Volunteer with Crisis this Christmas and be there for someone as they start to build a life out of homelessness.
Sign-ups for Crisis at Christmas 2025 open in early October.
You can find information about volunteering the rest of the year on our South Wales Skylight page.
Our centre in Swansea offers year-round information, advice, and guidance, alongside a full programme of learning and group activities. Outreach services extend this support into Neath and Port Talbot, ensuring we’re there for members — at Christmas and beyond.
Every Christmas, local volunteers come together to provide warmth, companionship and vital services to our members (people experiencing homelessness) at one of the toughest times of the year.
Join our friendly and supportive volunteer community that’s passionate about ending homelessness. With many volunteers returning year after year, the connections you make at Christmas can be long-lasting. And the relationships you build with people experiencing homelessness can be life-changing.
Throughout December, Crisis Skylight South Wales provides a vital programme of festive activities, services, and support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in South Wales. Our dedicated volunteers play an essential role in delivering this offer, supporting events and providing practical help in a variety of roles.
In the run-up to Christmas, members enjoy opportunities for connection and celebration, including a Carol Service, festive meals, and group outings such as bowling and a light show visit. We also host creative activities like our Christmas card workshop, supported by volunteers, to build community spirit and joy during the season.
Our volunteers support health and wellbeing through dedicated events, including access to services like ear care, optometry, and hairdressing. Volunteer kitchen assistants and receptionists help create a warm, welcoming space for all who attend. Members can also visit our volunteer-run donations room to access clothing and essentials.
One of our key volunteer-led activities is our Christmas Hamper Delivery. In the week before Christmas, volunteers pack and distribute hampers filled with food, toiletries, and gifts to members across South Wales.
We continue our Crisis at Christmas support into January, beginning the year with a Health and Wellbeing Day and a community Breakfast Morning.
It’s great that you want to support us this Christmas! There are lots of opportunities to support us through fundraising or campaigning work. To find out more, click through Other ways to support buttons on the Crisis at Christmas webpage.
Of course, you are welcome to volunteer in a new shift, location or a different role if we have space available.
If you are feeling poorly we urge you to not volunteer until you are feeling better.
As we prioritise the health of our guests, volunteers who display any symptoms will be asked to leave their shift.
Some of our roles require previous experience or qualifications and others do not.
Professional service volunteers, such as those completing health checks or haircuts will require the relevant qualifications and public liability insurance.
In some roles we may be looking for volunteers with experience of supporting people who are homeless or other vulnerable adult groups. Information about each role will be listed on our website and throughout your volunteer application form. Please check this information before applying to ensure you are applying for the most suitable role for you.
We do not ask for references for Christmas volunteers.
At Christmas, due to the volume of volunteers recruited, we are unable to provide detailed references. We will only provide a start and finish date for those who have completed a volunteering shift in the previous two years. The only exception to this is for the lead/senior volunteers who work closely with Crisis and members of staff beyond the Christmas service delivery period.
At Christmas, due to the volume of volunteers recruited we are unable to cover expenses.
Many of the roles in our services will require a disclosure check, (either basic or enhanced) - you will be able to see this on the role description. If the role does, we use a digital system to manage this and we will request and pay for it (where payment is needed).
If you have a criminal conviction, this does not automatically mean you cannot volunteer for us. However, we may need to ask you more about the conviction to be able to do a risk assessment and decide if you can or cannot volunteer.
Once we receive your application, we will contact you to let you know if your application has been accepted and provide information on the next steps. We get a high number of volunteer applications for Christmas and try our best to accommodate all volunteering applications.
In some cases, we may have more applications than spaces so you may be offered an alternative role or to be contacted if we have any cancellations.
Roles may differ in the specific training needed to volunteer but you will receive access to e-learning modules and a booking page for any in-person training sessions you will need to complete to volunteer.
You will also receive a briefing on the day of your volunteering shift and be assigned a named supervisor for your shift if you have any questions.
To attend South Wales Christmas as a guest, you can refer yourself or ask a professional to refer you by calling the centre on 01792 674900 or emailing southwales@crisis.org.uk where you will be allocated one of our engagement and assessment workers to talk to you further about your needs.
To donate to South Wales Christmas offer, you can make a monetary donation of your choosing to Crisis, which will be allocated to services in South Wales. Alternatively there are many other ways you can donate as we need a wide range of items to help us run our Christmas.
You can get in touch on 01792 674900 / southwales@crisis.org.uk to ask which items are needed.
Unfortunately there are some items we are unable to accept so please do check before dropping items in.
The voice and expertise of people with lived experience is vital in ensuring our service is truly meeting the needs of our members. We encourage anyone with lived experience to apply for our volunteer roles.
We also involve members and people with lived experience of homelessness in opportunities across the organisation including our Experts by Experience panel. For more details, please speak to your local Volunteer and Involvement Lead.
If you need to access your volunteer account please visit My Crisis Volunteering. Here you can access information on your shifts, including if you need to cancel or amend them and any learning relating to your volunteering as well as update your contact details.
