Can YOU make a sustainable difference? 🫵
Volunteering is great for so many reasons – you can help local communities, learn new skills, meet new people, and it looks GREAT on your CV!
Here at your SU, there's loads of groups you can volunteer with. You might have met some of them at our Volunteering Fair last week!
So this week, we thought we'd shine a spotlight on some sustainability-focused organisations that you might want to get involved with...
FareShare Greater Manchester
Every year, 9.5 million cubic tonnes of food is wasted in the UK (WRAP, 2020).
Of this, it is estimated that 270,000 tonnes could be redistributed to feed people in need.
At the same time, this food waste results in 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions!
At FareShare Greater Manchester, we aim to redistribute as much of this good-to-eat surplus food as possible, tackling food waste and food poverty simultaneously.
We currently distribute food to 284 charities and community groups across Greater Manchester, including food banks, hostels, women’s refuge centres, drug rehabilitation centres, children’s breakfast clubs and more.
Through this, we help to feed over 47,000 people each year!
So how can I get involved?
We're always on the lookout for volunteers with a range of skillsets, including warehouse staff, drivers’ assistants and customer service volunteers.
You can find out more about volunteering with us by searching for FareShare through our volunteering website!
Touch Wood
Currently, the UK generates around 4.5 million tonnes of waste wood per year.
About 90% of this is processed by the high-volume recycling industry for purposes such as biomass for power stations and animal bedding, while the rest is sent to landfill.
At Touch Wood, we seek to further reduce the environmental impact of the timber industry!
By sorting the wood that we receive, we are able to make sure that everything that can be re-used or repurposed, is.
In doing this, we are helping to close the resource loop and work towards a circular economy!
Our volunteers help us to sort the reclaimed wood that we receive, and turn it into new exciting products for sale.
We make a range of items, including tables, bookshelves, bird tables and more!
So how can I get involved?
You can find out more about volunteering with us by searching for Touch Wood through our volunteering website!
Stitched Up
Stitched Up is a Community Benefit Society focused on inspiring action on sustainable fashion across Greater Manchester.
The textile industry is estimated to contribute around 10% of global CO2 and is also responsible for human rights violations across the world.
We are pushing back against a culture of fast fashion by campaigning for industry-wide change and by encouraging our local communities to re-wear, upcycle, repair, make and swap their clothes rather than buying new!
Not only are these more sustainable choices, but by getting together to take action with others, you can learn new things, get creative and have fun with it too!
At our pop-up shop in Stretford, we share skills such as mending and sewing through our workshops and free events such as our Repair Cafe.
We also re-sell fabric and haberdashery donations to prevent more textiles from ending up in landfill and to make sustainable sewing materials more accessible.
Our volunteers are essential to what we do, from helping us with sewing and mending projects, running our shop and running events such as our Clothes Swaps!
How can I get involved?
Our volunteer sessions run weekly, but there’s no minimum time requirement. You also don’t have to know anything about sewing to volunteer with us – if you’re passionate about sustainability or just want to meet some like-minded people, we’d love to have you!
We’re also looking for people who are interested in repairing (anything from bikes to electronics and clothes) for our Repair Cafe.
You can find out more about volunteering with us by searching for Stitched Up through our volunteering website!
UoS Sustainability Team
Our role is to create a sustainable university campus and community by increasing awareness around sustainability issues providing opportunities for Salford students and staff to take action.
Our main priorities include enhancing biodiversity on and around campus, collaborating with our local community, promoting active travel, as well as eliminating single-use plastics from our campuses and reducing carbon emissions.
We have a number of campaigns which you can join to help us, including Hedgehog Friendly Campus and Plastic Free UoS. We also regularly organise events and volunteering opportunities which all students can get involved in!
Every year in February/March, we also run Go Green Salford: a four-week series of events which aim to spread awareness around sustainability issues. This year, Go Green Salford will take place between Monday 27th February and Friday 24th March; stay tuned for details!
So how can I get involved?
The best way to stay up to date with our activities is by signing up to our newsletter and following us on social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. On our webpages you can also find out more about what we do and how you can help us.
If you’ve got any questions, suggestions or ideas for events, please email Marta at m.a.strzelecka1@salford.ac.uk.
Seen any organisations you might want to get involved with? There's loads more on our volunteering hub too, so why not check them out?
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