Anyone can volunteer for Laughter Africa. It doesn’t matter what your skills, experience or background are or how much time you have to give. Even if you only have a couple of hours a week to spare we’ll have something to suit you. Whether you are retired, a young person completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award, a university graduate or, simply looking to learn new skills – we would be happy to hear from you. Anybody, any age can volunteer for Laughter Africa – there is no age restriction. Whatever your interests, whatever your talents, whatever your time: volunteer with Laughter Africa today!

Why should you volunteer for Laughter Africa?

• You are helping to make a huge difference to the lives of street children in Africa
• It’s great fun
• You will get the chance to meet new people and make new friends
• It can help make your CV stand out, especially if you are interested in working for a charity
• You will gain valuable work experience
• It gives you the chance to develop new professional skills and gain confidence

There are lots of ways you can volunteer:

Schools and youth volunteers

Schools and youth volunteers visit primary and secondary schools as well as youth groups as well as guides, brownies, cubs and scout groups delivering assemblies, workshops, enrichment days etc raising awareness about different developmental issues, street children and Laughter Africa’s work.

Speaker volunteers

Laughter Africa speaker volunteers give talks and presentations at different community groups. This could be speaking at churches, women’s institutes, rotary clubs, guilds, universities or other community or social groups. Our speaker volunteers also represent Laughter Africa at different events.

Fundraising volunteers

Fundraising volunteers raise money for Laughter Africa by organising different events. From quizzes to barn dances to football tournaments their role is to fundraise in any way possible.

Media Volunteers

Laughter Africa media volunteers help to raise Laughter Africa’s profile in local, national and international media.

Social media volunteers

Social media volunteers take responsibility for increasing Laughter Africa’s online presence. This might be by re-tweeting a tweet, posting facebook messages or writing a blog. The role also involves updating the Laughter Africa Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages when necessary.

Events volunteers

Events volunteers donate their time to Laughter Africa at different UK sporting events e.g. marathons, half-marathons, cycling events etc… They help cheer on participants, offer a welcoming smile when they arrive and once the participants have crossed the finish line make sure they are thoroughly pampered and provide small refreshments.

Campaign volunteers

A campaign volunteer is someone who helps to raise awareness of any campaigns supported by Laughter Africa. This role could include lobbying your local MP or arranging a campaign event.

Specialist volunteers

We are looking for people who are qualified, skilled or have a specialism in a particular field for volunteer work here or in Africa. Are you a film maker? Photographer? Qualified counsellor? Drug rehabilitator? Social worker? Masseur? Sports nutritionist? Sports trainer or personal trainer? Solicitor or barrister? Accountant or involved in finance? Physiotherapist? Marketing? Media?  IT and digital media?  The list could go on and on…..If you have a skill or specialism that you believe would help Laughter Africa make a difference – we’d love to hear from you.

Emergency volunteers

In the future Laughter Africa plans to work in every country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sometimes these countries may suffer conflict or civil unrest, natural disasters, drought, famine, or other types of humanitarian disasters. If a humanitarian disaster does occur in a country we work in then Laughter Africa will respond immediately in any way we can. We need emergency volunteers in the UK who will help raise vital funds or raise awareness of the emergency. It could be organising collections, raising awareness or organising emergency fundraising events.

Set up or join a local Laughter Africa support group

Why not start a local Laughter Africa support group in your church, school, workplace, university or local community? These groups fundraise, campaign, arrange events/activities and raise awareness for Laughter Africa in their community. It could be anything from arranging coffee mornings to cake sales to lobbying their MP. Your group could get involved in anything you would like to do.

Don’t forget these are only suggestions. You can also volunteer in any other way. Just get in touch with us and let us know what you would like to do.

What we’ll offer you when you volunteer for Laughter Africa

• Laughter Africa will be on hand every step of the way, providing you with all the training, support, resources and information you’ll need to be an effective Laughter Africa volunteer
• We reimburse all out-of-pocket expenses incurred when you’re volunteering with us including travel costs
• All our volunteers will receive a certificate and reference on completion of their volunteering activity
• Where volunteering involves contact with children or young people, you’ll need to be checked with the Disclosure and Barring Service (or national equivalent). Don’t worry, we’ll arrange all this for you.

So what are the next steps involved?

Once you have decided which role you would like to volunteer for, please fill in this application form and email it to us at info@laughterafrica.org.uk.

Once we’ve received your application, we’ll get in touch and may invite you to an informal interview. You’ll also need to give us the names of two referees. If we feel the volunteering opportunity is not right for you at this time we’ll let you know.

Meet some of our volunteers

When you become a volunteer for us – you become part of the Laughter Africa family. Anyone who volunteers for us in any way will be added to the online Laughter Africa book (if they wish to be added) so your contribution will always be part of our story. Click here to see some of our volunteers and hear their stories. Let us know if you have done some volunteering for us and we’ll add you to the book.

Contact us

If you’d like to volunteer for Laughter Africa or you have any other questions about volunteering then please email us at info@laughterafrica.org.uk.