Home-Start has 18,500 volunteers, working in 280 Home-Starts right across the UK.  Opportunities include becoming a home-visiting volunteer, working with family groups, becoming a volunteer trustee and helping as an office administrator or fundraising volunteer.

To find out about the volunteering opportunities near you, you should contact your local Home-Start using our online map.

Or, you can search for Home-Start on the volunteering website, Do-it.

Ways to volunteer:

Our volunteers come from all walks of life and generally help out in one of the following roles:

Home-visiting

Across the UK nearly 15,000 volunteers visit families at home each week offering support, friendship, emotional and practical help.

All of our home-visiting volunteers must:

• be a parent or have parenting experience
• commit to our training programme
• undergo an enhanced criminal records check

A home-visiting volunteer provides support for a family in the family’s own home, usually spending a couple of hours once a week with the parents and their children. Between them, the family and volunteer decide how the volunteer can help, whether that is with practical tasks, offering advice and sharing experiences, or supporting parents through emotional issues.

Trustees

Trustees serve on the governing body (board) of a charity and are responsible for directing the management and administration of the charity.

You would have a wide range of duties and be responsible for making the charity effective, providing overall direction and maintaining sound management of funds. We have more than 2,300 trustees who volunteer their time and skills for free. The skills you could provide include:

• general business management
• financial and legal expertise
• IT knowledge
• human resources experience
• PR & media skills
• knowledge of family support issues in the community

General volunteer support

Many local Home-Starts run additional services to support their work, such as play groups, toy libraries, organising social activities, helping with fundraising, etc. Roles and responsibilities will vary depending on the type of volunteering.