Digital Champion – Money Help

Do you enjoy helping people feel confident online?

In Barking and Dagenham, many residents want to learn or do more with the internet and their devices—whether that’s accessing Council services, booking GP appointments, keeping in touch with family and friends, or shopping safely. Some are also under real money pressure and need friendly, practical support to navigate online forms and trusted tools.

As a Digital Champion – Money Help, you’ll make a real difference. We’ll train and support you to help residents with everyday digital skills, complete some forms online and to signpost people who are struggling with money to the right help.

What you’ll do

• One‑to‑one or small‑group coaching on the basics: email, browsing, video calling, apps (NHS, My B&D), online safety, and problem‑solving (e.g., “let’s search for that together”).

• Guided form‑filling with residents (e.g., Council Tax Support, Council Tax Discretionary, Single Person Discount, Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payments), helping them save their progress, scan/attach documents and keep records. You will be supporting residents to complete their own applications, rather than completing them on their behalf.

• Money help through signposting: show people simple, non‑advisory budgeting tools (like MoneyHelper’s Budget Planner) and signpost/refer residents who have complex benefit or debt queries to specialist advice services such as Citizens Advice or Debt Free Advice.
• Motivate and reassure celebrate successes, encourage next steps, and connect residents to further learning or support in our Community Hubs.

Important: This role gives money guidance and digital support only. It does not provide regulated debt advice or recommend financial products. We’ll train you on boundaries and safe signposting. Your role is to provide digital support and general guidance, not to interpret eligibility or give advice on whether someone should apply.

You’ll be great at this role if you:

• Enjoy technology enough to show someone else (you don’t need to be an expert!).
• Are patient, a good listener, and non‑judgemental.
• Can explain things in simple, friendly language and adapt to different learning styles.
• Are willing to complete the Digital Champion Essentials course and Data Protection and Cyber Security training.
• Care about supporting people who are under financial strain and want to learn.

What you’ll learn with us

• How to coach adults one‑to‑one or in small groups.
• How to signpost safely for money issues.
• How to demonstrate useful online services and apps and solve problems together step‑by‑step.
• Practical skills for inclusive support (e.g., working with access needs, using clear language, accessible settings).

Time and place

• Where: Barking Learning Centre, Dagenham Library, or at our other Community Hubs.
• When: Flexible slots, which are appointment based.
• Commitment: We ask for at least 2–3 hours per week for at least 3 months (we can be flexible).

Training, support and benefits

• Training provided, including Digital Champion Essentials, online safety, data protection and money‑guidance boundaries.
• Ongoing support and supervision from the Volunteer Coordinator and library teams.
• Travel expenses reimbursed
• Experience that looks great on a CV (coaching, customer service, problem‑solving, community work).
• The joy of making someone’s day.

Ask a question / how to apply

Please email Hubsvolunteering@lbbd.gov.uk with “Digital Champion – Money Help” in the subject line. 

Please click here to apply.

Become an Ab Phab Volunteer! Are you looking for a rewarding way to give back to your community? Join Ab Phab and help create fun, inclusive opportunities for disabled young people and young adults.

We’re looking for friendly, committed volunteers who want to make a real difference by supporting our youth sessions, activities, and community events.

What You’ll Do

• Support fun, inclusive activities and youth sessions
• Encourage participation and build confidence in members
• Help deliver creative programmes and events
• Work alongside families, carers, and staff
• Support trips, community activities, and special events

What We’re Looking For

• A positive, patient, and friendly attitude
• Good communication skills
• Reliability and commitment to regular volunteering
• Passion for inclusion and supporting others

Time Commitment

• Sessions run Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings
• We ask for availability at least one evening per week
• Optional opportunities to support trips and residentials

Important Information

• Volunteers will complete our recruitment and on-boarding process

• An Enhanced DBS check is required
• We are looking for long-term, consistent volunteers

Why Join Us?

• Make a meaningful impact in young people’s lives
• Gain valuable experience and skills
• Be part of a supportive, welcoming team

Interested? Contact us at info@abphabyouthclub.org.uk for more information!

