First steps

Before doing anything, ask yourself:

  • Why do I want to volunteer?  To contribute to a cause I care about? To meet new people? To learn skills and get experience? To have something to get me out of bed in the morning?  Every potential volunteer has their own reasons for volunteering and it can be much easier to find the right opportunity if you know what your reasons are.
  • What sort of volunteering might I like?  Am I looking for something outdoors?  Or do I want contact with people?  Or office work?  Is there anything that I definitely DON’T want to do?
  • How much time can I commit?  How many hours and how frequently?  Different organisations have different types of opportunities, some of which are flexible on the amount of time you give and when, and some of which are not.

There are different ways to find a volunteering opportunity.  You can try one or all of them:

  • Visit the national volunteering website www.do-it.org.uk which has details of volunteering opportunities in Sheffield and nationwide.  If you register with this website you can apply for opportunities online.
  • Come into the Volunteer Centre and talk to one of our advisers, who are themselves volunteers. It can really help to speak face-to-face with an adviser and explore options.  Click on Contact Us for directions to the Volunteer Centre.  We run a drop in advice service.  Here are our opening times. 
  • Download the Volunteer Centre Bulletin.  This contains a listing of current opportunities held on our database, which can help you decide what sort of volunteering you’re interested in.  Contact details are provided and you can contact the organisations yourself.

Please note: some organisations, especially smaller charities and community groups, may not respond to you straight away, when you contact them about becoming a volunteer.  Do not jump to the conclusion that they are not interested in you!  These smaller groups and organisations are struggling with work load and cannot always get back to potential volunteers as fast as they would like to.  Don’t give up!  Just keep trying till you get a response.

If you would like a confidential, one-to-one appointment with a Volunteer Centre member of staff please phone us on 0114 253 6649 or email vc@vas.org.uk.  If you need a support worker, friend or family member to come with you that is fine with us - or they can fix up an appointment on your behalf. 

Sign-up for our monthly Bulletin of volunteering opportunities by e-mail:  vc@vas.org.uk