Volunteer for Redbridge and be part of a community that loves its borough

Banish those winter blues and turn up the feel-good factor by taking part in volunteering and social action opportunities in Redbridge this year.

Volunteering and social action is a great way to help others by offering your time and skills to make a positive impact in your local community, and it can help you too.

Did you know some of the well documented benefits of volunteering include:

• Better physical and mental health and wellbeing
• Learning new skills
• Making new friends and widening local support networks
• Boosting your confidence
• Developing a storing sense of connection to others in the community and your local area

If you’d like to make volunteering a New Year’s resolution for 2025 there’s lots of ways to get involved – no matter how big, or small: 

• Find out more about general volunteering opportunities across the borough: redbridge.gov.uk/discover/volunteering-in-redbridge/
• There are volunteering opportunities within Redbridge Parks and Libraries through Vision Redbridge, Culture and Leisure. Find out more: https://visionrcl.org.uk/volunteer/

• Find out about volunteering on a regular, casual or one-off basis, for a variety of organisations with Community Action Redbridge: communityactionredbridge.org.uk/volunteering-in-redbridge
• Get involved in local community and eco projects that boost the borough’s biodiversity and help keep Redbridge looking great: redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/

Volunteering and social action in Redbridge is thriving. It happens where you see it, such as in charity shops, and where you don’t, such as neighbours lending each other a helping hand. It all matters, and it all improves our communities and our lives.

Meet a few of our inspiring local heroes in Redbridge whose kind acts of volunteering and social action are helping make Redbridge a place we’re all proud to call home:

Jan from Clayhall

Jan, 70, from Clayhall, regularly goes litter picking in Claybury Park. Her efforts to help keep the park clean have inspired others and made her a well-known face in the local community. Jan said: “It saddened me seeing the rubbish people would leave behind in the park, so I decided to do something about it to help keep the park clean. We really are very lucky to have some truly beautiful parks and green, open spaces in Redbridge. It’s something we should all cherish. It’s important to work together as a community to look after our parks. My mantra is if you want the right to use the park, you also have to take responsibility for looking after it.”

Sharon Daughters from Ilford

Sharon, 58, has lived in the borough for over 30 years and has become a friendly, supportive figure to many in the area. She regularly drops in for chats and checks on elderly members of the community, especially those who might be experiencing isolation, loneliness, or difficulties in leaving the home, and often lends a helping hand with chores such as shopping during her visits.

Sharon said: “Being able to help people in my community is something that is important to me. We all need someone to lean on at times, and we all have it in us to be a friend to someone in need.”

Louise Burgess, Sustainability Lead for The South Woodford Society

The South Woodford Society consists of over 600 local households working together to help look after South Woodford. One of the community events they hold is local litter picking. Louise said: “Litter picking is weirdly addictive! You can really make a difference in a short period of time, and it is very satisfying to see the before and after.  Children especially seem to really like litter picking and often have the most energy of any of us! Getting involved in litter picks, whatever age you are and however long or short a time you have, can really help you to feel part of the community and makes you realise how important our local area is - and that helping keep it clean really does make a difference.”

To get involved with The South Woodford Society go to: https://www.southwoodfordsociety.org/

Alvin Hardy, Repair Cafe volunteer

Alvin, 81, regularly volunteers as a repair expert at the Repair Cafes run by Transition Town Ilford, at Redbridge Central Library. The former engineer imparts his repair knowledge and skills to the community, while helping fix items for free through the Repair Café events.

Alvin said: “I have years of repair experience and love volunteering my time and skills to share that with the community so local people have the ability to carry out small, easy, repairs that could save them money.”

Over the years Alvin has helped repair all kinds of items for local people for free from kettles, toasters, and hoovers, to baby feeders, lawnmowers and even a Dansette Record Player from the fifties and a Juke Box.

Find out more about Transition Town Ilford Repair Cafes and volunteering: https://transitionilford.org.uk/

Yasir Adnan – Seven Kings Community Planting Day volunteer

Yasir Adnan from Aston Estate Agents, in Seven Kings, was among the local people volunteering their time to take part in a Council run Community Planting Day in 2024.

Yasir said: “Volunteering for community planting projects can foster a sense of ownership and pride among residents, encouraging social interaction and cooperation. It not only beautifies the area, but also contributes to environmental sustainability and community well-being.”

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