This week’s top five volunteering opportunities

1.Volunteer at Dagenham Farm

Where: Dagenham Farm, Very East London
When: Wednesdays and Sundays
Category: Urban Farm, Organic Fruit and Vegetables
Commitment Level: Ad Hoc (with induction)

Growing Communities is a social enterprise that set up the Dagenham Farm in 2012, following Barking and Dagenham Council’s landmark decision to lease the disused Central Park Nursery site for community food growing. The Dagenham Farm is now one of London’s most productive urban farms – producing over 6 tonnes of organic fruit and vegetables every year in the heart of Dagenham. They’re looking for new volunteers for Wednesday and Sunday sessions – all you need to do is one induction. Visit their website here for further information, or contact former Dot Dot Dot guardian Lucy at lucy.nacsonjones@growingcommunities.org

2. Royal Museums Greenwich

Where: Greenwich
When: Various
Category: Heritage, Museums
Commitment Level: Ongoing Commitment

Develop your skills and contribute to the work of the Royal Museums Greenwich. There are a variety of current volunteering opportunities on offer at the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Cutty Sark and the Queen’s House. For more information, click here.

3.Shuffle Festival

Where: Mile End
When: First 2 weeks of July 
Category: Culture, Festival, Community
Commitment Level: Ad Hoc

Shuffle Festival explores the kind of city we would like to live in. The week-long festivities involve film, science, storytelling, performance art, architectural installations, walks, food, comedy and music. They aim to keep tickets affordable with the revenue providing funds for long-term neighbourhood projects. They’re looking for volunteers to help build and run the festival in the first two weeks of July. Fill out this form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EcNror6ObZI9Zi4Uk0DrrK8bnz6lHCvpW5tmgjfcoPM/viewform ) or email avni@shufflefestival.co.uk for further information.

4.Befriending Team Volunteer

Where: GoodGym, Somerset House
When: Ongoing from June
Category: Admin, Running, Befriending
Commitment Level: Regular Commitment

GoodGym are looking for a volunteer to come and help them coordinate their befriending teams, who combine exercise with befriending of older people. This is a great opportunity to gain some experience with a growing and exciting organisation on a voluntary basis. Apply via Charityjob here.

5.Summer Fair Stewards

Where: Vauxhall Park, SW8 1PU
When: 26th June
Category: Community, Festival, Stewarding
Commitment Level: Ad Hoc

Friends of Vauxhall Park are lokoing for people to help at their Summer Fiar on the 26th June. They need help putting up gazebos, notices etc from 10am on the morning of the fair and then to do general stewarding duties during the fair itself (1.30-5pm). To find out more, click here.

Jasmine Morris on Volunteering with GoodGym

“Running’s pointless. All you do is start at one point and run in a big circle until you are back where you began.”

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this, most of the time given as an excuse from people who don’t want to run and see no value in it. And I must admit at times I feel the same which is why GoodGym is a great incentive!

In short, GoodGym takes groups of people who want to run and gathers them all in one place on a weekly basis.From that meeting place everyone runs together to a local community organisation or project which needs volunteers for a short amount of time.

The runners run in, get the job done and then run away again, back to where they started.

I have been going to GoodGym (almost) every week since Christmas and the range of activities and community organisations I have gotten to know over that time has been fantastic – one week I could be turning compost on Stepney City Farm to painting the inside of a local Church. I must admit there has been A LOT of poo shovelling and compost turning and although it is smelly work it is something I wouldn’t have a chance to experience if I was running for hours on a treadmill staring at a wall in my local gym.

But GoodGym is even more than this; they also match runners up to local older people who could do with a bit of company. The idea is that you run to your GoodGym coach (older person) have a chat and run away again. Seeing my GoodGym coach, Veronica, is always the highlight of my week. She gets me out there for a run even when it is the last thing I want to do because I know that she is waiting to see me. We get the chance to chat about everything from how gorgeous George Clooney is to the lack of local pubs and the subsequent breakdown of community!

So, there you have it, running doesn’t have to be pointless!

If you would like to come along to a GoodGym run just drop in to any session, they run from different areas on different nights – Monday = Tower Hamlets, Tuesday = Hackney and Wednesday = Camden.

– Jasmine Morris