Volunteer

All volunteers need to be over the age of 18 for insurance purposes.

For ongoing volunteering roles, please complete a Volunteer Application Form and send to volunteers@southend.foodbank.org.uk 

Supermarket collections

Local supermarket champions have been amazing, offering more dates and different kinds of outreach events for 2024. 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 volunteers@southend.foodbank.org.uk

All our upcoming in-store collection dates and locations are listed on the Supermarkets page.

Community signposting

Each week the foodbank aims to share additional information on our social media pages about free local activities and additional help available. We also occasionally make posters or leaflets to share at our sessions to raise awareness of local schemes or support. We do this because we know that food is only part of the complex challenges people face when struggling on a low income, with debt or coping with additional health needs or disabilities. 

Over the last year, it’s grown into a regular #WellbeingWednesday, with posts about support groups, family activities and help with cost of living. We have also used this process to source more formal resources to share in our sessions around specialist topics. And we’ve listened to feedback about what is useful and interesting – and what’s missing!

We are now looking for a volunteer to help with this specific activity: 

• researching and keeping up-to-date with community activities and support
• checking details, e.g. is it free, accessible, locally available
• putting together short, accurate descriptions that can be shared across different media platforms, including text and images

We’re really keen to expand and improve our coverage across Southend and Rochford, and especially with a focus on local opportunities for supporting mental health, isolation and connection, learning and activity. 

You don’t need any experience, just a bit of time (an hour or so most weeks, a little more to get started), willingness to subscribe to a few relevant newsletters and follow posts from other organisations, and confidence when summarising information succinctly.

For an informal chat about the role, and to share your ideas about how you can make this stream of community signposting really flourish, please contact Sarah our signposting lead: SarahG@southend.foodbank.org.uk

Hawkwell session - talking to guests

The weekly session at Hawkwell has been getting a bit busier recently and the small team would love some extra help, especially to assist with talking to guests when they come in. This could be answering basic questions about what to expect at the foodbank if it's their first visit, initiating respectful conversations to provide a friendly welcome, or expanding interactions to include more information that is available through signposting and light-touch referrals. 

We're looking for a volunteer:

• Confidence with written and spoken information
• A good listener
• Willingness to learn about community information we can share
• Openness to taking safeguarding awareness and other training
• Regularly available on Mondays, 5pm - 6.30pm

As part of a small team, we often all help out with general tasks, but heavy lifting is not required in this role. It would be useful to have basic IT skills and be comfortable using a tablet or laptop, which is available for the session team to use. 

To talk about the role further or arrange a visit to see our session signposting in action please contact Sarah, the foodbank's signposting lead, via SarahG@southend.foodbank.org.uk 

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 fundraising@southend.foodbank.org.uk

Collections at Southend United

Foodbank shrimpers run regular collections in home pubs near to the ground, the Blue Boar, Spread Eagle and Railway, as well as a match day collection during the season at Roots Hall. We’ve had a lot of fun over the last few seasons with the Fans Supporting Southend Foodbank group. 

If you're interested in getting involved, please contact Sarah FootballAndFoodbanks@gmail.com or you're welcome to have a chat if you see any of us in our FSSF/ Southend Foodbank shirts (spot us in W or E block, or in a home pub or two!).