Many people do voluntary work in their spare time. A lot of pleasure can be gained from helping others and there are many ways to do this both in this country and abroad. If you have a few hours or more to spare, you could work with people, animals or nature.

As well as being very worthwhile, voluntary work can also help you gain useful skills and knowledge. It could be a good way to fill part of a gap year or it could help to find other work or training straight away. It also looks great on your CV and can show that you have done something worthwhile in your free time.

To find out more on volunteering check out the leaflets and websites below:

Voluntary work in the UK
Voluntary work abroad

The National Centre for Volunteering
www.volunteering.co.uk

Millennium Volunteers
www.mvonline.gov.uk

Time Bank
www.timebank.org.uk

DO IT
www.do-it.org.uk

Volunteer Web
www.volunteerweb.org.uk

Wales Council for Voluntary Action
www.wcva.org.uk