(Friday Night Youth Club)
At Mary’s Youth Club, we’re not just a youth club – we’re a vibrant, inclusive community where young people aged 10–19 (up to 25 for those with disabilities) come together to share, grow, learn, and enjoy themselves. We believe in creating joyful and enriching experiences that empower every young person who walks through our doors.
Our open access youth club runs exciting and diverse programmes Monday to Friday, including school holidays. Whether it’s the energy of drop-in activities like gaming, sports, and board games, or the focused buzz of creative arts, health and wellbeing sessions, life skills workshops, or youth-led social action – there’s always something happening at Mary’s. Young people help shape our programmes, and we champion their independence, creativity, and voice.
Young people describe us as “like a family” – a safe, friendly, and welcoming space where they can be themselves. Our team is deeply rooted in youth work values: inclusion, equality, justice, reflection, and lifelong learning. Together, we work to support young people to navigate challenges and take steps toward brighter futures.
Volunteer role title: Volunteer Chef/Cook/Kitchen Staff
Hours: 2-3 hours on a Friday evening, from about 4.30/5pm
Help us to meet our goal of creating healthy meals for young people, by volunteering in our kitchen!
We are looking for volunteers with a passion for cooking, nutrition and healthy eating, to assist in the kitchen independently, as a group, or alongside our youth workers and young people, preparing a warm meal for up to 40 young people.
You are welcome to come along as an assistant volunteering with the rest of the team, but we would also love volunteers who are interested in heathy eating to lead on this initiative, teaching those young people who choose to volunteer in the kitchen, food preparation skills, how to cook nutritious foods, as well as sharing the joy of eating together
This role will include:
If you are interested in taking a more active role/lead on this project then you would also lead on the menu planning and budgeting
The commitment
Experience
You do not need to have experience in catering, or to have volunteered before, as you will be well looked after by the team, but if you are interested in leading on this project then it would be beneficial to be able to demonstrate your knowledge/passion
Training
You will be given a full induction to Marys Youth Club.
This includes access to our training platform. The mandatory training for this role includes:
Essential for This Role
Safer Recruitment Checks:
In return
You’ll be sharing your time and skills and gaining accreditations and valuable CV boosting skills
We will also provide, references and/or a volunteer certificate
Reasonable travel expenses can be covered
Note that we do also have other volunteer roles, both in the office and working directly with young people, so if you aren’t able to commit to Friday evenings, or have interests other than cooking/volunteering in the kitchen, then get in touch to discuss
Application Process
All potential volunteers are asked to first attend a volunteer information meeting. Our next one is scheduled for January 20th at 1pm. This is an opportunity to learn more about the youth club and the different volunteering opportunities we have available.
After this intro call, potential volunteers are invited to come to the youth club to meet the young people and the youth workers, this is a chance to see if volunteering with us is a good fit
If you are invited to progress with your application, you will be asked to complete a DBS, provide us with 2 references, and complete the mandatory training listed above.
If you’d like to apply to volunteer please go to our website and fill out our volunteer registration form
