Volunteering & Coronavirus – How Can You Help?
Here’s how you can volunteer to help and support others during the coronavirus pandemic, whilst opening yourself up to new experiences and skills that may also impress a future employer.
Local volunteering opportunities
As donations are down, many charities are on the brink of collapse, so are keen to attract new volunteers. Here are a few ways you could help:
- You could help your local food bank by sorting and packing donations in their warehouse, collecting donations from supermarkets, and delivering food to people in greatest need. The Trussell Trust food bank network can match volunteers with food banks in their area with their online system.
- Local volunteer centres and organisations such as CVS, Volunteering Matters, Reach Volunteering and Do-it can link you up with charities close to where you live.
- Sign up to become a community reserve volunteer for the Red Cross who are working with the authorities to support the Covid-19 response in the best possible way.
Volunteering for the NHS
You can sign up to NHS Volunteer Responders to support the 1.5m people in England at most risk from the virus. This may be helping with tasks such as: delivering medicines from pharmacies; driving patients to appointments; bringing them home from hospital; and making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home.
Once you've registered and checks are complete – you'll be given a log-in to the GoodSAM Responder app. Switch the app to 'on duty' and you'll see live and local volunteer tasks to pick from near you.
More details are on the NHS England website.