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Volunteer this Christmas

Last year’s Caring at Christmas was a great success, but it wouldn’t have happened without our amazing volunteers. We’re now recruiting for Caring at Christmas 2023. If you haven’t volunteered with us before, and would like to, register with our Volunteers’ Portal at Better Impact to start your journey. There’s also a quick PDF guide to using Better Impact you can download.

Click here to register

Download our Better Impact Volunteer Guide

Here are a few frequently asked questions answered:

What is Caring at Christmas?

It’s a pop-up day centre based at the Trinity Centre for people experiencing homelessness and in precarious housing situations – for example, people having to sleep rough, people currently living in hostels and temporary accommodation.

What happens and when?

From Christmas Eve, through to December 30th (daytime) we provide a warm and friendly environment, with breakfast, dinner, and resources including access to support and healthcare, a cinema, activities, and opportunities to socialise.

How do volunteers help?

Volunteers are involved in all aspects of making Caring at Christmas happen – it’s the biggest project of its kind in the Southwest. They support the preparations, delivery, and pack up of the project. Volunteers help with:

  • Logistics – driving our van to collect, transfer or deliver supplies, before, during and after the project is open to guests.
  • Organising – ensuring donations of clothes, food etc. are ready for use. Packing of hampers.
  • Set up – Getting the space at Trinity decorated and ready to receive guests
  • Catering – supporting work in our busy kitchens and café area, on and offsite – both preparing and serving food and refreshments.
  • Guest services – welcoming guests, chatting with them, playing games and other activities, and responding to their enquiries – ensuring they have a positive experience.
  • Onsite facilities – Helping guests access the pantry and clothes stores, supporting them to access haircuts, medical services and other resources and activities.
  • Pack up – helping the project pack down, get out of Trinity quickly and efficiently, and ensure our stocks and storage facilities are in order.

This isn’t an exhaustive list. Shift types will be explained when they are released for booking on our Better Impact portal.

Click here to register on our Volunteer Portal

Download our Better Impact Volunteer Guide

Most of all, our volunteers have the satisfaction of knowing that they are supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Bristol and making a difference to their lives at a difficult time of year. It’s a great way to give something back, work with others, and do something different at Christmas.

Want to discover more?

For more background on the this project, you can download our 2022 Impact Report to find out how Caring in Bristol, our volunteers, and our partners and supporters made a real difference to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness during last year’s Christmas.

Find out what motivated James and Abby to spend their Christmas volunteering with our Caring at Christmas project.

Volunteers in various roles at Christmas

Homeless & Need Help?