It’s National Volunteer’s Week! Make time, make a difference

01 Jun 2026

Still not used your volunteering days? Challenge accepted

Colleagues volunteering by clearing up the river

Every year, National Volunteer’s Week (1-7 June) is a chance to recognise the colleagues, students and alumni who are channelling their collecting power through volunteering, and say a big thank you for the difference they make across Greater Manchester and beyond.

It’s also a great opportunity to remind colleagues of our volunteering policy, which offers all colleagues three paid days of volunteering leave, per annual leave year (pro-rata for part-time colleagues). 

If you’ve got the time, skills and passion to give, we want you to join us to help shape the future.

Volunteer with us!

Our cultural institutions offer exciting opportunities to close the laptop and have a change of routine; from welcoming visitors to Manchester Museum, to science busking and gardening at Jodrell Bank, you can even incorporate a team away day like the Research Services and Business Engagement team:

“We really enjoyed the volunteering away day at Jodrell Bank. It was a great opportunity to step away from our usual work and do something hands-on together, and it felt really positive to give time to a good cause and be away from the office”

Whether you want to volunteer on your own, with your team, or even with your family – Whitworth Art Gallery offer summer holiday volunteering for all ages! – you can make a difference and help to promote inclusion, creativity and wellbeing.

Need more inspiration?

We’ve recently been sharing stories of how our colleagues have used their volunteering days. From a comms team tackling food waste at The Bread and Butter Thing, to Adam in FBMH supporting both intimate theatre and headline gigs for Manchester International Festival, there’s a volunteering opportunity for everybody. Many of our colleagues use the summer season to make the city greener with organisations like City of Trees or Sow the City, or you can even volunteer from home with Access Project, allowing you to online tutor GCSE level students in a subject of your choice, raising their aspirations and confidence. 

Find out more

Volunteering Policy: all colleagues are entitled to three paid leave days (pro rata) each year, to dedicate their time and skills to a local cause of their choosing.
Challenge Accepted: our fundraising and volunteering campaign is one of the first bold steps in delivering our Manchester 2035 strategy; committing to becoming a great philanthropic university by connecting people to the causes that matter most.