Corporate volunteering opportunities

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Mencap

Mencap is a UK wide charity for people with a learning disability.

• We’re passionate about changing the UK for everyone with a learning disability.
• We fight for a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society for people with a learning disability to live in.

At our base in East Manchester, people with a learning disability work to create community impact projects to help their local community. This involves recruiting as many volunteers as possible so that projects can have a big impact. Examples include: art exhibitions, community sports events, litter picking and community gardening projects.

We always welcome volunteer groups of any size to work with us on our community impact projects that take place regularly throughout the year.

Currently we are in need of volunteers to support us with our annual Christmas gift shoe box appeal. We wrap and fill over a hundred gift boxes for vulnerable members of the community, for example people experiencing homelessness, refugees/asylum seekers, elderly people and vulnerable children.

You can join us on Tuesday 12th December 2024, we will be at a venue in central Manchester wrapping and filling boxes then gifting them to those in need.

Or we can host your group at our resource centre in Tameside to help us wrap and fill boxes at a date that suits you (before 20th December).

Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to volunteer:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Manchester Mind is a local, independent mental health charity supporting 8,000 young people and adults across the city. For 35 years they have been there to promote better mental health for all.

The charity has 3 opportunities for local businesses this year:

Small team of 4-6 volunteers from your office to gather Easter Eggs with colleagues, delivered to the Manchester Mind HQ: February – March 2024

Any size team (6-30 people) to join their city centre collection, raising vital funds whilst encouraging wellbeing conversations with the general public: Friday 17 May (also event in October)

Small team of 4-6 volunteers from your office to manage an internal festive gift appeal, with additional day at your premises to sort & wrap items: November 2024

You will receive an information pack with full details before the opportunity, together with a volunteer certificate of thanks.

The Big Clean is a great opportunity for groups of volunteers to get involved in short term volunteering with Victoria Baths and make a real difference to a heritage charity and community venue. The Big Clean takes place from 4 – 6 March this year, typically groups will join them between 10am – 4pm each day but times can be flexible to suit the needs of groups and individuals.

The volunteering tasks can vary and will include a range of physical activities including cleaning, maintenance tasks such as painting and cleaning our stained-glass collection and help to organise and sort event and activity equipment. It’s a great volunteering opportunity for groups as you can really see the difference your time and effort make on the day, whilst getting a behind-the-scenes look at the beautiful Baths – described as Manchester’s ‘water-palace’. As a thank you all group volunteers receive a free guided tour ticket for use in the future at any Wednesday or Sunday open day in the 2024 season!

Group Volunteering with Victoria Baths

“When I worked for the Bank of New York Mellon we volunteered to help clean up the baths for a day, I loved it, it was a joy and pleasure to help in a small way.”  David Blissett-Williams, Group Volunteer Participant

Victoria Baths is a Grade II* swimming and bathing complex, opened in 1906, with three pools, a Turkish Baths suite, and facilities for bathing and laundry. Their team of volunteers help to maintain the building and deliver events, but it is all hands-on deck and the more the merrier when it comes to the Big Clean. Taking place over a week, from 4 - 6 March, volunteers and staff work together to make sure the spaces, equipment and building are clean and maintained. 

For the Big Clean all volunteers are provided with equipment and necessary PPE. As well as hot and cold drinks, biscuits, and snacks throughout the day.

Tasks may include:

• Cleaning key areas of the baths, including the pools, changing facilities, balconies, Turkish Baths etc.
• Cleaning-stained glass, with support from staff (requires specialist equipment).
• Clearing and organising equipment and spaces.
• Maintenance jobs such as sanding and painting.

All volunteering is supported by VB staff, and guidance and supervision is on hand throughout the day. Volunteering times can be flexible, and there may be other opportunities to get involved across the year including at VB Trust events such as SpringFest, Big Splash, Halloween, and Festive Winter Fair. 

Read more about Victoria Baths' employer-supported volunteering offer.

