Volunteer at inHope

life event collections

Volunteers really are the lifeblood of inHope! They enable us to open the doors to help people who are hungry, homeless, and suffering the effects of addiction and poor mental health.

In 2023-2024, 281 people gave a combined total of 21,201 hours in voluntary service.  At the rate of the National Living Wage this voluntary time is worth £254,412, but to every individual who needed help, this time is priceless.

Our volunteers are predominantly from churches across Bristol, and increasingly from Corporate/Business groups who give some of their work time to volunteering with us. Find out more here the different ways Corporates can support us.

Every volunteer helps by rolling up their sleeves to serve food, wash dishes, sweep floors, deliver food parcels, make beds, painting and maintenance, serve as a trustee, or simply show some love to somebody experiencing a crisis.

All volunteers receive a range of support including an induction, training and supervision from inHope staff.

Keep scrolling to see what volunteer opportunities we currently have on offer. You can make a difference in society and your local community by being an inHope volunteer.

If you need help completing the volunteer application form, please email us at volunteering@inhope.uk

Jeśli potrzebujesz pomocy w wypełnieniu formularza zgłoszenia wolontariusza, napisz do nas na adres volunteering@inhope.uk

Haddii aad u baahan tahay in lagaa caawiyo buuxinta foomka codsiga iskaa wax u qabso, fadlan noogu soo dir emailka volunteering@inhope.uk

Read the experience of some current volunteers, Tim & Nikki.

“We aimed to work hard and try to get as much done as we could, but at the same time, it just felt so relaxed and unpressured, really enjoyable and actually very therapeutic! It was also lovely to be able to have some time spent with Sarah (colleague) away from our usual office hubbub.”

Corporate/business volunteer

“It’s such a pleasure to be able to support a service that supported me in the past.”

Wild Goose volunteer

Current Volunteer Opportunities

At this time we can only accept volunteering enquiries for the volunteer opportunities advertised below.

Night Support Assistant Volunteer at Spring of Hope women’s night shelter (female only)

Ad hoc to cover night rota gaps. Hours of volunteering sleeping night shifts are any night from 9:30pm – 8:30am.

Typical tasks/activities

Night support volunteers assist the night support staff in welcoming guests, responding to incidents, and ensuring house rules are followed. Night support volunteer shifts are sleeping night shifts. This means you will have a bed to sleep in on site, and will be woken by staff if/when they need additional support during the night.

South & East Bristol Foodbank volunteer driver – collecting donations (Fishponds)

Wednesdays 10am to 11.30am.

Typical tasks/activities

This role involves driving your own car to collect food from supermarkets, deliver it to Fishponds foodbank and then sort the stock, weigh and date the food and stack the shelves at the foodbank.

South & East Bristol Foodbank reserve volunteer van driver

This is a reserve volunteer role, meaning it is to cover shifts ad hoc, where you cover other volunteers and staff sickness and holidays etc. Possible shifts include Monday am, Tuesday am, Wednesday pm, Thursday am and Friday am.

Typical tasks/activities

We are looking for a confident van driver with a passion for supporting the community and those in need of using the Foodbank. This role involves driving our inHope van to collect food donations from Supermarket collection points in supermarkets and then drop them off at our warehouse in Easton.

You will also need to have a Category C entitlement on your drivers licence to drive our electric van.

Spring of Hope Chaplain volunteer (female only)

Definitely during the ‘My Time’ group on Thursdays 10am – 2pm

Other times and days TBC in conversation with volunteer and staff.

Typical tasks/ activities

  • Supporting the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of Spring of Hope women and volunteers.
  • Offering opportunities to pray and worship and to explore the Christian faith.
  • Exploring ways to find what’s meaningful and spiritually rewarding in our lives.
  • Supporting those in established faith journeys to grow and develop their spiritual life.
  • Offering prayer and spiritual guidance to groups and individuals.
  • To volunteer in a person-centred way, allowing faith conversations to start naturally and from the person/group you are with.
  • Finding ways to encourage creativity.
  • Supporting Spring of Hope as a place where women, volunteers and staff feel cared for and safe.

How to Volunteer

If you want to change people’s lives through being an inHope volunteer, there are a few small steps to take:

  • Contact Karen by emailing volunteering@inhope.uk, calling 0117 405 7112.
  • Complete our volunteer application form, so you can tell us a bit about yourself and what you want to get out of your volunteering experience.
  • You will be invited to a shadow shift/meet up with staff – so that we can get to know you personally and find the role that suits you most. If the role requires a DBS check, we can also start this process.
  • You’ll then be invited to an induction that is appropriate to the role, making sure you’re ready to start!
  • Throughout your volunteering experience, you’ll have regular opportunities to review how things are going.

Faith

We ask that all volunteers are comfortable volunteering within our Christian ethos. Please ask Karen for more information.

We are committed to developing a diverse staff and volunteer workforce that reflects the community we are all part of. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) volunteers as these groups are underrepresented at inHope.

If you would like to know more about volunteering at inHope, please get in touch with our Volunteering Admin Officer, Karen.

CAN’T VOLUNTEER BUT STILL WANT TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS & MARGINALISED?