British Heart Foundation raises funds which help to go towards the continued research into heart disease which is still the UK's biggest killer and education into looking after your heart and health. They currently require volunteers for three different roles.

The first is volunteer sales assistants/telephonists. A key part of this role is meeting people and making them welcome. You will also assist customers who require help or advice, answer the telephone if required and display stock and help keep the shop floor tidy and looking attractive. Volunteers interested in this role should have good people skills, enjoy talking to and meeting people and be interested in good customer care. Till experience would be useful, but full training will be given if required.

The second role is for branch volunteers, in this role volunteers will help raise funds for the foundation and provide information to the public by helping with fundraising days in supermarkets, shopping centres and hospitals. Volunteers for this role should have good people skills and be good listeners.

The final role the foundation is recruiting for is volunteer electrical PAT/function testers. Duties for this role would be to test and clean a variety of electrical items which have been donated to BHF to sell and to make sure they are safe. Volunteers for this role would preferably be qualified as a PAT tester with certificates or with electrical experience.

Wildfowl and Wetlands trust run a centre open to the public and attempts to improve knowledge of wildfowl issues by offering educational activities to raise awareness of wetlands importance. They currently have two volunteering opportunities.

The first role is for reserve management volunteers who will work in the grounds carrying out gardening, woodland management, maintenance and litter picking. Volunteers who are interested in this role should be enthusiastic and cheerful.

The second role is for educational assistant volunteers. This role involves volunteers delivering educational programmes to school parties, including making educational props and art work. Good communication skills are essential for this role together with some knowledge of birds.

Sunderland Advocacy for Empowerment (SAFE) supports and acts as advocate for people with learning disabilities, physical disability, hearing and visual impairments, brain injury and autism.

Do you have the ability to listen? Can you build relationships? Do you have a belief in equal rights? If you answered yes, SAFE is currently recruiting volunteers to form a relationship with another person to help them achieve a better life. In return for your commitment, SAFE will train you to be an Advocate. You will have the skills to effectively support vulnerable people with a learning disability. But above all else, you will have the confidence to speak up if needed for people during anxious or difficult periods in their lives, empowering them to make positive informed choices.

are holding their "Race For Life" fundraising events again this year and are looking for volunteers to help out in various roles throughout the days. There are three events taking place; Sunderland, Sunday 23rd May at Herrington Country Park, Sunday 4th July at Aykley Heads Sport Centre and on Sunday 11th July at Exhibition Park in Newcastle.

Volunteers are required to help set up the event, meet and greet participants and spectators, help with admin, act as marshals, give out medals, water and goody bags and then help clear up at the end of the day. Events take approximately 4 hours, but as two races are taking place on the 11th July in Newcastle (10.30am and 2.30pm), any additional time given would be appreciated. Volunteers interested in these roles require good interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, some admin experience and the ability to act as part of a team.

The Leprosy Mission aims to minister to the physical, mental, social and spiritual needs of individuals and communities disadvantaged by leprosy by working with them to uphold human dignity and eradicate leprosy.

They currently need volunteers who are gifted public speakers, who can inspire church and secular groups with the vision that TLM has to create a world without leprosy. As a volunteer you would arrange your own bookings, or accept those made by the Area coordinator and encourage prayer for the work of TLM by the promotion of ASK, the prayer diary, and the quarterly prayer bulletin. You will also encourage a financial response to the presentation by promoting TLM's fundraising materials. Volunteers interested in this role should have a clear audible voice and enthusiasm for the work of TLM. You will need a willingness to learn about both leprosy as a disease and its effect on individuals and communities. Experience in public speaking and/or preaching is essential, together with an ability to make a presentation within a Christian context to people from a wide range of Christian traditions.

Nightstop North East helps young people who are in immediate housing crisis by providing safe accommodation in the homes of volunteers called "hosts." Initially for one night, we also help young people to look at their longer term housing options with the help of an experienced project worker.

They currently require volunteers in the Sunderland area to help out in two different roles.

The first is a volunteer host who will provide a room in their home for a homeless young person to stay in overnight as a safe alternative to sleeping on the streets. They will also provide breakfast and an evening meal. Volunteers will liaise with the Project Team on a regular basis and attend periodic reviews and training.  To become a volunteers for this role you should have a basic understanding of young peoples issues with an ability to relate to young people on a one to one, non judgmental basis. You will also need a spare room available for young propel referred by the Scheme at short notice. Volunteers will be prepared to participate in training when required.

The second is volunteer drivers who will provide transport for the young people using the service to enable them to access the accommodation.  The driver will meet the young person at a pre arranged meeting point and on arrival at the host's home, introduce the young person to their host.

Volunteers for this role will require a full current driving licence with permission to drive motor vehicles in the UK, the use of a mobile telephone during volunteering hours, the ability to relate to young people on a one to one, non judgmental basis and the time to spare up to two evenings per week.

Wearside Women In Need offer safe accommodation for women and children suffering from domestic violence. They are currently looking for drop in reception volunteers to welcome service users to the building in Washington. The role includes receiving donations of clothes, household goods, toys etc, sorting and displaying the items and assisting service users who can be in emotional distress.

They also require volunteer project helpers to work in refuges with women and children who have experienced sexual, physical or emotional abuse. Volunteers would help service users to settle into the refuge, explaining house rules etc and provide support and assistance. This assistance can include acting as an advocate, helping with benefits and form filling etc and accompanying residents to the solicitors, DSS, courts etc. Volunteers interested in this opportunity must have a special interest or experience of domestic violence and have strong communication and listening skills.

Playing for Success (PfS) is a partnership between the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), local authorities and a broad range of sports. Playing for Success, the DCSF and partners are setting up study support centres within sports clubs' grounds and venues to help students get up to speed in literacy, numeracy and IT.

PfS is currently looking for volunteer mentors. In this role you would help prepare the classroom for study support sessions, support children in completing their tasks, marking and assesing work undertaken by the children. You would also enable the children to work confidently in small group situations. Volunteers interested in this role should be patient, considerate, non judgemental and tolerant, with good communication skills and a friendly manner. You should also enjoy working with young people and be a positive role model.

Royal National Institute for the Blind is the UK's leading charity offering information, support and advice to over two million people with sight loss. Our pioneering work helps anyone with a sight problem - not just with Braille and talking books, but with imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges.

They are currently looking for volunteers to help find the iconic Sooty Charity boxes homes. Did you know that £700,000 was raised from loose change last year? This helped produce 1.6 million talking books be delivered to 40,000 blind and partially sighted people and over 2,000 new books to be transcribed to our library. Can you find a home for Sooty and make a difference in your local community, by giving the iconic Sooty collection box the best seat in the house. Volunteers interested in this role should have good communication skills, be friendly, confident and outgoing. A full driving licence with the use of a car will be an advantage, along with a good knowledge of the local area. Volunteers should be able to encourage support for blind and partially sighted people by promoting the value of Sooty.

The second role is as a Sooty charity box collector. You can make a difference in your community by ensuring money donated by the public into the iconic Sooty boxes is collected on a regular basis from local shops, pubs, leisure centres. If you are interested in this role you should have good communication skills and be friendly, confident and outgoing. A full driving licence with the use of a car will be an advantage although alternative arrangements may be looked at on an individual basis. You will also be required to carry money to the bank and sometimes this could be heavy. Good organisational and planning skills are necessary together with a good knowledge of the local area. You will need the ability to use your own initiative and be happy to work on your own whilst knowing your part of a team