do-it.org.uk is the UK’s leading volunteering website. It offers over a million opportunities to volunteer from a wealth of charities such as The National Trust and Marie Curie Cancer Care. Through articles and advice on finding the perfect role and a postcode searchable database of opportunities, do-it.org.uk helps engage people with their communities by ensuring that voluntary work is quick and easy to find.
About do-it.org.uk
Launched in 2001, do-it.org.uk is the most diverse and comprehensive national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK. Each month, do-it.org.uk attracts an average of 90,000 visitors. Of these, 10,000 people go on to register for at least one of the opportunities listed.
Our research shows that young people take up volunteering opportunities for three key reasons: to develop new skills; to gain work experience; and to support their community. do-it.org.uk provides details of a million opportunities to volunteer throughout the UK, any of which can be found with a simple postcode search.
Opportunities from everywhere
The opportunities are provided by over 360 Volunteer Centres in England and more than 40 national charities. The opportunities are managed at a local level and kept up-to-date using bespoke software - developed by YouthNet - called V-Base. Popular and easy to use, many other organisations have chosen V-Base to manage their own volunteers and opportunities. Volunteer-involving organisations with a national presence can input their volunteering opportunities directly into do-it.org.uk with volunteering management software developed by YouthNet.
YouthNet
do-it.org.uk is run by charity YouthNet - the UK’s leading online charity. YouthNet is also the charity behind TheSite.org, the online guide to life for 16 to 24-year-olds. The website provides safe, trusted and non-judgmental information and advice on everything from sex and relationships to exam stress or drugs. It provides anonymous, straight-talking, emotional support 24-hours-a-day and its bespoke question and answer service, askTheSite, provides young people with a personal answer to any question within three working days.
Case study
Dawn Mallender is 27 and lives in Nottingham. Struggling to find her dream job after university, she turned to volunteering and has worked as a hospital radio DJ since October 2007. It was a decision that would change her life.
Volunteering has provided a massive turning point in my life. I’d always wanted to work in the media, but was finding it hard to get a job after university, so I decided to boost my CV with some skills through volunteering. I went on do-it.org.uk to see if there was anything in my local area and found out that Nottingham Hospitals’ Radio (NHR) was looking for people. All the training was provided so it didn’t matter that I had no idea where to start with all the buttons in a studio. I took the plunge and emailed my application to do-it.org.uk.
My first task was to do some fundraising, so I organised a Christmas raffle and announced the winners live on the radio - my on-air debut! After a few months, I had received enough training to present my own show, which lasts for two hours on a Thursday afternoon when I’ve finished work.
I really love DJing at the hospital. Because it’s a voluntary position, you can be creative and bring in your own ideas. As well as playing requests from patients, I came up with a couple of features: On This Day, where I discuss interesting things that happened on the same day in the past, and News to Amuse which is a chat about current, light-hearted news stories. I always keep the show positive and try to involve listeners with brainteasers and quizzes. I also organise prizes so patients have something to look forward to when they leave, like a meal at a local restaurant.
Some of my time is spent on ward visits where I chat to patients and tell them about the radio and how they can request songs. I meet a lot of extraordinary people and hear some inspiring stories. Some of them think I’m a celebrity! One little boy was ill for a few months and used to call the studio from his patient line every Saturday. We eventually got him in to visit with his mum and he was on a show. He had a great time, and it was heart-warming to be able to make his stay in hospital better.
I also wanted to be more involved in fundraising and organised some campaigns. I designed a t-shirt which said: “I wish I was a hospital radio DJ,” and tried to get celebrities to wear it. I managed to convince both Terry Wogan and Chesney Hawkes to have their picture taken in the T-shirts. I’m going to post the shots on a new NHR website which my boyfriend and I are currently designing. That should bring a lot more awareness to what we do at NHR, and hopefully more money!
I found that I loved the challenge of fundraising, and started to question whether I wouldn’t be happier doing a job like that full-time. I wasn’t having any luck finding employment in the media in Nottingham and I was tiring of my admin day-job. So in December 2008, I applied to Diabetes UK to be a fundraiser - and I got the job! It really was a Christmas miracle. I had spent three years after university trying to get into professional radio, and I never would have guessed that volunteering would change my mind. There is no way I would have got an interview or the job without my experience at NHR, and now I have a job I love!
