What are London’s Lifelines?
London’s Lifelines are ordinary Londoners doing extraordinary things that keep our city going.
They are London’s volunteers, good neighbours and kind strangers. Their community spirit, generosity and acts of kindness power our capital.
The London’s Lifelines Film!
Over the last few months, we’ve spoken to many of London’s Lifelines.
With their help, we’ve created this short film to tell their stories and showcase the power of volunteering in London. Check it out below!
Spontaneous volunteers
Understanding spontaneous volunteers
Following commissioned research into volunteer contributions during the 2022 Wennington fire, one key recommendation was to better understand the role and value of spontaneous volunteering in emergencies.
This review brings together existing evidence on spontaneous volunteers – people who step in to help outside formal response structures – examining the roles they play, the challenges their involvement can present, and the guidance and models available to support their safe and effective engagement. It also highlights key gaps in evidence and practice, pointing to areas for further research to strengthen community-led emergency responses.
Home Office consultation response
Home Office consultation response
The Home Office recently launched a consultation proposing ‘earned settlement‘ as part of immigration reform; one of the proposals in this consultation includes volunteering as a means of earning faster settled status.
In response to the consultation, London Plus has been working with the London Volunteer Centre Network to collate insights and views and produce a joint response.
The response aims to supplement (rather than replace) Volunteer Centres’ individual responses, it offers collective insights and recognises that this is a group with significant expertise and experience in volunteering. This experience includes projects working with migrants, and projects that support and enable asylum-seekers to volunteer.
The network feels very strongly that volunteering must remain voluntary and should always be a choice. Concerns were raised about the increased demands on organisations and volunteering infrastructure, and the additional workload and costs this may create without the resources to support delivery. The sector’s expertise highlights that proposals of this nature risk discriminating against those who are unable to volunteer, and potentially excluding groups who would otherwise contribute meaningfully to their communities.
The response has been submitted to the Home Office and we have offered to support and facilitate further dialogue with the London Volunteer Centre Network in relation to any future proposals related to volunteering.
International Volunteers’ Day 2025
International Volunteers' Day 2025
On International Volunteers Day, we celebrate the incredible Londoners who give their time, energy, and skills to help others. Volunteering embodies the very spirit of London and its diversity, compassion and resilience.
2025 has been an extraordinary year for community action with volunteers playing an essential role, making London a kinder, more connected place where people embody local connection and solidarity, where everyone is loved and wanted.
Watch the video message from Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice:
International Volunteers’ Day 2025
Ready to volunteer? Register now and be part of something bigger:
How to volunteer in London – London’s Lifelines
Together, we can build a London that works for everyone.
Trustee Finance Toolkit
Trustee Finance Toolkit
This week (3-7 November) is Trustees’ Week, a time to celebrate and support the vital contribution trustees make to charities.
Understanding your charity’s finances is a key part of good governance. Yet, it’s also an area where many trustees feel less confident. The Trustee Finance Toolkit brings together practical tools, guidance, and resources to help you build confidence and ensure your board has a clear picture of your charity’s financial position.
Explore the toolkit to find tips, templates, and support to help your charity plan and manage its finances effectively.
Winter volunteering 2025
Winter volunteering 2025/26
Looking to do some winter volunteering? This time of year can be a time for reflection, often making us feel thankful for what we’ve got and that we should give something back. It can be a tough time for many, so there are lots of ways for you to help others this winter.
Regular volunteers are often busy or away over the festive period, so organisations may need more help than usual, or they may be looking for temporary support for the additional services they’re offering over the winter period.
Check out some of our winter volunteering suggestions below! And for even more opportunities in your local area, check out your local volunteer centre.
Winter night shelters and homelessness organisations
Crisis
Crisis works at Christmas and all year round to help people experiencing homelessness find their own stable home, as well as access education and training. Every Christmas, local volunteers come together to provide warmth, companionship and vital services to people experiencing homelessness at one of the toughest times of the year. Volunteering opportunities in London normally take place over multiple days and are based in community venues and hotels.
Volunteer for Crisis at Christmas – Find opportunities near you
St Mungo’s
For the past 55 years, St Mungo’s has been on the ground every day and every night, supporting people to recover from homelessness and advocating for change. St Mungo’s has grown into one of the country’s leading homelessness charities, supporting tens of thousands of people a year.