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

Barking and Dagenham Homeless Health Peer Advocate

Main Functions:

• Supporting clients to gain access to healthcare by helping to make appointments.
• Accompanying clients to and from health appointments.
• Supporting clients to better understand their health needs and receive appropriate support.
• Encouraging clients to consider their health as a priority.
• Advocating on behalf of clients to ensure treatment for any health issues.

Overview: We are looking for volunteers who have experience of homelessness to support people who are currently homeless to help them to access healthcare.

As a Homeless Health Peer Advocate you will:

• Visit homelessness services in Barking and Dagenham to speak to homeless clients about their health.
• Deliver one-to-one engagements to enable people experiencing homelessness to make and attend health appointments.
• Support occasional group work sessions to help people better understand their health concerns and encourage clients to attend health appointments.
• Accompany clients to a variety of appointments, including doctors, hospital, dental and many more.

Peer Advocates focus on building the skills and confidence to enable clients to continue accessing health services independently.

Is this project for me?

Qualities of a Homeless Health Peer Advocate

The ideal Peer Advocate will:

• Be a good listener who is interested in others and what they have to offer.
• Be confident to speak about their own experiences.
• Treat others in a non-judgemental way and with respect.
• Be committed and reliable.
• Understand the importance of boundaries and be comfortable to ask for support when needed.
• Be keen to learn new skills.

Skills and experience needed in a Homeless Health Peer Advocate

The ideal Peer Advocate should:

• Have a lived experience of homelessness.
• Be willing to travel.
• Practice good time keeping.
• Have good verbal and written communication skills.
• Be secure in recovery if relevant.

What do I get in return?

Participating in this project will give you the opportunity to:

• Learn new skills and gain experience which can add to your CV.
• Take part in an extensive training package and get a certificate for taking part.
• Gain insight into the health inequalities faced by homeless people which will be used to change the way services are run.
• Get to know Mind Havering Barking and Dagenham’s work and be an important part in the organisation’s growth and development.
• All travel costs involved in the project will be covered by Mind Havering Barking and Dagenham
• Get support to investigate your own progression and future goals.

Time commitment

• Six weeks of training (three days per week) to be held at a central location (tbc)
• We ask that you are able to offer at least 5 hours a week following training.
• Homeless Health Peer Advocates will escort clients to their physical health appointments across London. These appointments are likely to last between 2-4 hours including travel but may last longer.
• Team meetings will be held once a week in Mind Havering Barking and Dagenham’s Office in Hornchurch and will run for one hour.
• You will also be expected to attend a 90-minute reflective practice session monthly.

Please click here to apply.

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

Could you help a child learn to read?

Schoolreaders are looking to support children in local primary schools with reading. Just one hour a week during term time can make a huge difference to a child’s confidence, literacy and love of books.

No teaching experience is needed, just a good level of English and a desire to help. Volunteers must be over the age of 18 and will receive full support, including an Enhanced DBS check arranged by the school.

Our volunteers must be able to commit to a minimum of one hour each week for a full year during term time (although holidays can of course be taken.

If you would like to find out more about Schoolreaders, please visit their website  www.schoolreaders.org

The next step for you would be to fill in the online application form: https://www.schoolreaders.org/volunteer-application-form.

If completing this application on a mobile device or tablet, please click https://schoolreaders.formstack.com/forms/srprapp_county  for the optimised version.

If you prefer, Schoolreaders can also send a paper version to you in the post, just contact us on admin@schoolreaders.org

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

Would you like to help others in a meaningful way?

Are you free for a few hours at least one Friday per month?

ShowerBox Barking is the UK’s first permanent facility offering hot showers, underwear, respite and refreshments for people experiencing homelessness. It is located behind Barking Learning Centre and delivered in partnership between LBBD, Barking Churches Unite and ShowerBox.

Volunteers play a vital role in making sure things run smoothly for guests of ShowerBox Barking. If you’re personable, willing get stuck in and available across 11am - 2pm at least one Friday per month, you would be a welcome addition to the ShowerBox crew. Training is provided.

