Corporate Volunteer Opportunities
Thank You to Our Corporate Supporters
We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the businesses and corporate teams who have supported DF4TA over the past few months.
Your time, energy, and commitment across a wide range of roles have helped us respond to immediate need and support people across Derby when it mattered most.
From hands-on volunteering to fundraising and donations, your involvement has made a real and lasting difference in our community.
As we look ahead to the coming year, we’re excited to offer new corporate volunteering opportunities alongside returning favourites, giving even more teams the chance to get involved and make an impact.
Why Partner with DF4TA?
By partnering with DF4TA, your organisation plays a vital role in supporting people facing food insecurity and other challenges within our city — while also offering your employees a meaningful way to give back locally.
We work closely with our corporate partners to create opportunities that benefit both the community and your team.
From volunteering and fundraising to organising food drives, our team will work with you to design a partnership that aligns with your goals, capacity, and values.
Quick Wins for Your Team
If you’re looking for simple ways to get started, here are a few easy options:
- Join our Squid Army – encourage colleagues to become part of our growing network of individual supporters
- Become part of our 100 Club – for businesses providing regular financial support
These are great first steps. And if your team prefers to get hands-on, we have plenty of opportunities to suit you.
Volunteering Opportunities
We offer a range of volunteering roles throughout the year, including short-term, seasonal opportunities and ongoing support roles.
Details of current opportunities can be found below, with new ones added regularly.
Our Chellaston & Shelton Lock Community Hub is at the heart of the local community, providing a warm and welcoming space for residents to come together. One of our most valued services is the Free Lunch Club, which takes place every Tuesday from 10:00am – 2:00pm, offering a freshly prepared meal to around 50 local people each week.
We are inviting corporate volunteers to come and support this vital service. Volunteering at the Lunch Club is a fantastic way to give back to the community, while also encouraging teamwork, connection, and new experiences for your staff.
Volunteer Needs: 9:30am - 2.30pm on Tuesdays, 2-3 volunteers per session.
Tasks: There are a range of tasks including helping get the venue ready for the day, welcoming and chatting with local residents, serving food and refreshments, assisting with clearing tables and washing up and tidying and cleaning up at the end of the session.
Next steps: Fill out the form to express your interest.
We are looking for a corporate volunteer to join our friendly team at the Thoughtful Community Shop on a weekly basis. Due to a shortage of volunteers on Wednesdays, we are seeking one volunteer each week to support our existing team and help ensure local families can access affordable food and essential household items.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Welcoming and supporting customers visiting the shop
- Helping to stock shelves and rotate products
- Assisting with deliveries and putting stock away
- Keeping the shop clean, organised and well-presented
- Supporting volunteers with general day-to-day shop tasks
- Helping create a warm and friendly environment for the community
Location: Derby Market Hall
Date: Wednesdays preferred
Time: Typically 4-5 hours per session
Volunteers Needed: 1Volunteer per session
As part of our move into the new DF4TA Resource Centre, we are looking for corporate volunteer teams to help us relocate our Furniture & Electrical Project from our previous storage locations into our new home.
Volunteer Roles Include:
- Moving furniture items safely between locations
- Loading and unloading vans
- Assisting drivers with collections and deliveries
- Moving electrical items and household essentials
- Organising stock within the new DF4TA Resource Centre
- General lifting and carrying (heavy lifting involved)
Dates Available:
- Wednesday 17th June
- Thursday 18th June
- Friday 19th June
- Tuesday 23rd June
- Thursday 25th June
August Opportunities
We are also looking for volunteers throughout August, particularly between weeks commencing Monday 17th August and Monday 24th August on the Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
For the fourth year running, Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance is proud to be working in partnership with Derbion to provide affordable school uniforms to local families.
We are looking for corporate volunteers to join us in making this year’s School Uniform Hub our biggest and best yet.
