Volunteer with us
Women for Women International would like to thank all the amazing volunteers that have been part of the UK team. Our volunteering needs range from internships in the office to helping out at our events or supporting our work with your individual skills. Whether you are available for 3 months or for one afternoon, you can still volunteer to be part of the UK team. Natasha and Alex have both contributed to the work that we do here in the UK in really different ways. We want to thank them, and thank all of our volunteers for their skills, time, and dedication!
Natasha Baranowski, Global Campaign Coordinator
Working for Women for Women International has been an extremely rewarding experience. I started volunteering for the organisation last year when I worked as part of a small team to coordinate the Join me on the Bridge 2010 event in Edinburgh. We received helpful support from the London office and had a fantastic day with speeches from Shirley-Anne Somerville (an MSP), Angelina Mattijo-Bazugba (previously worked for UNIFEM in Southern Sudan) and Gerda Siann (Hon Consul for Rwanda to Scotland) as well as poetry, dance and drumming performances. It was an incredible experience to stand alongside these inspirational women, as well as thousands more in different events around the world, and to call for peace and equality for women in war-torn areas.
After this great introduction to Women for Women International I was sure that I wanted to continue being involved in the organisation’s work. I graduated in the summer of 2010 and was very happy to start a 7-month internship as the Global Campaign Coordinator of the Join me on the Bridge 2011 campaign. This role has been an amazing opportunity to gain insight into working as part of a global team towards a global campaign.
The independence and opportunity offered through this internship has been unlike any other I have experienced. It has been incredible to be actually project managing a campaign right from the beginning to the end, including setting out my own timetable, pulling together resources, helping form the campaign message and petition, conducting outreach, communicating with groups from Australia, to India, to Ghana, to Belgium, and to Brazil, travelling to Rwanda to help the Country Office staff coordinate their activities, and evaluating the campaign after the day. Being a relatively small team, there are also always ways that you can contribute to other departments and widen your experience further and your ideas are always welcome.
If you are looking for a challenge and the chance to gain real work experience where you are treated as a fully-fledged member of staff, I would definitely recommend this opportunity.
Alex Royall, Volunteer Event Photographer
I have offered my time and skills on several occasions and it has always felt worthwhile and been very rewarding. My first experience working with Women for Women International threw me right in the deep end – talking to potential donors and raising awareness for the organisation's campaigns. I learnt a lot about the issues that matter to me and it felt great to engage with people and tell them about the work Women for Women do. It was a great challenge too – but I always felt supported.
The team at the office had prepared a multitude of info packs and fact sheets to support me and walked me through the organisation’s approach step by step! Personally, I grew in confidence and by the end I knew I had developed new skills and techniques that will help me in the future. Best of all though, it was an opportunity to help others and make a difference.
This year for International Women’s Day I got the chance to combine showing my support for women across the world with my love of photography. As an amateur photographer, I understand the value of good photos and it felt tremendous being able to lend my support to Women for Women as a volunteer photographer - a creative way to support the organisation and benefit women around the world.
Interested in Becoming a Volunteer?
Volunteer in the UK Office
We have an ongoing need for interns in our UK office. Internships range from 3-5 days in the office, to remote internships that can be done from home. Internships are always advertised on W4mp.org and charityjobs.co.uk. Internships require a minimum 3 month commitment.
Volunteer from home/school/university
There are a number of ways to volunteer with Women for Women International in a more informal way than through our internships. We often need London based volunteers that can support with one-off events, either helping with the event organisation itself or by running information stalls at events. If you have a particular skill that you would like to offer - be it photography, design, writing, or organising then please let us know. You can also volunteer to organise a film screening, become a student or school representative or coordinate a Run for Congo Women event. We will be here to support and advise you throughout.
Please contact supportuk@womenforwomen.org for more informaiton.
