It’s great that you’re interested in exploring the possibility of employee volunteering!
There is a huge variety of ways to support a local Southwark community group, and it’s a fantastic way to develop new skills, expand your networks and get a great sense of fulfilment by making a meaningful contribution in an organisation working hard for the community.
As with many things, getting started can be the hardest step, so here are five easy steps to find the perfect volunteering opportunity for you:
- Check your volunteering leave – many employers offer paid volunteering leave for their employees to use during work hours, or giving time off in lieu for volunteering done outside of work hours, so it’s useful to check how many days might be available, often in a staff handbook or similar
- Check restrictions on volunteering leave – if your employer offers volunteering leave, it’s worth checking if there are any restrictions on the kind of volunteering you can do, such as specific causes, locations or activities, and whether you’ll need to get your volunteering signed off formally before you can commit to using your volunteering leave
- Think about what you want to do – it can be overwhelming to navigate the sheer scale of the opportunities out there, so it can be helpful to have a think about whether there are any particular causes you want to support, if you want to use some of your existing skills through volunteering or learn new ones, or even if you want to try something you might never otherwise do
- Look for opportunities – there are loads of great websites for finding suitable volunteering roles, including Community Southwark’s volunteering platform which is easily filtered to find exactly what you’re looking for, and if there are specific organisations you already know about, check their websites to see how you can get involved
- Reach out to organisations – now you know what you might like to do, it’s time to connect with the organisation(s) by email, through their website or on social media, and if they don’t have a specific role they’re looking to fill, this could be a great chance to shape something with them that works for you and for them
When you’re preparing to volunteer, remember to let your employer know through the official channels so you can take your volunteering leave as hoped.
Once you’re volunteering, most organisations and businesses love it if you want to talk about what you’re doing on social media – tag the business and the community group, and share pictures if you’ve got the suitable permissions!
Feel inspired?
Want to see what’s out there?
Take a look at volunteering opportunities across Southwark by visiting our dedicated website Community Southwark Volunteer and check out our Volunteering for Businesses page.