Volunteer with us

Our wonderful volunteers are the heart of what we do and without them, we couldn’t do the work we do to get people housed.

Volunteering brings new experiences, new friends, new skills and a chance to give back. Maybe you can give us two hours a week to help out, whether it’s washing pots, mentoring at our employability project Renu or going on street outreach in the evening to build relationships with people who need our help to find a home.

Every single one of our volunteers brings a talent or skill which we can use. We’re blessed to have so many fantastic people on our team. We’d love to welcome you too!

You can choose to volunteer in our drop in centre during the day or the evening, helping people get the essentials and accessing healthcare. We are always looking for volunteers for ReNu as well as the allotment, and our office, storage and helping out on the van. In addition we always need volunteers for prayer and the God Slot.

You don’t need to be a Christian to volunteer but we do ask for people to be sympathetic and respectful of our Christian values.

We are currently at full capacity on volunteering due to social distancing measures that are in place. Please check back once lockdown measures are eased for any future volunteering opportunities.

The process is simple: complete the form, and choose a date and time for your interview and taster session. The interview is a short conversation to make sure that volunteering at Barnabus is right for you and the taster session gives you a chance to decide for yourself that you are happy to continue the process. Once those are done, we offer you training and help with applying for an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check for working with vulnerable adults.

Our volunteering opportunities are currently closed due to the COVID 19 emergency

We hope to re-open volunteer recruitment in July – please check back then for further details. We hope you can join us to help us later on in the year. Thanks

Having a conviction is not a bar to volunteering at Barnabus; if you want to talk to us about any issues before you decide to apply, contact Jazmine Franks for a chat by emailing [email protected] .

How to apply

To apply to volunteer with us please fill out this form

Latest

Altrincham Open Studios donates much needed PPE

Seeing how people and their communities have come together to support each other through this COVID19 pandemic has been a true source of happiness during these challenging times. Altrincham Open Studios are a great example of this, they crowdfunded so that they could use their facilities to make visors for paramedics, hospitals, GP surgeries and now also schools and charities.
End of week blog 05/06/2020

As we come to the close of #VolunteerWeek we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our amazing volunteers. Every day of the year we are thankful and humbled by our volunteer’s commitment to give up their time to help those less fortunate than themselves. No task is too great for them and the impact they have on our friends is priceless and life changing. This was made even more obvious to us during this COVID19 crisis and lockdown.
Run for Barnabus

If you love running set yourself the challenge to raise some funds and Run for Barnabus. Turn your love for track, pathway or cross country running into a great way to raise sponsorship and help people experiencing homelessness with every mile you run.
Manchester Half Marathon

The Tommy’s Manchester Half is a 13.1 mile challenge that takes place every October, starting and finishing by Old Trafford, and is easily the biggest in the North West. This could be one of the only fundraising events of the year making it a really important opportunity for us to raise vital funds.

End of week blog 05/06/2020

As we come to the close of #VolunteerWeek we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our amazing volunteers. Every day of the year we are thankful and humbled by our volunteer’s commitment to give up their time to help those less fortunate than themselves. No task is too great for them and the impact they have on our friends is priceless and life changing. This was made even more obvious to us during this COVID19 crisis and lockdown.
End of week blog 28/05/2020

We are now in the exciting position to begin planning how our services and premises are going to reopen in the coming weeks and months. We are really looking forward to be able to return to some form of normal, to be able to offer face to face support and advice for housing, health, drug and alcohol dependencies, universal credit and opening bank accounts. Sadly many people are in need of this support to help them get off the streets and build new lives.
End of week blog 15/05/2020

Last week we reached a milestone. Since the start of lockdown we have prepared, cooked and delivered over fifteen thousand meals to vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness in Manchester. We spoke to some of our staff and volunteers to hear what their thoughts are on reaching this milestone.
Our CEO on how Coronavirus affects rough sleepers and our services

Yvonne our CEO on how Coronavirus affects rough sleepers, the impact on our services and how Manchester can pull together to help us.
Homelessness in Manchester

If you’ve walked the streets of Manchester, you’ve almost certainly passed by a rough sleeper. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that there are more people living and sleeping out on the streets. In 2010, the official rough sleeper figure was 7. In 2018, it was 94. Unfortunately, we know that in reality, the number is much higher. Please read on to find out more about homelessness in our city.
How we're helping

The stress and anxiety people can suffer when they are homeless means they often feel afraid to reach out and taking that small step towards getting help can seem like a mammoth task. That’s why our team is there to help from the start, giving tailored support and advice every single step of the way.

End of Week Blog 27/03/2020

What a week it’s been, not just for Barnabus, but for the whole of our nation. Last week was all about shock and panic, this week was all about mobilisation when we realised we were moving to lockdown due to the corona virus.
Our support team are still a lifeline through this lockdown

Stephen Rowley is our Head of Support; before the crisis he was supporting rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness with one to one support at our Support Office and Drop in. During this lockdown he is now providing support on the phone to rough sleepers in hotels and tenants self isolating in our Resettlement project. He is also feeding back to the team any deliveries or practical support that may be needed.
End of week blog 8/05/2020

Sadly there is still a small group of people rough sleeping in Manchester, spending their days and nights on the streets. We are now doing street outreach again to feed these people and support them into accommodation
Volunteer with us

Barnabus relies on over 90 volunteers a week to open our doors and welcome people who need a friend. We have volunteers from all over Greater Manchester, as well as Cheshire and Lancashire, all age groups and all walks of life.
Homelessness in Manchester

If you’ve walked the streets of Manchester, you’ve almost certainly passed by a rough sleeper. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that there are more people living and sleeping out on the streets. In 2010, the official rough sleeper figure was 7. In 2018, it was 94. Unfortunately, we know that in reality, the number is much higher. Please read on to find out more about homelessness in our city.
End of week blog 15/05/2020

Last week we reached a milestone. Since the start of lockdown we have prepared, cooked and delivered over fifteen thousand meals to vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness in Manchester. We spoke to some of our staff and volunteers to hear what their thoughts are on reaching this milestone.
Donate Items

During this Covid 19 crisis we're working in partnership with Manchester City Council and other charities to support rough sleepers into accommodation so that they can self isolate and keep safe, while ensuring they have essential supplies and food.
End of Week Blog 17/04/2020

How we're adapting our operations to help people experiencing homelessness through the Coronavirus Crisis and lockdown.
Fundraising ideas

Swim, cycle, skydive, climb a mountain, shave your head, organise an event - the only limit is your imagination! We’ve had people running marathons all over Europe, riding their bikes the length of the country, dressing up as Smurfs and we even had a lady in her mid 80's playing an organ for 14 hours non-stop!
Our history

It all started in 1991 with one man, some sandwiches and a flask of hot coffee. Walking the streets of Manchester, our founder Peter Green could not believe that there were people on his doorstep who had nothing. So, with a little help from his Christian faith, he set out to do something. Luckily, Peter and his wife Beryl had plenty of love – and sandwiches – to share.