Join us
& become
a volunteer
Join us
and become
a volunteer
We are always keen to welcome new volunteers so we can maintain and expand our services.
If you have any spare time and would like to help, Hands would welcome your support. No special skills or experience are needed, just the desire to help those in need.
Our Gallery
-
- Join us for our regular Afternoon Teas with delicious homemade cakes
-
- We run a regular shopping bus for our clients
-
- Our social event calendar includes interesting talks and trips to places of local interest
-
- Come and visit us at a local event on Twickenham Green, Moormead Park or High Tide Festival
-
- Want to enjoy a day out on the Thames? Join us on one of our boat trips
-
- We deliver gift boxes kindly donated by local community groups
Volunteers Gallery
-
- Join us for our regular Afternoon Teas with delicious homemade cakes
-
- We run a regular shopping bus for our clients
-
- Our social event calendar includes interesting talks and trips to places of local interest
-
- Come and visit us at a local event on Twickenham Green, Moormead Park or High Tide Festival
-
- Want to enjoy a day out on the Thames? Join us on one of our boat trips
-
- We deliver gift boxes kindly donated by local community groups
Words from our volunteers
Hands is a lifeline for so many people. When driving to appointments, I realise how grateful they are for the services Hands provides. The enjoyable part for me is listening to their experiences and stories about their lives.
The clients are without exception extremely grateful for improvements in their quality of life. The Hands team is very good at communicating and thanking their volunteers, so you feel a valued part of a team doing valuable work for the community.
I volunteer at social events, and it's been really rewarding to see clients who are isolated and lacking in confidence make friends and meet up independently from Hands. If we can enhance someone's day in any small way, it makes it all worthwhile.
The social events we run enable clients to get out of their homes and feel connected with wider networks, people and activities. The boat trips are particularly popular and offer the opportunity to be on the River Thames, experience the beauty of nature and make new friends in a wonderfully unique environment.
Anneke, Val, Mike and I team up to take 7 or 8 clients every two weeks to a supermarket nearby with a minibus and driver from our friends at FISH, Barnes charity. The clients are great fun and so glad to be able to shop for themselves and the chatter and laughter over a coffee afterwards is almost as important as the shopping.
Interested in volunteering?
Contact our friendly team by completing the form below or calling us on 020 8891 3346
Frequently asked questions
Is there a time commitment for volunteering with Hands?
There is no time commitment for volunteering at Hands, you can volunteer as much or as little as you like. If you would like to become involved with befriending a client, we ask that you make a commitment of at least two times a month.
How long does the volunteer onboarding process take?
It can take 1-3 months to onboard new volunteers, depending on how you would like to help our clients.
What training do volunteers receive?
All volunteers are required to complete an online Level 2 Safeguarding training course and those who wish to become befrienders must attend a half day Befriending Training Session led by the Hands Befriending Coordinator. We also run First Aid and Moving and Handling training for our volunteers throughout the year.
Do volunteers get reimbursed for expenses?
If you wish to bake a cake or make sandwiches for one of our Afternoon Teas or Coffee Mornings, you can claim back the expenses. All volunteers who provide transport can claim mileage at 40p per mile. You are required to submit a formal expense claim and keep receipts (with the exceptions of mileage).