Give Help
Volunteer
We need your help to collect food, drive between collections and distribution points, pack food parcels, run fundraising events and food drives, and help keep up with increasing need in the local area.
Social Media Volunteer
Where: Remote/email/Zoom + meetings at Friendship House offices
When: Twice per week
Time commitment: 4 hours per week
Overview of the role: This role involves helping to promote the work of the food bank and encourage donations through social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Using tools such as Buffer, Canva and Photoshop, you will create content in line with the weekly and monthly Comms Calendar, working with submissions from key volunteers and staff at Southend Foodbank.
Key tasks
- Regularly monitor and update the social media pages
- Respond to comments appropriately where able
- Generate content to promote the work of the food bank, encourage donations of food and financial support
About you
- Excellent communication skills
- Experience of using social media channels
- Has an eye for detail
- Organised and self-motivated
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
Belle Vue Baptist Church Volunteer
When: Tuesday’s 12:00pm to 3:00pm
This role provides direct support to people who use food banks. Moving the food boxes from the warehouse to the church hall using a trolley and helping to set up. Helping within the session to pack bags for the guest.
Key tasks
- Helping to set up for session – this requires heavy lifting (will have use of a trolly)
- Welcome clients to the foodbank centre, pack food from boxes into shopping bags
- Work under the guidance of the session leader and report any health & safety or safeguarding concerns to the project manager/session supervisor
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
Ad Hoc Driver Volunteer
Food banks provide three day emergency food parcels for people in crisis, working in partnership with organisations across the community. Ad Hoc Drivers play a fundamental role in the running of the food bank, collecting food from the distribution Centre that’s open that day and delivering to the clients house. This support is only offered to people who are unable to leave their house.
Key tasks
- Collecting food parcels from the warehouse on a Tuesday and Thursday
- Delivering food donations to the guest’s house
About you
- Clean driving licence
- Your own vehicle
- Physically fit
- Confident driver
- Adaptable and flexible
- Personable and committed
- You will need to comply with the Driving policy of the food bank
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
Southend Foodbank Warehouse – Volunteer Warehouse Assistant
This role involves supporting the food bank team in managing their food donations. Food donations are sorted, weighed and packed ready for distribution.
Shifts at Friendship House, Southchurch, include:
Monday 9:00am – 12:00pm, 12pm – 2pm
Tuesday 9:00am – 12:00pm
Wednesday – 9:00am – 12:00pm
Thursday 9:00am – 12:00pm
Key tasks
- Receive food donations from members of the public and thank them
- Ensure that incoming stock is checked, weighed, and recorded
- Sort food by date and type, removing any items that are damaged or out-of-date and weighing these out separately
- Keep warehouse area clean and tidy at all times, notifying the project manager if there are any concerns
About you
- Strong team player
- Has an eye for detail
- Organised and self-motivated
- Happy with some heavy lifting
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
Supermarket Collection
Local supermarket champions have been amazing, offering more dates and different kinds of outreach events for 2023. We need extra hands to help plan and deliver these. Having time on Saturdays is essential and access to transport to get to a store really helps. If you can offer your help to give out shopping lists and receiving food donated by customers, please chat with Emma [email protected].
We have the following dates agreed for our supermarket collections:
Waitrose Fossetts Way Southend
15th and 16th March 2024
7th and 8th June 2024
27th and 28th September 2024
22nd and 23rd November 2024
Tesco’s Prince Avenue Southend
Dates to be arranged
Asda Shoebury
Friday 17th May till Sunday 19th May 2024
Collections at Southend United
After a successful season of collections at Roots Hall and nearby pubs, we’re hoping to do more throughout the year. Volunteers are vital for these lively events! Please check back for more details once the 2023/24 season is confirmed.
Fundraising
Fundraising can be as individual as setting up your own challenge and collecting sponsorship, supporting others in fundraising activities organised through the foodbank, through to helping run an event. We always need help arranging fundraising events, especially if you have time outside of office hours to help run activities such as quizzes, film nights, raffles etc. If you want to help with fundraising events, have a brilliant idea or need some help setting up a fundraiser, please get in touch with [email protected].
Other ways to volunteer
If you’d like to get involved in other ways, please contact our Volunteers Coordinator, who can chat with you about your availability, skills and interests.
We also put out calls for help through our social media accounts. Find and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All volunteers need to be over the age of 18 for insurance purposes. Under 18s/over 12s are able to help at the one-day events with a guardian or parent also helping.
For ongoing volunteering roles, please complete a Volunteer Application Form.