How Your Organisation Can Help:
- Host a School Uniform Donation Drive
- Process and Sort Donations (Mon 3rd Aug – Fri 7th Aug)
- Volunteer at the School Uniform Hub (Mon 10th Aug – Fri14th Aug)
- Help Us Pack Down and Return to the Resource Centre (Mon 17th Aug & Tues 18th Aug)
Our Reverse Advent Calendar is a fantastic way for businesses to get involved and make a difference in the run-up to Christmas. Instead of receiving an item each day, we ask people to donate an item a day - creating a collective “advent calendar of kindness.” It’s an easy and engaging activity for offices, workplaces, and customers to take part in, as the donations can be shared across a team - not everyone has to donate every day.
Location: Your place of work
Date: Starting Friday 6th November 2026 Closing date Monday 30th December 2026
Time: Typically 4-5 hours per session
Volunteers Needed: 1Volunteer per session
Each year, our Reverse Advent Calendar campaign sees hundreds of individuals, businesses, schools, and community groups come together to donate food and essential items for local families facing hardship.
While this generosity is amazing, it also means we have thousands of individual items that need to be processed before they can be distributed to those who need them most.
We're looking for teams of up to 8 corporate volunteers to join us at the DF4TA Resource Centre and help us sort, check, and organise these donations.
Venue: DF4TA Resource Centre
Available Dates: Various dates throughout December 2026 TBC (minimum of five sessions available)
Session Times: 10:00am – 12:00pm, (lunch break: 12:00pm – 1:00pm), 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Volunteer Numbers: Up to 8 volunteers per session
With the support of volunteers, we’ll be preparing and delivering 300 Christmas Hampers, each packed with all the trimmings for families to cook their own festive dinner at home.
These hampers will mean that no family is left out at Christmas — even those struggling with the cost of living will still have the chance to share in the joy of preparing and enjoying a traditional Christmas meal together.
We are inviting corporate volunteer teams to join us for this opportunity and help us make sure hundreds of families don’t miss out.
Date: 2026 - dates to be confirmed.
Tasks: There are a range of tasks including helping to pack 300 festive hampers with all the essentials for a Christmas Day dinner, preparing and organising hamper items for collection, supporting with logistics as partner organisations collect hampers, joining delivery teams to take hampers out to families across the city, ensuring every hamper is filled with care, ready to bring joy to a family’s table.
Next steps: Fill out the form to express your interest.
Company-Led Initiatives
What you’ll do: Run your own food collection campaign — we’ll provide bunting, posters, and shopping lists.
Optional add-on: Sort your collected food at our Central Storage Unit for a behind-the-scenes look at where your donations go.
How to coordinate your team:
- Choose dates that work for your workplace
- Email debbie@df4ta.com to request your free resource pack
- Set up donation stations and create a fun internal competition
- Arrange a time for your team to help sort at the CSU — we’ll make it a fun group volunteering day!
What you’ll do: From bake sales to charity quizzes or office raffles - any funds raised help us keep our services going strong.
How to coordinate your team:
- Choose an activity that fits your workplace culture
- Plan and promote using internal comms, posters, or social media
- Let us know in advance so we can amplify your event and celebrate your support
- Track and share your results — we love shouting out our brilliant business partners!
How to Get Started
- Pick Your Opportunity
Choose a volunteering or fundraising idea that suits your team’s time, size, and energy. - Get in Touch
Fill out the corporate volunteering form to show your interest, team numbers, and preferred dates. (please note that we cannot accommodate more than 10 volunteers at a time) - Promote Internally
We’ll provide everything you need to promote the opportunity within your organisation and encourage staff participation. - Showcase the Impact
We’ll share your involvement across our website and social media, recognising your team’s contribution and celebrating the impact you’ve made. - Keep the Momentum Going
Many of our corporate partners return year after year. Once you’ve worked with us, we’re confident you’ll want to continue the journey.
Want to talk through ideas?
We love tailoring corporate volunteering experiences to meet your objectives — whether that’s team building, creating local impact, or supporting families across Derby.
Just fill in our please complete our Corporate Volunteering form and one of the team will be in touch to discuss and we’ll help you shape something meaningful.
Get in Touch
Please complete our Corporate Partnership interest form and let us know how you'd like to help. We will us this information to make sure the right person gets in touch with you.
