The Christmas holiday period is a time for giving for many of us, sharing gifts with our loved ones. But it’s also a great time to give back to the local community and reflect on the things that matter most to us. Christmas time can be a hard period for those who find themselves in difficult situations during the winter, due to rising living costs and the increased sense of loneliness. Why not take a day off revising to help out at one of the amazing festive volunteer causes listed below! 

Crisis at Christmas 

Shelter, a charity campaigning for tenant rights, has estimated that at least 167,000 people face homelessness in London this Christmas - that’s 1 in 53 people. This year Crisis, a charity seeking to end homelessness in the UK, will be accommodating people experiencing homelessness across hotels in London, as well as operating festive day centres. They need plenty of volunteers to support them over the Christmas period, including on Christmas day, to fill a range of roles. These include:

• Entertainment volunteers 
• Hotel assistant volunteers 
• IT set up/decommission volunteers 
• IT support centre volunteers 
• Optical dispenser volunteers (Optometry students only) 
• Quartermaster (stock) volunteers 
• Set up and maintenance volunteers 
• Sports facilitator volunteers 
• Warehouse volunteers

Locations include: Aldgate Hotel, Bermondsey Day Centre, Docklands Hotel, Hyde Park Hotel, Pimlico Day Centre, Stratford Day Centre, and home-based. Get stuck in! 

Christmas day volunteering 

Not everyone celebrates Christmas day on the 25th December, and many people choose to volunteer their time on this day instead. There’s lots of roles going on around London on the 25th, so take your pick below and get your friends and family involved. 

• Sufra Food Bank and Kitchen, Brent – Volunteer Drivers, Servers and Cooks for the Christmas Feast 2023 – Sign up here! 
• Rotary Christmas Day for elderly locals, Wandsworth – Volunteer bus escorts, kitchen support, servers, entertainers and befrienders, and clearers – Sign up here! 
• Christmas Day at Jackson’s Lane for elderly locals, Haringey – Volunteer cooks, drivers, gift wrappers and joy spreaders – Sign up here! 

Check out your local community centres, religious organisations and homeless shelters for more opportunities near you. 

Christmas tree collection 

About 8 million CHristmas trees are sold in the UK each year. We all love putting our trees up, but what about the unsung heroes who collect our trees in January after the Christmas period? Lots of charities are running tree collection sessions across January in their local areas. Either sign up as a volunteer driver or as an assistant who provides support! Here are some of our top picks: 

• Princess Alice Hospice: 12th-16th January – Esher, Surrey – Sign up here! 
• Saint Francis Hospice: 11th-14th January – Brentwood and Havering – Sign up here! 
• Haven House Children’s Hospice: 13th-14th January and 24th-25th January – Redbridge – Sign up here! 
• Keech Hospice Care: 10th-12th January – Luton – Sign up here! 
• Shooting Star Children’s Hospice: 11th-12th January – Guildford, Hounslow and Richmond – Sign up here! 

We wish all City students and staff a wonderful holiday period. We’d love to hear any festive volunteering stories you’ve got, so please do share with us via email!