City St George’s Volunteering is appalled by the recent displays of violence, racism and Islamophobia seen on our streets across the country. We know that many people will now be keen to find out how they can use their voice and skills to support people who have been affected by these events, so we’ve put together a list of some of the wonderful charities we work with and their volunteering roles. These organisations have been working tirelessly over the past week to confront hate and respond to the anti-migrant misinformation and rhetoric that spurred the violence. By volunteering for any of these organisations, you’ll be helping them to keep their support services going in the long run.
Refugee Education UK’s mission is to equip young refugees to build hopeful futures through education. They provide educational mentoring, specialist education and wellbeing support, access to higher education and youth leadership opportunities.
As a volunteer educational mentor, you’ll provide one-to-one educational support to a young person once a week, working mostly on homework and classwork that the young person finds most challenging. Apply here.
Screen Share UK exists to support, inform and advocate for digital inclusion of refugees. They do this through repurposing used laptops and gifting them to refugees across the UK. Their team of volunteers check all donated devices and provide any specialist IT services if required.
You can volunteer with Screen Share UK in their logistics team, where you’ll pick up laptops across London and deliver them directly to refugees, take them to tech volunteers, or bring them to refugee organisations. Apply here.
Babylon runs a year-round programme of creative activities for young people with asylum seeking, migrant and refugee backgrounds. The programme aims to boost their self-confidence and give them a way to express themselves through creativity, so they can begin to have some positive experiences of living in the UK.
You can volunteer with Babylon in their Outreach team, helping them to maintain and build their community of participants and develop their wider network. Apply here.
The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) works to empower, educate and unite Afghans and Central Asians living away from their homeland, providing them with the skills and knowledge required to exercise their rights and achieve success in the UK.
Volunteer as a Political Communications Intern and support ACAA’s human rights and integration work. You’d help organise conferences and political networking events, conduct research, draft reports and policy briefs, lobby parliamentarians, and help organise public meetings. Apply here.
Unfold offers mentoring programmes for young people aged 10-25, working closely with refugees and asylum seekers. They help break the cycle of disadvantage and social exclusion, promote family cohesion, wellbeing and achievement.
There are two ways to get involved. You can become a volunteer mentor for a young asylum seeker, helping them to identify and achieve their goals. Apply here. You can also become a mentor for a refugee woman, supporting her through an often difficult and challenging time. Apply here.
Conversation Over Borders offers connection through conversation, providing free English conversation classes and befriending services for asylum seekers and refugees. By bringing together displaced people and the wider community, they facilitate human connection, reduce social isolation and build confidence.
As an English & Befriending online volunteer, you’d work one-to-one delivering English conversation classes to a refugee or asylum seeking person, creating an environment for friendship and mutual learning. Apply here.
Hope for the Young works to remove obstacles to young refugees’ education and wellbeing through mentoring, advocacy and financial support. Their mentoring programme matches volunteers with a young person who is seeking support with setting and achieving their goals.
As a volunteer mentor, you’ll help your mentee to improve their English, enrol in education, access local services, make new friends, and build their confidence and independence skills. Apply here.
Resources for those seeking support
Help and support is available to you at City St George’s if you have been affected by recent events.
The Student Health and Wellbeing Team are available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. You can book a chat with an advisor to discuss the support available to you here.
The Muslim Youth Helpline is available, offering faith and culturally sensitive support by phone, live chat, Whatsapp or email, 365 days a year.
Mind, the UK’s nationwide mental health support charity, runs their support line Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm, offering a range of services from information to understanding mental health law.
Islamic Relief UK have put together a long list of resources and contact details of UK-wide charities and organisations that can provide support, advice and assistance around a range of topics including discrimination, legal advice, and mental health. You can find their list here.
Related Opportunities
Visit a person at home and befriend them, offering communication support, and a fresh perspective from their daily routine. The person you visit will have aphasia, a communication disability, often stuck at home without support.