Ways to participate and volunteer for Mind
Our volunteers play a huge part in everything we do. We couldn't lead the fight for mental health without our volunteers.
Volunteering for Mind can be an incredibly rewarding and valuable experience. Check out all the ways you can get involved below. You can also sign up to our lived experience newsletter, and get all our opportunities straight to your inbox.
Volunteer at a shop
Meet lots of people and gain new skills as a volunteer in a Mind shop. There are more than 100 shops to choose from, so find your nearest shop and make a difference.
Volunteer as a company
Looking to get your organisation involved with Mind? Staff can volunteer individually, or take part in a fundraising partnership. Inspire your employees and get started today!
Cheer at an event
Help us cheer on our fantastic runners, walkers and cyclists. We have lots of events across the country that you can take part in, so choose yours and join the fun.
Join the Youth Voice Network
Our Youth Voice Network is here to lift the voices of young people. We’ll give you a say on things we’re working on. We’ll also listen to what you think we should be doing too.
Help us write our information
We write our information with the support of people with real-life experiences of mental health problems. See how you could use your experiences to shape our work.
Tell your story to the media
Journalists are often looking to speak to people with experience of mental health problems. Sharing your story could help us to raise awareness and tackle stigma.
Share your story with others
Telling your story can help us to challenge the status quo and change attitudes about mental health. You could write a blog or film a vlog.
Join us at Mind HQ
You could give your time in a local Mind, volunteer at our head offices in London or Cardiff, or help out from home. Find a role which works for you.
Sign up for our emails
We send out emails to tell you about the most important things going on at Mind. Sign up to see if we've got something that's right for you.
Volunteering FAQs
Thousands of people volunteer for Mind every day. We couldn't do it without them. Also, there are many reasons to become a Mind charity volunteer:
- Volunteers tell us they enjoy supporting our charity
- We offer opportunities to make a real difference to people’s lives
- You have the chance to gain new skills or improve existing ones
- You can meet new people and gain confidence
- Volunteering can also be a great addition to your CV
Anyone can become a Mind charity volunteer and we appreciate the help we get from supporters. We always have opportunities coming up so keep checking back on this page if there isn't anything for you right now.
We advertise all our volunteering opportunities on this page. If there's nothing for you right now, why not sign up to our lived experience newsletter? Then you'll get all our opportunities, straight to your inbox.
Each Mind volunteer role is different. So we'll usually say how much time you'll need to give in the opportunity description. We have lots of different options depending on how much time you have – whether it's one-off, short-term, or a longer commitment.
Every opportunity is different, so the skills you'll need are different. For many roles, you don't need a specific set of skills – enthusiasm and commitment are the most important thing! If an opportunity does need certain skills, we'll outline what they are in the opportunity description.
Local Minds offer mental health services in communities across England and Wales. Local Minds are separate to national Mind – they're independent charities, so they're responsible for their own funding. They do this through donations, grants and income from services.
Most opportunities will involve an informal chat so you can learn more about Mind and what the opportunity involves. The recruitment process depends on the type of volunteering role it is.
No. Volunteering does not affect the benefits payments you receive. But you should tell your benefits advisor when you start volunteering.
We give any training or inductions you'd need to carry out your Mind volunteer role. The training you get will be different depending on what volunteering role you're doing.
We'll make sure you have all the information and support you need to volunteer. You'll also have a main point of contact from Mind so you'll always have someone to go to if you have questions.
Yes! We want all our volunteers to have a worthwhile and positive experience. We always welcome feedback on how we could make our volunteering better.
As a charity, we depend on our volunteers. Mind has a policy that means we never use volunteer roles in place of paying roles. We usually recruit volunteers on a time-limited basis to work on specific projects.
Mind firmly believes that a volunteer is:
- Someone who is unpaid
- Someone who chooses to give up their own time to support Mind
At national Mind, we don't offer work experience or internships, but we have a range of volunteering opportunities. You could also contact a local Mind to see if they have anything you'd like to get involved in.
We can't organise staff volunteering for companies where we don’t have an existing corporate partnership.
As part of our safeguarding policies, we ask you to tell us if you have any convictions that are unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
As part of our equal opportunities policy, we aim to ensure we don’t discriminate against ex-offenders. Some posts in Mind are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. They are exempt because they involve vulnerable adults or young people. These roles need a DBS check.
By using the DBS to assess volunteers, we fully comply with the DBS Code of Practice. We're committed to treating all applicants equally. We undertake not to discriminate unfairly against the subject of a positive disclosure.
Please let us know if you'd like to see a copy of Mind’s Guidance on Disclosure and Barring Service. And if you have any other questions, email [email protected]
