Volunteering in Birmingham

Birmingham is the youngest major city in Europe by population, and its volunteering reflects that: a great deal of it is youth work, mentoring, sport and community organising led by people not much older than the people they are helping.

Popular causes in Birmingham

• Youth work and mentoring, in a city where under 25s make up an unusually large share of the population
• Food poverty, through the network of neighbourhood food banks and community pantries
• Refugee and migrant support, including English conversation clubs and welcome groups
• Green space and canal restoration, on a canal network longer than Venice’s
• Sport and physical activity, where grassroots clubs run almost entirely on volunteer coaches and organisers

Browse every cause on the impact areas page, or start from a skill you want to build.

How to start volunteering in Birmingham

1. Browse the live roles on this page and open anything that looks like your kind of thing.
2. Apply in a couple of minutes. There is no CV stage and no interview for most roles.
3. Log your hours as you go, so your contribution becomes a record you can show.
4. Earn verified badges and certificates for your CV, your UCAS application, or your LinkedIn profile.

About volunteering in Birmingham

Birmingham’s voluntary sector is organised around neighbourhoods rather than the city centre, which is what you would expect from a city built out of separate towns and villages. Volunteering in Handsworth, Bournville and Sparkbrook looks different in each case, and local organisations tend to be rooted in one community rather than spread thinly across the whole city. That is an advantage when you are starting out: you can find something on your own doorstep and stay with it.

The city’s demographics shape the roles. With a large student population across two big universities and one of the youngest age profiles in the country, there is steady demand for mentors, tutors, youth club helpers and sports coaches, and a lot of the organisations doing that work are small and volunteer led. Birmingham also has long standing faith based and community organisations that run food provision, welfare advice and English classes, and they are usually the quickest route into regular volunteering.

Birmingham’s canals, parks and reservoirs give the city an outdoor volunteering scene that surprises people who only know the Bullring. Towpath restoration, park friends groups and conservation days run through the year, and they are a good first role if you want something physical, sociable and easy to commit to one weekend at a time.

Common questions about volunteering in Birmingham

Is there volunteering in Birmingham that fits around university?

Yes. Mentoring, tutoring and youth club roles are usually one evening or one afternoon a week during term time, and many Birmingham organisations plan their rotas around student availability. Filter for roles of a couple of hours a week and you will find them.

Do I need experience to start volunteering?

Almost never. Most organisations are looking for reliability and interest rather than a background in the work, and they will show you what to do. If a role does need a specific skill or a DBS check, it says so on the listing.

How much time do I have to give?

As much or as little as suits you. Some roles are a single afternoon, some are a couple of hours a week, and some are one off events. You can filter by how much time you have before you apply.