Volunteer
Our volunteers help us to provide food and practical support to people left without enough money to live on.
On this page:
Volunteers make a difference in the local community across a range of roles, including boosting donations, packing food parcels, providing a warm welcome, tackling loneliness, signposting to additional services, connecting with partners, raising awareness and leading projects.
How to volunteer
If you’re interested in volunteering at our foodbank, please click on the link below to view current volunteering opportunities with Cirencester Foodbank and other local Foodbanks:
We have a number of specific volunteering roles. However, if you think you have a skill, interest or knowledge base that could support the charity beyond this posts, we'd love to hear from you!
Volunteer roles
There’s a range of ways you can volunteer at our foodbank, and we currently have vacancies for:
- Trustees
- Signposters (Support and Resilience Building)
- Fundraising
- Website Administrator
- Secretary to the board
Please note, if you are interested in volunteering in our warehouse or centres, we currently have a waiting list for these roles. If you would like us to add you to the waiting list please complete an application form and we will contact you when opportunity arises.
Trustees
Be at the heart of our ambitious mission to end local hunger. You’ll use your skills to shape strategy, champion your community, and help people in crisis—all while developing your leadership and charity experience in a supportive team.
Follow the link below to find more information and our trustee application pack
Signposting volunteer
Role Overview:
Our vision is for a future where no-one needs to use a foodbank, and our signposters are essential to making this vision a reality by helping people using the foodbank find support and build resilience for the future.
As a member of our signposting team, you’ll play an important role in taking the time to listen to people in crisis, understanding what’s driving their poverty and identifying agencies they can be referred to for specific help.
You’ll enjoy being alongside an enthusiastic team of volunteers. Using your empathy, confidentiality and motivation to support others you will truly make a difference and help to change lives.
Time commitment: We are looking for a volunteer who can offer between 4 - 8 hours per week
Location: Cirencester & Tetbury with some home working
Additional requirements: You must be at least 18 years of age
Fundraising Team Volunteer
Role Overview:
We’re looking for someone who is caring, proactive and passionate about strengthening their community.
If you enjoy connecting with people , organising activities or getting creative with ideas , your support could make a real difference to local families.
Time commitment: We are looking for a volunteer who can offer support at least 2 events per year or those who can offer a couple of hours every week.
Location: Cirencester, Fairford and Tetbury area / Home working
Additional requirements: You must be at least 18 years of age
Website Administrator
Role Overview: The Website Administrator will manage and maintain the Cirencester Foodbank website, ensuring it is up-to-date, user-friendly, and effectively supports our mission to provide emergency food and support to local people in crisis.
Where you will be based
Community / Office / Home
What will you be doing:
- Content Management: Regularly update website content, including news, events, and resources.
- User Experience: Improve site navigation and usability to enhance visitor engagement.
- Analytics and Reporting: Monitor website traffic and provide regular reports on site performance.
The skills you need:
- Experience with website management
- Basic knowledge of HTML
- Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and teamwork abilities
- Passion for supporting community initiatives and helping those in need
What's in it for you
- having an enjoyable experience whilst volunteering with us
- providing an essential and much needed service at our food bank
- making a difference for people in the local community
- meeting new people and being part of a motivated team
- learning new skills and utilising your existing skills to make a difference
Time commitment: 1 to 3 hours weekly
When: Hours are flexible over the week
Social Media & Communications Volunteer
Where you will be based
Community / Office / Home
Why we want you
As a food bank we are part of a growing movement that is taking action to create a fair and compassionate society and deliver our vision for a UK without the need for food banks. Through our social media platforms, we are aiming to gain support for our activity as a food bank and raise awareness in our local community of the drivers pushing people into poverty in order to inspire local people to take action. We are looking for a Social Media and Communications volunteer to help oversee and drive this important activity forward and enable us to elevate the voice of food bank staff, volunteers, and those with first-hand experience of hardship.
What you will be doing
- support the food bank manager with the development and delivery of our social media and communications plan and policies
- create regular innovative, engaging, and relevant social media posts that reflect our campaigns, key activities, events, and requests for support
- create accessible, succinct articles to keep volunteers and supporters across the food bank up to date with activities and developments
- follow, reshare, and like posts from our key audiences, ensuring our accounts remain active
- research new social media platforms that we might use and keep up to date with current trends
- attend regular meetings with the food bank manager to plan our social media activity.
The skills you need
- experience and understanding in using social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X (privately or professionally)
- ability to think creatively to deliver engaging and authentic online content with accuracy and good attention to detail
- ability to provide information in plain English
- ability to operate in a professional manner when communicating online and maintain professional boundaries
- understand the need for confidentiality, safeguarding, and data protection and the ability to volunteer within our policies and guidelines
- ability to get on with others and be part of a team, as well as being motivated to complete tasks independently
- confident level of computer literacy and systems, for example Hootsuite.
What's in it for you
- having an enjoyable experience whilst volunteering with us
- providing an essential and much needed service at our food bank
- making a difference for people in the local community
- meeting new people and being part of a motivated team
- learning new skills and utilising your existing skills to make a difference
Time commitment: 3 to 5 hours weekly
When: Hours are flexible over the week
Secretary to the Board
Role Overview: The Website Administrator will manage and maintain the Cirencester Foodbank website, ensuring it is up-to-date, user-friendly, and effectively supports our mission to provide emergency food and support to local people in crisis.
Key Responsibilities:
- To ensure that there is a record of all Trustee Board correspondence
- To ensure that arrangements for Trustee meetings are communicated to the rest of the board, including when and where, inviting trustees to send agenda items and board papers and providing to the board with previous meeting minutes in good time prior to the meeting.
- To ensure decisions and policy creation/adaption are clearly recorded in formal minutes, with who will do what and when as agreed by the Trustee board.
- Ensure formal minutes are taken, produced and distributed to the rest of the trustees in good time, as well as ensuring previous meeting minutes are filed once approved by the trustee board.
- To check that actions have been taken following decisions at previous meetings.
- To ensure the trustee board meets its legal obligations, including reporting, meeting charity and company law, as well as insurance requirements.
- To ensure that the annual report (to go alongside annual accounts) is produced and sent to the Charity Commission of England & Wales.
- (optional, depending on availability of applicant) to ensure a record is kept of the trustee aways days and follow up on actions arising.
When:
Approximately 4 board meetings per year (Mar, Jun, Sep and Dec) and up to two trustee away day events per year (expected to be half day events held in working hours) (responsibilities for away days optional and subject to availability of applicant). Pre-meeting preparation and circulation of papers and post meeting circulation of minutes and post meeting actions follow up.
Time commitment:
Averages out at approximately 5 hours per board meeting (20 hours per year); an additional 10 hours if away days included.
To apply, please complete our application form and return it to us by email or post.