Student volunteering

Volunteering roles

If you wish to look at active roles that are seeking 18-25 year olds, follow this link 

Research

In February 2025, we launched a piece of research into student volunteering in Greater Manchester, bringing together VCSE organisations, universities and colleges, and student volunteers. The session sparked valuable cross-sector conversations and confirmed a strong appetite to make student volunteering more inclusive, visible, and impactful across the city region.

The research explores the motivations and barriers for students, alongside organisational challenges and practical recommendations. What stood out in the room were the stories: students keen to contribute but feeling unsure how to connect; organisations open to working with students but needing clearer pathways and support; and a shared recognition that small, intentional changes – like flexible opportunities and targeted recognition – can unlock real value.

Download The Current Climate of Student Volunteering in Greater Manchester Impact Research Project: Business Report By Anushka Swannell, Volunteer Development Worker

Download Student Volunteering Research Tool Kit


Get involved or share your ideas, we'd love to hear from you. You can get in touch by emailing: info@volunteercentremanchester.co.uk 

Volunteering Opportunities

Displaying 73 - 96 of 120
Volunteer Graphic Designer
Summary: In this role with Bolton Lads and Girls Club, you will:
• Be confident using Canva to create high-quality, engaging, branded designs.
• Use our brand guidelines to develop a range of templates across the organisation, including posters, flyers, social media graphics and website content.
• Refresh and improve existing designs, ensuring they are on-brand and aligned with best practice.
• Help to create resources / templates that are easy for colleagues to adapt, use and maintain consistently.
• Have an understanding of social media platforms and create content tailored to what works best on each channel.
Area of Interest: Children Young People & Families, Digital and Tech, Marketing & Social Media
Retail Volunteer (Manchester, Lee Road)
Summary: Role with Barnardos.. Work on the till processing sales and returns
Prepare stock, including sorting, steaming and pricing
Create stylish window displays
Replenish stock on the shop floor
Stock-take and other administrative tasks
Area of Interest: Children Young People & Families, Finance & Fundraising, Retail, Student Volunteers (18+), Young Volunteers (under 18)
Social Media Assistant
Summary: Help to create hype for The Plastic Free Gathering 2027 by creating engaging social media posts
Area of Interest: Environment & Conservation, Events, Marketing & Social Media, Virtual Volunteering
Volunteer Office Administration
Summary: Improve your admin skills while supporting the smooth running of an organisation who provide education and training to unemployed and economically inactive individuals to up-skill and improve their well being
Area of Interest: Administration, Education & Literacy, Student Volunteers (18+)
Online Shop Volunteer
Summary: As an Online Shop Volunteer, you'll help transform pre-loved treasures into vital funds that support communities around the world, from responding to emergencies and humanitarian crises to tackling poverty and inequality.

Whether you're researching and pricing stock, photographing products, creating listings, preparing orders or supporting other online shop activities, you'll play an important role in connecting donated items with new owners and helping to raise money for Oxfam's life-changing work.

You can choose to learn a bit of everything or focus on the areas that interest you most.
Area of Interest: Retail
Volunteer Driver
Summary: Nightstop prevents homelessness through community hosting. It helps people who are in immediate housing crisis by providing safe accommodation while Nightstop finds longer term appropriate accommodation.

They're looking for volunteer drivers who will put Nightstop guests at ease and enable guests to find their way to a new hosts-home.

Nightstop provides training, support and supervision to volunteer drivers so they can provide a space that really does make a difference to people's lives.
Area of Interest: Children Young People & Families, Driving, Homelessness & Housing, LGBTQ+, Mental Health, Migrants & Refugees
Messy Church Volunteer
Summary: Messy Church Volunteers Wanted! Do you enjoy welcoming families, getting creative, and sharing God’s love in simple ways?

Messy Church is fun, friendly, lively—and a bit messy!
Area of Interest: Arts Culture & Music, Children Young People & Families, Race Ethnicity & Religion
World AIDS Day Awareness Raising Volunteer
Summary: Purpose: To increase awareness of HIV and World AIDS Day and raise vital funds for local charities providing support to people living with HIV.
Key Activities: We need volunteers to sell candles to raise funds, and steward for annual Candlelit Vigil in Sackville Gardens and surroundings on the evening of Tuesday 1st December 2026.
Area of Interest: Events, Finance & Fundraising, Health & Social Care
Grassroots Political Campaigner
Summary: Do you care about those living in poverty around the world? Do you want to use your voice to make a real difference? Do you want to be a political campaigner who delivers results?

Join our network of volunteer campaigners to use your voices and influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty!
Area of Interest: Campaigning & Advocacy
ESOL Language Assistant
Summary: What You Will Do
Provide friendly, informal support to learners during 1:1 or small‑group sessions.

Help learners practise speaking, listening, reading, and writing in everyday situations.

Support classroom activities led by the main tutor, such as vocabulary building, conversation practice, and simple exercises.

Encourage learners to build confidence, ask questions, and use English in real-life contexts.