The Whitechapel Mission
The Whitechapel Mission will be open this Christmas, and throughout the winter, to ensure that everybody in need of hot food, showers, clothing, advice and safety will have somewhere to go.
Housing Justice
Citadel London from Housing Justice is a new community support service designed to help end homelessness and make a real difference to the lives of those who need it most. Housing Justice are currently recruiting volunteers and sponsors across London and are reaching out to community groups with a similar passion for social equality.
Croydon Together Winter Night Shelter
Shelter will be offered in a local church in West/Central Croydon from January to April 2026 every night. Volunteers are needed! If you are interested in volunteering, there will be a range of induction/training sessions by Housing Justice with the next one being Saturday 20/12, at the CVA Resource Centre on London Road. Book a place.
Ace of Clubs Day Centre, Clapham SW4
Ace of Clubs is a family-like community providing transformative support for homeless, vulnerable and otherwise marginalised people in our area. At their centre in SW4, they provide for the immediate needs of those in desperate circumstances with safety, food, warmth, clothing, laundry and showers.
Volunteers would need to commit to at least one day per week (Monday to Friday) from 09:30am to 15:00pm, for a minimum of three months. Volunteers don’t have to commit to the same day each week.
The Passage, Victoria
The Passage runs one of the largest Resource Centres for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness in London, offering a wide range of services that help to prevent and end homelessness for good.
Glass Door
Glass Door Homeless Charity could not operate their winter night shelters without the dedication of their night shelter volunteer teams who prepare and serve guests a healthy home-cooked meal, as well as making them feel welcome and safe. Volunteers also support Glass Door’s women’s group, partner drop-in centres and office, deliver donations, and help with translating. There may be opportunities for women to join their women’s night shelter volunteer teams; complete the form online and they’ll be in touch if an opportunity matches your availability.
Robes
Robes offers amongst its services a rotating Winter Night Shelter in conjunction with churches in Southwark and Lambeth and with their amazing volunteers.
Established in 2007, Robes provides a volunteer-led Winter Night Shelter for those in need, providing safety, a warm bed, somewhere to sleep, and a community to connect to.
Robes is looking for volunteers this winter. There are numerous locations and a variety of volunteer roles and activities, including hosting, cooking, driving, shop, and helping with overnight shifts.
For example, at St. John’s Church, Waterloo they are looking for individual or small groups of volunteers for Monday evenings / Mondays overnight / Tuesday early mornings at from 5 Jan to 23 March 2026. Anyone interested in this opportunity can get in touch with volunteering@coinstreet.org for an initial chat and signposting to the relevant co-ordinator.
For other Robes winter volunteering opportunities and any further information please contact project.officer@robes.org.uk or check out www.robes.org.uk.
Other winter night shelters:
There are plenty more winter night shelters across London. Why not Google ‘Local winter night shelter near me’ and contact your nearest one to see if it needs volunteers this year?
More ideas, from the Big Issue: Volunteering on Christmas Day: How you can get involved – Big Issue
Keeping warm
WrapUp London
WrapUp London is collecting donated coats again this winter. They are looking for individual and family volunteers to help sort the coats into sizes, genders, and styles. Sorting sessions will continue until mid-December. If you’d like to get involved, please email wulvolunteers@handsonlondon.org.uk. You can find out more here, including where you can donate coats and how to get coats for beneficiaries.
Festive food aid and Christmas dinners
The Christmas Dinners
The Christmas Dinners are looking for volunteers interested in hosting care leavers in need on Christmas day, decorating and supporting with social media.
Community of Saint'Egidio
The Community of Sant’Egidio in London is a charity dedicated to sharing food and friendship with older people, those living on the streets, and anyone who is struggling in our city. Throughout the year, they run regular services from the London Jesuit Centre in Mayfair and St. Cuthbert’s Church in Earl’s Court.
Every Christmas Eve, they host a free Christmas dinner, offering a home-cooked three-course meal, gifts, and friendly company to over 200 guests – people who are homeless or elderly. Volunteers are welcome to join us not only on the day, but also in the days leading up to it as they prepare.
