Since the start of the pandemic we have learnt to adapt many of our ways of living, one of these being volunteering! Who knew you could volunteer for both the local and global communities from the comfort of your own bed. Well you now can thanks to virtual volunteering! Below is a list of organisation where you can give back and do good all through your phone or laptop.
Postpals
Post Pals is a small charity run solely by volunteers who are dedicated to making seriously ill children and their siblings smile by the sending of cards, letters and little gifts. If you have paper and pens lying around, why not design a card and then pop it in your local post box. Did you know you can collect a postpals volunteering pack from the Students’ Union office with everything in it you’ll need? Even better it's free! Come along, grab a pack and start to volunteer
Free Rice
This game for change can be done on your computer or you can download the app. It asks volunteers to perform simple tasks like quizzes and for every correct answer, you will donate 10 grains of rice for the World Food Programme.
B:Friend
B:friend is an organisation who are on a mission to end loneliness for elderly residents and they need you to join in! Volunteering with B:friend can be done in so many different ways, from phone calls, facetime or simply just popping out and speaking to an elderly neighbour of yours! (From 2 meters a part of course!) If you want to join in their mission and tackle loneliness, then heaed over to their website and make a change.
Be my eyes
Be my eyes is an app that is available to all IOS and Android users. The app is free and it connects blind and ‘people with low vision’ to sighted volunteers. The app is designed for the volunteers to offer visual assistance through video calls. A volunteering opportunity like this can make a real different to someone’s life!
Age UK
Becoming an Age UK digital buddy could not be more simple. You will be required to watch an 8 minute video as training and it will teach you how to communicate with the older generation. Want to find out more and get involved?
Food Banks
Food banks are still very much in need of donations, now more than ever! If you do your weekly shop at a supermarket why not consider picking something up for your local food bank? Most supermarkets have a trolley or donation basket near the till points where you can drop off food that will get given to a food bank. If you are not going out shopping but may have stockpiled on the pasta or found some unopened, in date food that you know you won’t eat, why not research where your local food bank is and drop it off. If you are unsure where your local food bank is 'The Trussell Trust' is a nationwide network of over 1200 foodbanks.