Crisis at Christmas 2009 (c) Andrew Meredith/Bob Johns
Ho ho ho! Christmas is the season for giving and if you fancy giving some of your time to help out your fellow man, woman or astronaut, there are plenty of opportunities to do so around London. You might also learn new skills, make new friends and have something interesting to put on the CV.
- Crisis At Christmas are providing nine shelters around London from 23-30 December. They need more than 8,000 volunteers who can help in a variety of ways including driving, hairdressing and performing. If you’re busy over this period but still want to volunteer, they also need people before and after the above dates to help set up and tidy up the centres.
- If you’re looking to work in a smaller team, The London Mobile Christmas Service provides a food, medical and clothing service for London’s homeless and vulnerable. This year they will be out and about in Bayswater, Cricklewood and Kentish Town.
- Other than Crisis, there will be a number of shelters running right across London from Barnet to Croydon.
- You can also help the homeless by volunteering for Centrepoint.
- Housing charity Shelter would like you to put a big fat smile on kids’ faces and raise funds by making a SantaCam.
- Its always a busy period for the helplines – The Samaritans, ChildLine and Victim Support would be glad to hear from you.
- You can help out the elderly by bringing them a hot meal, holding a tea party or as a collector.
- You can put in a shift at your local charity shop.
Alternatively, you can support your favourite cause by buying charity cards.
Have we missed any volunteering opportunities from this list? If so, let us know in the comments.
