This week’s top five volunteering opportunities

1. General Youth Support – Spotlight
When: Ongoing, (football on Wednesday’s)    
Where: 30 Hay Currie Street, E14 6GN (next door to Langdon Park DLR station) 
Spotlight isn’t a youth club or a youth centre: it’s a multi-million pound creative youth space designed to inspire. Shaped by young people, for young people and its all free! It has state of the art studios, film, design and broadcast facilities with performance, dance, boxing, fashion spaces with a cafe, offices and meeting/one to one rooms. Spotlight are looking for general youth support volunteers who can support the Youth Work team and their partners with the overall running of sessions at Spotlight and maintaining a fun, welcoming, caring and safe environment. They are also looking for a volunteer who can play the guitar, there is no need to be an expert but must be enthusiastic and able to energise young people with their guitar playing. Spotlight also need some help with football coaching. Again, no need to be an expert but must enjoy fitness and playing football. Have a look under their volunteer page here.

2. Mayfair Power and Tower Race 
When: Friday 5th June 2015     
Where: London Hilton Park Lane and Hyde Park
Volunteers are needed to take part in a fun and exclusive event to help raise funds and awareness about Galvin’s Chance. Galvin’s Chance is an inspirational ‘into work’ programme leading to pre- employment hospitality training, a work placement, sustainable employment and college apprenticeship. Mayfair Power and Tower Race is a different kind of challenge, individual runners will circuit the 4.5 km around Hyde Park, through the underpass on Park Lane and entering into the reception of the iconic London Hilton on Park Lane then attempt to scale the dizzying 28 floors towards the VIP reception, where there will be a Champagne breakfast reception by Galvin at Windows. Volunteers are needed from 7am – 11am on Friday 5th June 2015 to help with marshalling the route, registering and celebrating the runners as they start and finish the challenge. The volunteers are welcome to join Galvin’s Chance for Champagne Breakfast after the event. Please look here to apply.

3. Volunteer focus group – Angel, Islington
When: Thursday 7th May     
Where: 407 St Johns Street
Cancer Research UK want to review how effective the current phrasing and presentation of their adverts are in recruiting young people to volunteer in their Cancer Research UK shops. They are looking for a group of Young Volunteers (aged 18 – 24) to help them with this project and make a difference. Volunteers will need to think independently about what motivates young people to volunteer and what they believe an advert should include to convey these points. The focus group will last two hours and will take place in the Cancer Research offices in Angel, Islington from 6pm – 8pm on the 7th May. Have a look here to apply.

4. Wellington Arch exhibition volunteer
When: April – October    
Where: Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, London W1J 7JZ
English Heritage are looking for volunteers to provide a warm and friendly welcome to their visitors in Wellington Arch’s exhibition space, the Quadriga Gallery. In 2015 the gallery hosts a special exhibition making the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and tells the story of the battle and its people, and explore the legacy of the conflict. The main focus of the role is to be the first point of contact for the visitors to the Quadriga Gallery. Volunteers will need to provide a brief orientation to the gallery, answer questions and share information to enhance their visit. The sessions are available everyday from April to October, 10am-2pm or 1pm-5pm. If you have a passion for culture and heritage and have a friendly, enthusiastic manner then take a look here to apply.

5. Spitalfields Festival Stewards 
When: 2nd – 16th June    
Where: Spitalfields, Brushfield Street, London, Tower Hamlets E1 6AA
Volunteer to be the public face of the Spitalfields Music Festival for the audience and participants by giving a morning, lunchtime, an afternoon or an evening to help make an event happen. As a festival steward, volunteers will be working as part of a passionate and motivated team to welcome, inform and look after the safety of the audiences and participants. It is an opportunity to meet new people, work in interesting venues and hear some fantastic music. A list of events can be found here and you can register to volunteer here.