Cracking Good Food have a range of group volunteering activities available for groups of up to 10 volunteers. 

From installing planters to be used for community growing, to supporting their Kitchen Kit Redistribution Events, to helping cook and deliver meals for people in food crisis, there are many projects where the help and support of your team could be incredibly helpful. 

There is a payment of £250 per half-day to cover the costs of their Volunteer Co-ordinator who will help to ensure your volunteering day goes smoothly and has maximum impact for the local community.

Find out more by reading their information pack.

Get in touch with Tracey at [email protected]

Caritas Salford work alongside people from across Greater Manchester and Lancashire who are experiencing poverty, disadvantage, discrimination and homelessness, helping them to transform their lives with dignity. They have three services that you and your team could do a day or half day of volunteering with:

Cornerstone Daycentre is is a large community centre in Hulme which aims to tackle homelessness and poverty in the area.

• What you will do: tasks include helping to sort donations, preparing and serving food, manning the information desk and supporting our activities, you’ll get plenty of chances to chat to people and get to know their stories as well. 
• When and how many: Cornerstone are open Monday to Friday and can take groups of up to 8 people.

Lalley Centre is a welcoming advice centre with a large community allotment and food pantry based in Collyhurst. 

• What you will do: maintenance of the allotment, unloading food deliveries and sorting stock in the food pantry, helping with sessions in the centre.
• When and how many: Monday to Friday but Tuesdays are preferrable, and they can take groups of up to 15 (if more than 15 wish to volunteer, please do still enquire). 

Bury Red Door is a day centre for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Bury.

• What you will do: help welcome people to the service, support activities such as gardening and quizzes, and help prepare refreshments.
• When and how many: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. They can take two volunteers per day but do still enquire if your group is larger.

Most volunteering takes place at The Bread and Butter Thing's depot at Trafford Park.

TBBT can accommodate up to 12 people at one time - any more than this would need a bespoke approach, which can also be done.

Please read this information pack for full details. 

Please email [email protected]

Include your location, some possible dates, the group size and any questions you have.

City of Trees offer two ways for employees of a company to get involved in practical activity:

For small groups with less than 10 who would like to do some volunteering at an open event with the public, please visit the events page on our website for more information on the upcoming sessions. Please email the contact on the events page. Booking is essential!

For larger groups with 10+ and those who want their own, private, bespoke session, they offer 'Green Away Days'. Green Away Days are private, bespoke sessions for just your company or their contacts, whether that be clients, customers or employees. Sessions can be run all year round and activities are seasonal; in winter you could be planting trees, and in summer doing some 'Tree-LC' or wildflower planting. City of Trees do their best to accomodate a location suitable to you, but this will depend on what projects are going on.

You can read more about it in the City of Trees 2023 Supporter Information.

Events page for groups with less than 10 people.

To enquire about a Green Away Day, please email [email protected]

You can also read more about becoming a corporate supporter on the City of Trees website.

Corporate volunteering days are a great opportunity for an organisation to have fun together, develop teamwork skills, and give back to the local community. Your team can get their hands dirty, help to plant trees, clear a plot of land, construct a wildlife pond and loads more green tasks!

• Choose from over 60 community and school projects and help those most in need across Greater Manchester.
• A member of the Sow the City team will lead the event to help you to achieve your team goal and ensure you get the most out of the day.
• They can work with small or larger groups and provide all of the necessary materials, tools and equipment.
• Sow the City can organise catering and refreshments on the day to help keep your energy levels high.
• You will receive a follow-up feedback report and team photographs demonstrating the positive impact you have made to the local community.

Sow The City's half day corporate volunteering sessions start at £20 per volunteer.

MUD can facilitate team building days and corporate social responsibility (CSR) opportunities for small to large groups.

Organisations can join them to help out at events, on specific building projects, at their regular volunteer sessions, or they can create a bespoke day for your team at one of their sites. 

