One of the Five Ways to Wellbeing is to Give. One of the most rewarding ways to give is to give your time through volunteering.
 

Volunteering is linked to better physical, mental, and emotional health. It can help reduce stress, boost confidence, and reduce feelings of loneliness. So not only does volunteering help others, it benefits you too.
 

For His Majesty The King’s Coronation, King Charles III is shining a light on volunteering and the good work that we can all do when we volunteer. The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May is the national day of volunteering and organisations across the county are encouraging people to help out in their local communities to mark the occasion.
 

The great thing about volunteering is there’s something for everyone, whether if you can only spare an hour, or you want to volunteer for the whole day.
 

Volunteer Centre Dorset are asking people to make a pledge to volunteer throughout the year and participate in a Big Help Out activity or event on the 8th May. To find out what’s on in Dorset, visit volunteeringdorset.org.uk/the-big-help-out.
 

If you want to make volunteering a regular routine, here are a few opportunities across Dorset:

Volunteer in nature
 

Bournemouth’s Parks in Mind project provides volunteering opportunities to enhance your own wellbeing while making improvements to local parks and green spaces. The volunteering activities are suitable for anyone looking to improve their health, meet new people and learn new skills. Find out more about Bournemouth Parks in Mind on their website.
 

Dorset Mind’s Eco-in-mind project provides opportunities to spend time outdoors growing and looking after food and flowers at allotment plots. If you want to connect more with nature and other people, this eco-therapy project might be the one for you. For more information about Eco-in-mind, visit Dorset Mind’s website.
 

Dorset Wildlife Trust provides a variety of different volunteering opportunities – from maintaining nature reserves, working in visitor centres, to carrying out wildlife surveys. These opportunities can help you get out in the fresh air, learn about wildlife, and make a difference to wildlife. To see their current volunteering opportunities, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-do/volunteering.

Volunteer for health and wellbeing
 

Dorset Council’s Health and Activity team provides physical activities to help residents in Dorset get active. Volunteers lead some of the programme activities. Some of the roles include accessible cycling, health walks leader, health cycle leader and active buddies. To find out more and to get in contact with the team, visit Health and activity - Dorset Council.
 

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council provide health walks too. If you would like to volunteer and become a walk leader, you can find how to get involved on the BCP Council website.
 

Dorset Mind has a variety of volunteering opportunities, all of which focus on mental health and raising awareness of Dorset Mind’s mission. See Dorset Mind’s current volunteering vacancies.

Volunteering for young people
 

For young people, volunteering can help them meet new people, gain skills, gain confidence and self-esteem and improve job prospects. If you have a young person who is interested in volunteering, you can find opportunities on the Dorset Council website.

If you live in the BCP Council area, you can find many volunteering opportunities here Volunteering (bcpcouncil.gov.uk).
 

Community Action Network is the hub to find volunteering opportunities in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Anyone aged over 16 who wants to help people in their local community, can visit the CAN website to register an interest in volunteering.

For more volunteering opportunities in Dorset, visit Help and Kindness.
 

Help others and do something amazing. Volunteer and feel the benefits for your own wellbeing too!