Joining our volunteer team

As a volunteer with Sue Ryder you’ll have the opportunity to feel connected, kickstart your career, share your skills and help your local community.

You can help support us as a:

• charity shop volunteer
• volunteer in one of our care centres
• fundraising volunteer.

It’s important to us that every volunteer feels valued and supported, so as part of our commitment to you we will:

• Make sure you have all the training you need for your role.
• Ensure you feel appreciated and respected .
• Give all prospective volunteers equal opportunities; celebrating diversity and inclusivity.
• Provide you with regular support in a way that suits you.
• Ask for your feedback and provide opportunities for you to help shape our future.
• Celebrate successes and recognise your contribution. 
• Resolve any concerns or complaints promptly and fairly.
• Ensure you have a clear idea of what your role involves.
• Match your skills and interests with roles that help the charity achieve its aims.
• Store your data safely and correctly .
• Take steps to make sure all our volunteers and patients are safe.

Volunteer with us.

Here are just a few of our proudest accomplishments of 2022/23:

• We are very grateful to have been supported by more than 11,200 volunteers this year, who have made an extraordinary impact across our charity.
• We gave more than 2,500 long service badges and certificates to volunteers for their contribution.
• As well as being rewarding, volunteering can open the door to new possibilities. 18% of our Retail job vacancies were filled by existing Volunteers.
• More than 1,500 people are members of our volunteer Facebook group, to stay connected with each other. The group’s membership grew by nearly 15% this year.
• Volunteers completed more than 2,000 training courses to develop their skills and make the most out of their time with us.
• We launched a new online hub for our volunteers in June 2022. This had a range of useful resources, including learning and development opportunities. Towards the end of the year, the hub’s homepage had received nearly 1,500 unique visits.
• More than 120 volunteers were nominated at our Sue Ryder Values in Practice (VIP) Awards, which celebrated staff and volunteer achievements.
• Our befriending services have nearly doubled. This includes the number of volunteer befrienders supporting patients by providing companionship, and the number of hours spent together.

At Sue Ryder, we are committed to driving equity for all of our colleagues across the charity, and we support our staff and volunteers from underrepresented and marginalised groups to thrive as valued members of our team.

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work is a powerful tool in creating a positive culture where people feel they can contribute, problem solve and apply a creative lens to their work. We welcome and encourage candidates from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

We will support you throughout the recruitment process with any adjustments where this is possible. Please email our Recruitment team at recruitment@sueryder.org or our Volunteering team at volunteering@sueryder.org if you require support.

If you would like to volunteer with us, please complete our volunteering quick apply form and we’ll be in touch to chat about the latest volunteer opportunities near you.

You can also search for volunteer roles near you on our volunteering portal.

If you would rather talk to us, you can call our Volunteer team on 0808 164 4572 or email volunteering@sueryder.org for further information and advice.