The Food Chain
The Food Chain to ensure people living with HIV in London can access the nutrition they need to get well, stay well and lead healthy, independent lives. They deliver meals and groceries, offer cookery and nutrition education and communal eating opportunities to people living with HIV in London and their dependents. They are based on Caledonian Road, and run their twice-weekly meal service in Stepney Green. There are regular volunteering opportunities as well as volunteers often needed for deliveries over the festive period, including Christmas Day.
Basket Brigade London
Basket Brigade UK is a charitable organisation that delivers baskets of food, love and hope on December 23rd in London every year to those who could really do with a helping hand at Christmas.
Hundreds and hundreds of people (600-800) come together for one day in London and help create between 1000 -1500 baskets of food which they later deliver to those in need. It’s a hard working but fun day and it is so rewarding to those who volunteer.
The Salvation Army
With the help of its valued volunteers, the Salvation Army spreads joy, love and hope to communities. For festive volunteering they encourage prospective volunteers to enquire in good time, so they can plan to accommodate everyone in roles that will have the greatest impact. Activities for volunteers around the festive period might include helping to prepare and distribute meals to those in need, helping to wrap and deliver Christmas gifts to children & families, and supporting at various festive events.
Christmas at Jacksons Lane
Volunteer at Jacksons Lane this Christmas!
For over 50 years, Jacksons Lane Art Centre in Haringey has opened its doors to isolated and vulnerable older adults in the local community who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day.
This year, their staff and volunteers will be delivering Christmas hampers and gifts to 200 isolated adults living in Haringey. For Jacksons Lane in-person event, they will welcome 100 guests to a Christmas Day lunch full of festive joy, food and entertainment.
There is a range of different volunteering roles available both in the run up to the event, and on Christmas Day itself: present wrappers, cooks, bakers, decorators, table hosts and more! Particularly welcomed are applications from drivers to help deliver hampers and transport vulnerable guests to and from Jacksons Lane on Christmas Day.
If you would like to volunteer at Jacksons Lane this Christmas, click apply to complete an online registration form.
To find out more, visit Jacksons Lane website or email christmas@jacksonslane.org.uk
More food aid volunteering ideas
Check out our food aid volunteering page for more. Many of the organisations mentioned there will likely need extra help during the busy festive period! Over Christmas, there can be a lot of surplus food donated from individuals and businesses, but fewer volunteers around to be able to process, prepare and distribute it.
Combatting loneliness
Re-Engage
Re-Engage have in previous years looked for extra volunteers to spend some time over winter to help with befriending calls. This is a flexible and home-based volunteering, where you make calls to the same older person over December. If you’re a good listener and able to make people feel at ease, this could be the role for you. Training and support will be given, and you can decide the best time for you to make calls.
Winter sporting events
Cancer Research Winter Run
Cancer Research are now looking for volunteers for their Winter Run event (Sun 15 Feb 2026). They’re looking for enthusiastic, proactive and practical volunteers to fulfil a variety of roles across the event. Whatever your role on the day, you’ll be making a vital contribution to the success of this fantastic event.
Feeling inspired?
These are just a handful of ideas; there will be hundreds more projects and activities going on this winter in London’s communities.
Share your festive volunteering story and inspire others!
We’d love to hear the stories of those volunteers who have helped over the festive period before. Film a quick video message, dig out a picture and share them with us here.
Are you looking for winter volunteers?
If we can help share details of your winter volunteering opportunities, please get in touch hello@londonslifelines.org.
MCW 2025 roundup
Mayor's Community Weekend 2025 roundup
Thousands attended the Mayor’s Community Weekend events!
The Mayor’s Community Weekend 2025 is a partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund and took place between 12th-14th September 2025 across every borough in London.
There were over 220 events bringing local communities together celebrating unity, diversity and culture across the city. Hundreds of volunteers including the Mayor’s Team London Ambassadors supported the delivery of a fun -filled and action-packed weekend. Along with other Deputy Mayors, Assembly Members and local MPs, Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice visited 6 of the events over the weekend and was truly inspired to see communities working together and the joyful celebrations.
Look out for the Mayor’s Community Weekend 2025 video and more volunteer stories, here on London’s Lifelines.
Share your story
We want to celebrate and to tell the story of all of London’s lifelines; from those who literally save lives to those who are lifesavers in countless other ways.
Find out how to share your story.
Partner Hub
We want it to make it as easy as possible for partners to promote volunteering with London’s Lifelines. That’s why we’ve created a Partner Hub full of useful resources!