthwark.org/
Address: 11 Market Pl, Bermondsey
Contact Details: +44 20 3848 6540 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Thursday – 10 AM to 4 PM
Pricing: Free
I like Community Southwark’s approach to helping people find volunteering opportunities. You can book a one-on-one meeting with one of their volunteer advisers, and they will find you the perfect role based on how the conversation went.
In addition, I commend the many training opportunities they provide to people. The trainings help to prepare volunteers for the roles they’re about to take. They provide training for leadership, personal development, and public speaking training.
What I love most is the recognition they give to their volunteers. Every year, they have a ceremony where select volunteers from nominated people win the Southwark Stars award. It’s an award that honours their hard work for the betterment of their community.
Pro Tip:
Some roles they offer have minimum age requirements of 16 or 18 years old.
10. City Harvest London – Acton
Media credit: cityharvestlondon
Website: https://cityharvest.org.uk/
Address: Unit 8, Acton Park Industrial Estate, The Vale
Contact Details: +44 20 7041 8491 and [email protected]
Operating Hours:
- Monday to Friday – 7 AM to 8 PM
- Saturday – 8 AM to 3 PM
Pricing: Free
I praise City Harvest London for giving food to other organisations. They love to partner with charities and communities that aim to lessen hungry people in the city. This is the cause worth joining, as you are actually saving people from dying from hunger.
One of the ways you can support them is to volunteer as a warehouse assistant. You can either be a packer, a stacker, or a porter. Just make sure you have the stamina to endure the physically demanding nature of each role.
You can also help them by being an ambassador for their events. What you will do in this role is you will look after the charity’s stands at an event and speak to potential donors.
Pro Tip:
Aside from Acton, you can also volunteer at their Leyton and Battersea headquarters. Additionally, you must have at least 30 hours of warehouse assistant experience before volunteering as an event ambassador.