Please click here to apply.

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

Mentoring with One Million Mentors

Can you understand the challenges a young person is facing and see things from their point of view?
Can you offer advice or even just encouragement?
If so, then you have what it takes to be a mentor.

Mentor a student from Barking & Dagenham College, this is a hybrid programme where you would support a mentee for one hour a month on Tuesday from 3-4pm, help guide and inspire the next generation! 

1MM mentoring empowers young people to become the best version of themselves. We build relationships - free of assumption and judgement - where people benefit from one another's experience and perspective. Mentoring helps people to think bigger, find their own answers and take the next meaningful step into their future.

We recruit, train and deploy volunteer mentors, matching them with mentees and providing high quality support to both so that they are well prepared and can have an effective and impactful mentoring relationship.

Our mentoring is one to one, for young people aged 14-25 years old, for 1 hour, once a month, for up to a year.

If you are interested, click here to sign up! ✨

What will I do?
We are looking for Mentors in Barking and Dagenham to take part in our

 October programme launch at Barking and Dagenham College.

We would particularly love to hear from mentors with experience and knowledge that would help them to support a young person with an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) although being currently employed in one of these industries is not a requirement.

What skills do I develop?

• Listening - You will develop your patience and awareness for a mentee's goals and targets they want to achieve.
• Problem Solving - You well develop your reflective skills and communication with your mentee by solving any problems that your mentee may face.
• Speaking - You will become more attentive, practice on relevant and helpful conversations and how to guide a mentee.
• Teamwork - By working with your mentee in developing themselves and gaining perspective from your experience, you will work together on each other's confidence in relationship building and gaining networks.

What do I need to do?

• We welcome applications from people with at least 5 years industry experience or 2 years postgraduate experience. If you are retired or on a career break, we would also love to hear from you.
• To commit to a one to one, 1 hour a month over the academic year (October - July) for our programme at Barking and Dagenham college.
• Gain quality support and training by completing our online course. You can also attend a 2 hour mentoring workshop to connect with other mentors and receive a certificate in mentoring.
• To create goals and targets for your mentee with the help of your training. It's all mentee led!

Please click here to apply.

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role. 

Reading Volunteer - Bookmark Reading Charity

Bookmark Reading Volunteers directly support children who are at risk of leaving primary school unable to read well. Struggling to read can contribute to poor educational attainment, lower literacy in adulthood and has even been linked to a lower life expectancy. You can help ignite the joy of reading and change a child’s story.

In this volunteer role, you’ll have 30-minute one-to-one reading sessions on 2 days per week with a child aged between 5 and 11 years old. Each session will involve reading stories and playing literacy games on our secure online platform or face-to-face. You’ll book your reading programme through Bookmark’s Volunteer Hub and select sessions on days and times that work with your commitments.   

To become a Bookmark Reading Volunteer, you should be: 

• 18 and over, and currently living in the UK.
• able to provide enthusiasm, encouragement, empathy and patience.
• free to commit to 30-minute one-to-one reading sessions on 2 days per week, across 6 weeks.
• able to provide two references for your application (for safeguarding reasons).prepared with access to a PC, laptop, Chromebook or iPad with a webcam and internet connection, and feel relatively comfortable using technology (for online reading programmes).

Volunteers tell us they find the role flexible, impactful and rewarding. More than 60% also say their own well being has improved because of volunteering with Bookmark!

Bookmark pays for your DBS checks, provides online training and offers volunteers ongoing support so that you can deliver fantastic and fun reading sessions, enabling all children to discover the joy of reading. 

Bookmark are proud to offer inclusive volunteering and work to deliver a greatly accessible volunteering role. Many of our reading programmes take place online, so there’s no need to travel or access a physical location to volunteer with Bookmark. Our application process and training are all completed online, and we have a helpful team at hand to offer support with technical or access requirements. 

Bookmark is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. We aim to create an environment in which all individuals can make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit.

 Please click here to apply.

This activity is organised externally and is not a Council role.