Volunteering has really changed my life, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is struggling with their career. It’s an easy way to pursue options and gain valuable experience, especially in new areas. I never thought I’d enjoy working in a hospital, but I’ve learnt so much from spending time with the patients and staff. As long as you show commitment and enthusiasm, there are no limits to where volunteering might take you.
Claire Newman, an accountant from Hampshire, has worked as an online peer advisor for TheSite.org for one year. An unlikely agony aunt, the 30-year-old says she has found the best way to volunteer.
By day I work as an accountant, but in the evenings I spend a little time each week helping young people with relationship difficulties. I’ve always been interested in psychology and what makes people tick, so back in March last year I went online to do-it.org.uk to see if I could volunteer. My work can be unpredictable, so I couldn’t commit much time or a regular day.
On do-it.org.uk, I found a type of opportunity called ‘virtual volunteering’, which means you can volunteer wherever you are. The position that caught my eye involved answering anonymous questions emailed by young people to TheSite.org - an online guide to life for 16 to 24-year-olds. As an online peer advisor, you can work remotely and online. It seemed like a great way to do some volunteering without giving up too much time.
TheSite.org supplies a personalised response to every question it receives within three working days through its askTheSite facility. These can be on any subject, such as money troubles, sexual health, study or housing. Those types of questions are answered by professionals from organisations that partner with askTheSite, including Shelter, Samaritans and Citizens Advice, but questions on relationships are answered by peer advisors as well as experts. I never imagined becoming an agony aunt, but training and support was provided, so I thought I’d give it go. When I was younger, there were often questions I felt I couldn’t ask anyone I knew. Now I had a chance to help others in the same position.
I went to three training sessions at YouthNet’s offices (the charity behind TheSite.org) which are spread over weekend days that didn’t interfere with my time. We were taught to write responses by practicing writing skills and going through question examples. I learnt how to compose objective replies, not to draw conclusions about the type of person writing-in, or be influenced by my past experiences. Some of the young people ask shocking or depressing questions, while others face the same kind of emotional problems we all do. Each one deserves good-quality, supportive and impartial advice.
By May, I was ready to answer my first question. I chose to do one question per week, over the weekend, so I’d have plenty of time to reply. I usually do it from home on a Friday afternoon, which fits around my schedule. I sign in, go through the recent questions, and then choose one I think I’ll be good at answering. I flag that question so that no other advisors choose it - there is a team of about 50 of us, all working remotely. Then I get to work!
It can take anything from half an hour to two hours to write an answer, depending on how much research I do. Sometimes I think about the question overnight, or go online and see what other advice is already available. Often I’ll include links in answers to articles on TheSite.org or other websites.
At first, YouthNet assigned me a mentor who gave feedback and advice about my answers. It was helpful and encouraging to hear I was on the right track, as well as reassuring that someone else was checking my work. The feedback was delivered over email, but I did eventually meet my mentor, Matt Whyman, at an event at YouthNet. As well as being an advisor for TheSite.org, Matt has worked as an agony uncle for national magazines and is a published author, so his comments were very insightful.
After six months, YouthNet contacted me to say they were confident I could answer questions without a mentor. Every answer is still double-checked by YouthNet, but I take satisfaction knowing I can independently assist the charity in responding to the thousands of questions it receives, and ultimately, help a young person somewhere. Relationship advisors receive general feedback from recipients who choose to say “thank you”, which is usually heart-warming. Volunteering for TheSite.org also helps me stay in touch with young people’s issues and keep ‘the daily grind’ in perspective. I’ve learnt a lot about what young people face these days and been moved by some of the questions I’ve answered - it reminds me to always stay positive about my own life.
Virtual volunteering was definitely the right choice for me. The flexibility of time and location means I can give a little every week, without any strain on my personal or work life. The variety of questions means there’s always something new to learn, and although the questions are anonymous, it does feel like a personal way of helping people. I’d recommend virtual volunteering to anyone who thinks they haven’t got time to give – you’ve probably got an hour or so a week, and you’ll be amazed to discover the helpful knowledge you can pass on to someone struggling. After all, who’d go to an accountant for relationship advice?!