Offer guidance with practical language needs, such as filling in forms, understanding letters, or practising workplace communication.
Area of Interest: Advice & Employment, Education & Literacy, Mentoring, Migrants & Refugees, Student Volunteers (18+)
Administrative Officer
Summary: Support the smooth running and growth of ATML Choir by providing effective administrative and organisational support. The Volunteer Administrative Officer will help coordinate members, volunteers, rehearsals, events, records, communications and organisational activities. Working closely with the leadership team, you will help keep information organised, maintain accurate records and ensure that administrative processes run efficiently. This is an opportunity to use your organisational and communication skills to support a growing community initiative using music to tackle loneliness and build meaningful connections across Manchester.
Area of Interest: Administration, Arts Culture & Music, Marketing & Social Media, Mental Health, Student Volunteers (18+)
Volunteer Drivers mate/assistant
Summary: Age UK Manchester is looking for enthusiastic and reliable Volunteer Van Mates to support our collection and delivery service. This is a physically active role that involves assisting our van drivers with the collection and delivery of donated furniture, household items, and retail stock across Manchester.

As a Volunteer Van Mate, you will play an important part in helping Age UK Manchester generate vital income through donated goods, enabling us to continue supporting older people across the city.
Area of Interest: Construction & Practical work, Driving, Retail
Retail Volunteer (Children's Store, Walkden)
Summary: Role with Barnardos.. Work on the till processing sales and returns
Prepare stock, including sorting, steaming and pricing
Create stylish window displays
Replenish stock on the shop floor
Stock-take and other administrative tasks
Area of Interest: Finance & Fundraising, Retail, Student Volunteers (18+), Young Volunteers (under 18)
Shop Volunteer - Edition
Summary: Marie Curie are looking for positive and friendly Shop Volunteers to join our retail team and help deliver a great shopping experience to our customers
Area of Interest: Finance & Fundraising, Health & Social Care, Retail, Student Volunteers (18+)
Retail Volunteer (Donation Centre, Chorlton)
Summary: Barnardos are looking for volunteers to help in their charity shop. You would:
Work on the till processing sales and returns
Prepare stock, including sorting, steaming and pricing
Create stylish window displays
Replenish stock on the shop floor
Stock-take and other administrative tasks
Area of Interest: Children Young People & Families, Finance & Fundraising, Retail, Student Volunteers (18+), Young Volunteers (under 18)
Event Assistant
Summary: Your tasks as an event assistant volunteer are to help set up and decorate the venues, greet people, take money, sell raffle tickets, support with quizzes and karoke, helping people to dance and socialise and most importantly, help people to have a fun time at the event, making sure people feel comfortable and are connecting with others.
Area of Interest: Disability, Events
Coram Beanstalk Reading Helper (Primary School) (Wigan)
Summary: Coram Beanstalk provide children with 1-1 reading for pleasure support. You must be able to offer a minimum of one consistent afternoon weekly throughout the school year.
Area of Interest: Children Young People & Families, Education & Literacy
Retail fashion assistant
Summary: White Rose charity shop is looking for volunteers to help in retail and social media. We provide the opportunity for you to learn different skills regularly and gain a variety of experience, so no two shifts are the same. You don’t need any experience to volunteer, all we ask is that you are enthusiastic, motivated and hardworking.
Area of Interest: Retail, Student Volunteers (18+)
Vegan Outreach Organiser
Summary: Every time we launch a campaign, you will be sent a collection of tasks to choose from. These could include holding a stall, writing to an MP, or finding locations for our leaflets. You'll be able to choose what you'd like to take action on from the task list.

You would also be the main contact for volunteer Advocates in your area, encouraging them to do the tasks, get involved and report back. You'll be in charge of coordinating activities, such as looking for stalls at events and then encouraging other local volunteers to come and help out.
Area of Interest: Animals, Campaigning & Advocacy, Environment & Conservation, Events, Mentoring
Trustee
Summary: We're looking for new trustees to join our 'Friends of' Board.
We're particularly keen to hear from candidates who have finance, legal, strategy, fundraising or communications know-how. You'll attend one board meeting a month and work with other trustees to set strategy, oversee risk, champion our library and help us reach new audiences.
This is an exciting time to join us as a plan a new strategic direction. Do you want to be part of our journey?
Area of Interest: Trusteeship & Coordination
Bid Writing Support
Summary: We're looking for a keen and able volunteer to research and write funding bids to meet challenges of newly arrived BME communities and updating on any local funding bids or opportunities. Searching and preparing for bids by collating and gathering information.
Area of Interest: Administration, Campaigning & Advocacy, Education & Literacy
Independent Young Person Visitor Volunteer
Summary: As an Independent Visitor for Coram Voice (or IV) you'll be carefully matched with a young person who you will meet with once a month, we look to match you with a young person who shares common interests with you. You will decide with your young person what to do, but this could include going for a walk, to the cinema, bowling, playing sports, going to a restaurant or doing some crafts.
Area of Interest: Befriending, Children Young People & Families, Mentoring
Homework Club volunteers needed at Powerhouse Library
Summary: Do you think you can give something back to the community and give a local child a hand with their homework? Experience is helpful but not required.
Area of Interest: Education & Literacy, Libraries
Volunteer Speaker
Summary: Do you enjoy public speaking and presenting? Can you inspire others passion for transforming lives? If so The Leprosy Mission would love to hear from you!
Area of Interest: Campaigning & Advocacy, Disability, Finance & Fundraising, Race Ethnicity & Religion, Sports & Movement