Volunteer or donate to support our work

Volunteer with us

Do you have free time and a desire to help your local community? Then join the team of volunteers at CSS and give back by helping out with our many vital services for local people. We offer volunteering placements in:

• Re-use
• Horticulture
• Business/Marketing
• Customer Service/Sales
• Admin
• Warehouse
• Handyperson
• Multi-drop van delivery
• Upcycling help
  

If you're not sure what you can contribute, then don't worry. Some of our best volunteers are people that just walk through the door and ask, “How can I help?” All we ask is that you're willing and enthusiastic. It’s as simple as that!

Why should I volunteer?

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Make a difference! 

Volunteering gives you an opportunity to make a difference to people’s lives in your community. You can use your skills and experience to help and enrich the local community.

Improve job prospects & employability

Volunteering proves to your future employer that you have developed necessary skills & are a committed person. This is especially useful for application forms and job interviews.

Experience
Volunteering gives you a chance to get experience in a field you’d like to work in.

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Training
Many of the volunteer projects will include training, which will be useful both on the project and in later life.

Experience Diversity
Volunteering gives you the chance to meet people both from within and outside the business who you would not normally come across.

Influence career choice
Volunteering gives you the opportunity to test out potential career choices.

Rewarding
Volunteering is a rewarding activity; you can develop specific skills in different environment and assist other people in the community.

Opportunity for training and development
Volunteering provides you with development opportunities that paid employment doesn’t allow, for example; communication and people skills, organisational and time management skills, planning and budgeting skills. It can help open up fresh opportunities and is a way to explore new career paths.

Helps the transition from work to retirement
Volunteering can help you maintain an active and healthy lifestyle and can also help you feel you are doing a useful activity.

Builds business/social links
Volunteering can help you build links with other individuals and organisations.

‘Giving something back’
Volunteering roles can play an important part in helping to solve community problems. You can use your skills and experience to help and enrich your local community.

Have fun!
Volunteering is fun and fulfilling, allowing you to experience many opportunities not usually available to you.

Support Us to Support Others

We provide services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the North East of England. These include renovating and providing furniture and household goods and supplying to those most in need, providing training and volunteering opportunities, garden and handyperson services for the relief of elderly or disabled people and other charitable activities.

Furniture Stores

We have two furniture stores within the City of Sunderland.

The first is based in Southwick on the North side of the River Wear, the second is in Thorney Close, on the South side of the River Wear. The furniture stores exist to make affordable, quality furniture available to those most in need in our community.

We collect donated furniture and pass it on to our customers for a nominal charge. We ensure that furniture collected is passed straight on to our customers, is of good quality and re-usable. We strive to enable a better quality of life for our customers through the services we provide. There are some easy and effective ways you can help make a difference.

• Donate
• Make a regular gift
• Leave a lasting legacy
• Organise your own fundraising event
  
  

Whatever you do, you will be making a real difference to somebody’s life.