Volunteer

There are a variety of ways to help prisoners as a Haven volunteer.

If you live in Bristol, there are opportunities to help with the day-to-day business of receiving prisoners' letters and applications, packing books to send to prisoners, maintaining our catalogue of donated books, distributing publicity and fund raising.

If you are interested in working with us as a volunteer, and can commit to at least 3.5 hours per week, please complete and return the application form. Please make sure you read the volunteer job description and volunteer policy before completing the application form.

If you live outside Bristol, you can help with publicity, fund raising and collecting book donations.

If you would like to distribute publicity, you can contact us for publicity materials. You can also download PDF versions of our publicity material here:

• A5 flyer
• A3 poster

If you would like to help raise funds for Haven, one of the easiest ways is to encourage your friends and family to shop through our Amazon bookshop and our Charity Cards site.
Example: If you are hoping to receive books as gifts for your birthday, ask your friends and family to purchase the books through the Haven Distribution Amazon link.

Another great way to raise funds is to sell books from your personal collection that you no longer need. If you need advice or would just like to chat about organising a book sale, please contact us.
Example: If there is a local fete or market, or if your Student Union has a jumble sale, or even if you have a car-boot sale near you, sell your books and then send the money to Haven. It is very easy to make a one-off donation through the Charities Aid Foundation.

We also collect donated books to send to prisoners who have not been able to access formal education at their prison. Certain books are more in demand than others, especially dictionaries in languages other than English. Please contact us if you need advice or would just like to chat about organising a book collection.
Example: Organise a collection at your local place of worship for dictionaries in a particular language, depending on what languages are common among the congregation (i.e. Arabic, Farsi, Chinese) and then contact us when you have collected at least one box full — we can then arrange for a courier to come pick up the books.

If you have any other suggestions for volunteering opportunities, please feel free to contact us at any time. We are always grateful for your support.