A surefire way to improve our communities and ourselves is by providing our time and skills for the benefit of others.

We know that volunteering improves the lives of those who give their time as well as the recipients of their efforts.

It’s fitting, then, to celebrate Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June). At Nesta we’re fortunate to work with many great organisations through our Innovation in Giving Fund. Here are ten ways to get volunteering with them:

1. Volunteer at work: Young Philanthropy introduces young professionals to a career of giving and develops their potential as leading philanthropists.
2. Volunteer at school: Inspiring the Future is a free service that matches state schools with people from all sectors and professions who want to volunteer their time to talk about their education or careers.
3. Volunteer on the run: GoodGym encourages volunteering by channeling the energy that people spend on exercising and turning it into positive social action. It has two very simple aims: to increase volunteering in the local community while creating an additional motivation to exercise and keep fit.
4. Volunteer for the Earth: Greeniversity is a skills share initiative that gives people the opportunity to volunteer to teach or learn ‘green skills’, to use in their local community.
5. Volunteer for nothing: Good for Nothing supports a community of people who give their time, skills and energy for free to make a positive impact on charities, social enterprises and other good causes. They do this through running hack weekends, bringing creatives and seasoned professionals together with groups and charities that have specific problems they need solving and things they need doing.
6. Volunteer at home: Dot Dot Dot Property Guardians gives people who do great voluntary work inexpensive housing by placing them in properties which would otherwise be empty, on a temporary basis.
7. Volunteer your actions: The DoNation created ‘Donate by Doing’, a new form of sponsorship that replaces cash with action, enabling people to actively engage their friends in doing social and environmental good.
8. Volunteer your stories: Led by volunteers, Ministry of Stories uses storytelling to inspire young people aged 8–18, in the belief that writing unleashes their imaginations and builds confidence, self–respect and communication skills.
9. Volunteer your skills: GoodPeople, Give What You’re Good At and iReach help organisations attract people who want to use their skills to support the causes they care about.
10. Volunteer your time: Slivers-of-Time is a web platform that makes it really easy for people to volunteer their spare time to help charities or their local community.