NEWCASTLE
Below you will find lots of opportunities organized by our volunteer partner, OnHand.
Click the relevant links below to either sign up to opportunities directly or
sign up via the OnHand app where you can collect points, help to plant trees and easily track your time!
Cards for Bravery
Where: In Office
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 2 hour session
Participants: unlimited participants
About the charity:
Cards for Bravery is a charity dedicated to brightening the days of hospitalised and seriously ill children mainly through the distribution of handmade cards. This makes a huge difference to these children through their most tough and isolating times.
Volunteering activity:
Bring your team together for a creative, hands-on session making cards for seriously ill children. Hosted in the office with all materials provided, volunteers craft heartfelt cards that are sent to Cards for Bravery, spreading joy and support to hospitals across the UK while making a meaningful, positive impact.
Litter Pick
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 3 hour session
Participants: 2-15 participants
Volunteering activity:
Step out of the office and get the team together to clean up your local community. From parks to streets, volunteers tackle litter, supported by OnHand with equipment and route guidance. A hands-on, practical way to improve public spaces while bonding and making a visible, positive impact.
Newcastle Food Bank
Days: Thursday
Times: 9.30 am - 3.30 pm
Participants: 4-8 participants
About the charity:
Our Foodbank opened in March 2013 providing emergency food parcels to people in the West of Newcastle, since then demand for our services has grown and we now operate seven distribution hubs across the City region.
Since opening, we’ve seen a continued rise in demand for our services, and in 2023-2024 we issued over 25,500 food parcels to people in need across the City.
Volunteering activity:
We partner with businesses to support vital community work. Corporate teams help at our warehouse each week, preparing food parcels for distribution across the city. Volunteering provides a hands-on way to make a real difference, using your team’s time and skills to positively impact the lives of people in need.
Newcastle’s Dog & Cat Centre
Where: Benton North Farm, Benton Lane, Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8EH
Days: Wednesday & Friday
Times: 10 am - 4 pm
Participants: 10-20 participants
About the charity:
Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter helps animals that are lost, unwanted, neglected, abused and abandoned. We reunite lost animals with their owners and find loving new homes for those no longer wanted.
Volunteering Activity:
Volunteers have recently rolled up their sleeves for a variety of hands-on tasks, including gardening, painting, moving muck heaps, digging trenches, and pointing buildings. They’ve also helped create space for an on-site charity shop—a practical, rewarding way to support the site while learning new skills and making a tangible impact.
Ouseburn Trust
Where: Ouseburn Valley, 51 Lime St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2PQ
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 10 am - 1 pm, 1 - 4 pm, 10 am - 3 pm
Participants: 5-15 participants
About the charity:
An independent development trust working for a vibrant, diverse and sustainable future for the Ouseburn Valley.
Volunteering Activity:
Get involved in practical environmental improvements, from keeping footpaths and steps clear to managing scrub and woodland. Volunteers also help with gardening and litter-picking, contributing to the upkeep and care of green spaces. A hands-on way to support nature, enhance the environment, and make a visible, positive difference.
Smart Works Newcastle
Where: 3rd Floor, Hadrian House, Higham Place, NE1 8AF
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 10 am - 2 pm
Participants: 5-12 participants
About the charity:
We help unemployed women to get the coaching, clothing and confidence they need to secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives.
Volunteering Activity:
Volunteers experience a full service tour, take part in a dressing challenge, and support key activities like stock sorting, steaming, and other tasks linked to service delivery and fundraising. A practical, engaging way to understand the organisation, contribute hands-on, and help make a real difference in day-to-day operations.
St Vincent’s Newcastle
Where: St. Vincent, New Bridge St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2TQ
Days: Tuesday & Thursday
Times: 10 am - 1.30 pm, 11.30 - 3.30 pm
Participants: 2-6 participants
About the charity:
St Vincent's Newcastle is a community centre and venue run by the St Vincent de Paul Society for the people of Newcastle. There is a Vinnies' lunch drop-in every Tuesday between 11am - 1pm, providing a warm and nutritious 3-course meal and table service to all that attend. We also run a series of free-for-all wellbeing activities, every day of the week and a cost of living market every Thursday 12.30-3.30 offering low cost groceries, clothing and household goods.
Volunteering Activity:
Activities vary daily, offering hands-on ways to support the community. Volunteers may serve food and take orders at free meal services, prepare food or clothing parcels, help with our weekly cost-of-living market, or work in the sorting room and community pantry—practical tasks that make a real difference every day.
The Bay Food Bank
Where: The Bay Foodbank, Meadow Well Way, North Shields, NE29 6BA
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 9.30 am - 3.30 pm
Participants: 1-4 participants
About the charity:
The Bay Foodbank is one of the largest independent foodbanks in the country and the only foodbank serving the entirety of North Tyneside.
We provide emergency parcels to those experiencing crisis in North Tyneside. A typical day will see us providing 40-45 emergency parcels, directly supporting more than 90 people.
Alongside this we support a range of school breakfast clubs and run a food waste diversion programme via which we help a significant number of people.
Volunteering Activity:
Our warehouse welcomes corporate volunteers, but space is limited to four people at a time to ensure ongoing operations and weekly volunteer activities can continue smoothly. Teams get a hands-on experience supporting essential tasks while respecting the working environment, contributing safely and effectively to the warehouse’s year-round work.
The People’s Kitchen
Where: Alison Centre, 56 Bath Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5SQ
Days: Monday - Friday
Times: 11 am - 4.30 pm
Participants: 2-6 participants
About the charity:
The People’s Kitchen is a safe haven for our Friends; the vulnerable people of Newcastle. We support homeless and vulnerable people and help fight hunger and loneliness for locals in need. They might be at risk of homelessness, unemployed, lonely or living in poverty. For people who experience these difficulties, we are a light in the dark.
Volunteering Activity:
A Team Leader will welcome your group, provide health and safety guidance, and show you around. Volunteers take part in a variety of hands-on tasks—from food prep, cleaning, and sorting donations to stocking, administrative support, and helping with deliveries. Every day brings new, practical ways to contribute and learn.
Walker & District Food Bank
Where: City of God Christian Centre, 25 Church Walk, Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 3DP
Days: Wednesday
Times: 10 am - 3 pm
Participants: 4-20 participants
About the charity:
We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.
Volunteering Activity:
Our team can lend a hand at the food bank by getting stuck in with painting, packing food parcels, and organising the warehouse to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.
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encourage your colleagues to take park!
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Any questions?
Or if you’ve already organised a volunteering event and want it featured here please reach out to OnHand
Contact: helllo@beonhand.co.uk