Over the past year, with the support of a grant from the City of London Corporation’s Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Fund, Volunteer Centre Hackney have been working to make volunteering available and accessible to all across the Square Mile.
One of the organisations which has benefited from Volunteer Centre Hackney’s expansion is The Guild Church of St Katharine Cree, an historic Guild Church dating back to 1280, making it one of the oldest Christian foundations in the City. Today, the church’s mission is to support the City’s community by focusing on helping low-paid workers in the City through the provision of a number of services including English language (ESOL) classes and community meals.
Volunteers are vital to the fantastic work carried out by the church. Kitty is St Katharine Cree’s outreach and mission coordinator and says that their volunteers “are absolutely essential to the work we do at St Katharine Cree.” Volunteer Centre Hackney’s City of London service has provided St Katharine Cree with the opportunity to connect with local residents interested in volunteering. One significant success story is F, who started volunteering in Autumn 2025.
Volunteering with St Katharine Cree has had a huge impact on F’s life. F was struggling with depression which led to them feeling “lonely, helpless and hopeless.” In order to support their recovery, F was looking for a role that allowed her to reconnect and interact socially. The perfect role needed to be a convenient location close to her residence in the Square Mile. Starting volunteering with St Katharine Cree as a cooking volunteer provided a number of benefits including getting “out of the house, improving self-esteem, confidence, people skills” and as F stated was an “extra boost to my life that I desperately needed.”
The community meals provided by the Guild Church support with reducing social isolation and strengthening relationships for users of the church’s services. This welcoming community service is something that F cherishes most as a volunteer:
“The thing I like most is the people. Both Kitty, the volunteer manager working at the church, and the English class students are super chill, welcoming, appreciative… their energy made me feel safe, that I could be myself and I always leave feeling energised…”
Likewise, Kitty is keen to point out the impact volunteers like F provide to their organisation:
“F has become one of our most consistent and valued community cooking volunteers. Week after week, F has brought energy, creativity, joy, and a welcoming spirit to our Saturday community activities. Their contribution has helped create a warm and inclusive environment for our students, visitors, and volunteers, demonstrating the lasting impact that the right volunteer can have on an organisation.”
Kitty also acknowledges Volunteer Centre Hackney as an “invaluable partner” through the support they have provided with recruitment and retention of volunteers:
“Through their volunteering platform and network, they have connected us with people who are passionate about serving their community and have helped us reach a much wider pool of volunteers than we could access on our own. Beyond recruitment, VCH has also provided guidance and support around volunteer management and good practice, helping us build a sustainable volunteer programme that benefits both our organisation and the volunteers themselves.”
If you are a charity interested in involving more volunteers in your services, or a resident or worker in the Square Mile wanting to volunteer with St Katharine Cree or another organisation in the City, get in touch with Louis and Jane at [email protected] or 020 7241 4443.