Our amazing team of volunteers are right at the heart of everything we do!
BDCA could not function without our team of committed, talented, compassionate volunteers. And we are always looking for new people to help us run our wide range of community services.
When we have specific volunteer roles that we need to fill urgently, they will be listed below.
COMMUNITY FOOD CLUB – currently open
Our new Bonny Downs Community Food Club needs volunteers!
A food Club enables local people to access good quality food, at a very affordable price. Its not a crisis support like a foodbank, but instead is a more sustainable and long-term model of support.
Our aims
Our new Bonny Downs Community Food Club aims to:
- Provide regular access to a sustainable supply of food to local people within the E6 area
- Increase disposable income for local families to improve life chances and wellbeing
- Refer people to specialist services who can support them in other ways
- Reduce the amount of food being sent to landfill in the UK by utilising surplus food
You can read all about the Club here!
What tasks may be involved?
- Setting up the food club before members arrive and breaking down / clearing away at the end
- Assist with cooking and the preparation of a meal shared with our guests and volunteers
- Some lifting i.e. unloading boxes, crates and tables
- Communicating with guests as they pick their food
- Counting money
- Registering new members
- Some data entry onto a database
- We are very keen to recruit drivers, willing to collect donations from local venues
We are seeking volunteers who are/ have:
- Friendly and patient
- Empathy and ability to work with a diverse range of people in an inclusive and proactive way
- Strong listening and communication skills
- Reliable, and able to commit to volunteering on Thursdays on a regular basis
- Able to work within guidelines and always follow confidentiality policies
- Have a general level of fitness, as some lifting will be involved
- Basic understanding of mathematics to calculate costs
- Ability to work on own or as part of a very small team
- Trustworthy
- 18 years of age or older
- We are also keen to recruit volunteers with a lived experience of the pressures of food insecurity
To apply, please complete our short application form here. We look forward to hearing from you!
OVER 65s BEFRIENDING SERVICE – currently open
Are you a good listener who enjoys a friendly chat and is comfortable on the phone or face-to-face? Can you spare just an hour or so each week for at least the next six months? Then we need YOU!
Our befriending service for Newham elders has gone from strength to strength since we launched it at the start of the pandemic. So far it has supported 80+ older people through lockdowns and loneliness and brought them comfort, companionship and laughter. But it’s become so popular that we now have a waiting list of clients and need more volunteers!
Your role will be to call or meet with a local older person regularly, getting to know them, and creating a friendly and supportive relationship. Helpful training and ongoing support will be provided to help you succeed in this fulfilling role. Here’s what one a few of our volunteer befrienders have to say about their experience:
“Over the past year we have built up a great rapport. I look forward to our weekly chat and my befriendee look forward to receiving my calls. We have not met each other but there is definitely a friendship bond between us. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share a bit of time with someone.”
“Befriending has been truly an extraordinary experience for me. It’s amazing to be able to see the impact of our regular conversations on my befriendee’s mood – this service is a life saver for isolated and lonely people.”
The befriending service operates by phone or face-to-face. While it only requires an hour or so of your time each week, the relationship aspect of the role means volunteers do need to commit to being available for at least 6-12 months.
To apply for this role, please download and complete the Volunteer Application below and email it to Clem, our Befriending Project Coordinator as soon as possible. If you would prefer a paper copy, please email Clem to request this.
Other volunteering opportunities
Don’t see a role listed above that suits you, but think you may have something to offer to our community?
Then please complete the application form below and email it to us to start your volunteering journey with us!
Here’s what some of our volunteers have to say!
”You get a sense of doing something when everything else is out of control. I’ve been disappointed that the level of need is so high, and our government hasn’t met that need.”
– Liam
“I really enjoy hearing the client’s mood lift throughout the befriending call.”
– Joss has been volunteering as a befriender, making weekly phone calls to elders to help them cope with isolation and loneliness
“We’ve had a laugh and a joke and it’s a really nice atmosphere…I enjoy meeting new people, they are all so friendly, make you feel welcome. I’ve made a lot of new friends and really enjoy it.”
– Sheila
You treated me with compassion and now I’m giving something back!”
Read Maruf’s Story