Volunteers

Get involved, and find out what volunteering can do for you.

• 62% say it reduced their stress levels
• 47% say it improved their health and fitness
• 94% say it got them a job, promotion or pay rise
• 15% say it led them to eat less chocolate

I want to find out more about volunteering

The Volunteer Centre can match your time, talents and passions to a range of personalised opportunities from our database of over 300 local organisations. There are 4 options available for you to find out more:

1 - Drop in

You can call in to chat about volunteering with a member of the team at our dedicated drop-in centre, open Mondays-Thursdays 10am-4pm, at Richmond Council for Voluntary Services (RCVS), 1 Princes Street, Richmond TW9 1ED

We'll discuss your availability and what you'd like to get out of volunteering, and go through our extensive computer database with you to find your ideal opportunity. We can also give you advice and guidance on volunteering, and answer any questions you may have about getting started.

2 - Register online

You can click the button at the top of this page to "register online". Through this electronic form you'll be able to tell us a bit more about yourself, and we can then use this information to search our database to find some personalised opportunities for you. We'll then email or post these out to you, together with more information about how to get started as a volunteer.

3 - Book an appointment

If you'd like to discuss volunteering in a confidential space, then call us on 0845 675 1234 and we can arrange a meeting at a time that suits you. We can talk through any concerns you have, and take into account your individual needs when matching you up to suitable opportunities. We can also use the meeting to help plan any additional training or support you might need to get started as a volunteer.

4 - Phone or email us

You can also call us on 0845 675 1234 for more information on volunteering. Phone lines are open Monday-Friday 10am-4pm.

Or email us at volunteer@richmondcvs.org.uk

I think I'll need some support to start volunteering

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We believe that volunteering should be open to everyone, whatever your ability and whatever your individual circumstances, and as part of the Year of the Volunteer 2005 we now have two team members dedicated to supporting people with disabilities into volunteering.

"The Year of the Volunteer will celebrate the contribution that volunteers, both disabled and able-bodied, make to their communities and to society as a whole. The campaign shows that disability is not a barrier to volunteering." (Tanni Grey-Thompson)

We can offer advice, training and ongoing support to enable you to become a volunteer, whatever your abilities. Whether you've got a physical disability, sensory impairment, mental health problem, learning or communication difficulty, we'll be there to make sure that you have a positive experience as a volunteer.

To find out more, just call us on 0845 675 1234

Or email volunteer@richmondcvs.org.uk and Martin or Jed will get in touch with you.

Vinvolved Team

As part of a huge national programme to get more young people the opportunity to get into volunteering, Richmond Volunteer Centre is delighted to be working in partnership with national programme, vinvolved. 

Over the next 3 years vinvolved aims to engage half a million young people across England to work on projects ranging from coaching kids’ football, staging music and arts workshops, making films to inspire social change, online peer mentoring, urban tree planting and other environmental initiatives. The programme offers the opportunity to confront the media stereotyping of young people, to build their confidence and their skills, to help them to articulate a full sense of community involvement.

If you’re interested in getting involved as a volunteer or in creating opportunities for youth volunteer involvement please contact us.

Our Youth Volunteer Advisor, Alice Fiorica is based in the Volunteer Centre. She can give advice about all kinds of opportunities for people aged 16 to 25.

How to make contact 
Call us: 020 8401 1964
Email us: alicef@richmondcvs.org.uk

For more information about the vinvolved project visit www.vinspired.com 
To apply for volunteering opportunities go to www.do-it.org.uk

I'm a woman interested in becoming a local decision-maker

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The Volunteer Centre also runs a free training course for women interested in becoming involved as decision-makers in their community, right across the boroughs of Richmond, Kingston and Merton.

WinG (Women in Governance) is your opportunity to take a more active part in public life and become a local decision-maker. You can make sure that effective policies are maintained, and that less effective policies are replaced, or changed for the better.

WinG can help you to join the policy-making bodies - Boards of charities and voluntary organisations, NHS Trusts, School and College Boards, your Council. Women are passionate about local issues, and these organisations make the decisions which have a direct impact on your life, your family's life and your local community.

If you'd like to find out more about the WinG project, follow this link to the project information page on the web or call 0845 675 1212 to speak to a member of the WinG team.