If you are in a group smaller than 8 people, please sign up via their volunteering portal and attend one of the currently running volunteering sessions without booking with them. It is important you make yourself known to them when you arrive as you will need an induction and they have strict policies regarding photography. 

For groups larger than 8, please email to book a session. For larger groups they charge a day rate for their Volunteer Coordinators of £250 per 8 people and £2.50 per person for refreshments. MUD Kitchen can also cater for your team.

For groups larger than 8, please email [email protected] to book a session. 

If you are in a group smaller than 8 people, please sign up via their volunteering portal.

Are you and your team looking for ways to give back to your local community? Corporate volunteer days at Smart Works Greater Manchester are a great way to help them support unemployed women on their work journey while also bonding with your team.

We offer volunteering opportunities called Wardrobe Days – where volunteers to come and help organise our stock, label, size order and replenish our rails.

We can accommodate up to 6 people at a time in our Stockport centre, and our timings are 1 – 4pm on Wednesdays.

We do request a £500 donation for our volunteering opportunities, as we have to close the centre to our clients 

The link to book your day is here: https://calendly.com/louisa-smart-works/volunteer-wardrobe-day.

EY Foundation offer short and long term initiatives which build key employability skills, offer professional insight and build professional networks. 

Types of volunteer roles: 

• Workshop facilitation 
• Guest speaker
• Mentor 
• Work experience host 
• Panellist 

Action Tutoring provide the following for employers:

• Termly updated on the impact employees volunteering from your organisation have made
• Marketing materials to help spread the word to employees
• Lunch and Learn information session, online or in-person
• Taster tutoring session workshops
• Dedicated Corporate Partnerships and Fundraising team

Please see the info sheet for more information and the role description for Volunteer Tutor (Maths or English). 

Barlow Moor Community Centre are looking for a group of between 4-8 volunteers for the following:

Community action activities in the local area on any day that suits the group - this could include litter picking, hedge trimming, gardening etc depending on local need at the time.

Please get in touch with Elena at [email protected] with group size and possible dates, and what activity you would be interested in.

If you have another idea for how you could best use the skills of your group to support our community then this is also more than welcome.

Greater Together Manchester is a small charity with a number of projects aimed at supporting and empowering vulnerable people across Manchester. The Social Super Market project is focused on helping those in poverty and reducing food waste in Miles Platting.

What they're looking for:

One off – Apostles clean up volunteer group -

• Date: An upcoming Thursday (date tbc, negotiable with yourselves)
• Location: Parish church of the apostles, Ridgway street, Miles Platting M40 7FY
• Main tasks will include: Clearing out our office space, laying down carpet tiles, moving furniture. 
• Number of people: 6-10
• Other tasks: Sorting through school uniform stock/other goods
• We are open to other ideas (e.g litter picking, gardening) and are happy to discuss if you wanted to come down to check us out beforehand!

Chapter One’s Online Reading Volunteer programme connects schools and families with corporate volunteers. These volunteers spend 30 minutes reading online with the same child each week. Each corporate partner supports one or more teams of ten employee volunteers who usually read with ten children in the same class.

Each organisation nominates a co-ordinator to lead volunteer recruitment and encourage volunteers to register, access training and complete their enhanced DBS checks. Corporate partners are asked to contribute £3,400 for each team of 10 volunteers. This helps to cover the costs of running the programme such as laptops, DBS checks and training.  

They are launching the programme in Manchester from September 2023, so get in touch if you think you can help.

The Debdale Diggers  is the new name for the Volunteer Gardening Group, which was set up in 2012 in collaboration with the Eco-Centre and Park Management helps to maintain the flower beds and borders.

They meet once a week to maintain the fifteen rose beds in the park - this can be arranged on Monday, Wednesday or Fridays. They have all of the necessary equipment; you just need suitable footwear.

The Friends of Didsbury Park Volunteers group are looking for people to help out on Mondays. They are very happy to hear from corporate groups.

Volunteering takes place on Mondays between 9.30am and 1pm.