Volunteering is a rewarding way to spend your time and makes a genuine difference to both local communities and people’s lives. It also enables you to gain new skills and experiences.

Trafford has a huge range of volunteering opportunities available, whether you would like to run a film club, fundraise for community projects or work with young people there is a volunteering opportunity for you.

Trafford Council works in Partnership with Third Sector Trafford in order to provide support to volunteers and organisations that benefit from volunteers. If you would like more information on how to become a volunteer or to request volunteers for your organisation please visit www.3rdsectortrafford.org.uk or telephone Stuart Webster on 07866 377 035.

Click on the thumbnails below to see some of our volunteers in action:

Employee volunteering has many benefits including increasing staff retention and motivation whilst creating a positive relationship with local communities. If you are a business based in Trafford there are a huge amount of ways in which you can support the local community whilst developing your staff’s skills.

The Trafford Pledge was signed in 2012 to link organisations to the communities in which they are based and provide support for those that take part. The amount of time or people you can volunteer will of course depend on your organisation’s size and we will work with you to find the best way for your business to get involved.

Businesses that have signed up to the pledge:

• Trafford Housing Trust
• Veolia
• Manchester United Foundation
• The Trafford Centre
• Manchester Evening News
• Kinetic
• Big Life
• Balfour Beatty
• Ainscough Trust

Where do you volunteer?

I volunteer at the Trafford Active Citizens team, which is a voluntary service that supports vulnerable and isolated adults in Trafford. My role is to drive clients to visit their relatives which prevents them from becoming lonely.

What interested you about volunteering?

I enjoy meeting different people from all walks of life and interacting with the clients and customers. It’s also been really rewarding to contribute to the local community.

What would you say to other people who want to get involved in volunteering?

Helping people is really satisfying and I think it’s great that you can volunteer around your personal interests too. If you want to make a difference then you should get involved!