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Volunteering with Toucan Diversity

Volunteering with Toucan Diversity offers a meaningful opportunity to support a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our work is made possible through the commitment, passion, and generosity of our volunteers, who play a vital role in helping us achieve our mission.

We are equally committed to supporting those who choose volunteering opportunities with us. Toucan Diversity provides a range of volunteer training and development opportunities throughout the year, designed to build confidence, enhance employability, and develop transferable skills.

All volunteers take part in our Disability Equality Training, which is a core part of the volunteering experience. This training deepens understanding of disability, challenges misconceptions, and explores the everyday barriers faced by disabled people in society. It equips volunteers with the knowledge and awareness needed to promote inclusive attitudes and practices in all areas of their work.

By volunteering with Toucan Diversity, you will:

  • Gain valuable training and work experience

  • Develop confidence and practical skills

  • Learn about disability, equality, and inclusion

  • Make a positive social impact through volunteering

Volunteering with Toucan Diversity is a chance to grow personally and professionally while helping create a more inclusive society.

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At Toucan Diversity, we are proud to support and value our disabled volunteers and the talents they already have. We also upskill our volunteers and trainers, creating clear pathways to meaningful volunteering roles and future employment opportunities.

 

Become a Volunteer

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer for us we’d love to hear from you! There are limitless ways you can get involved and use your skills. Every single contribution helps us to continue our work. Whatever your background, and whatever you wish to do, you’ll find that volunteering for Toucan is rewarding.

Here are some of the opportunities to get involved in:

  • Marketing support – we use Canva to create visuals
  • Content writing – you would work as part of group
  • Fundraising events
  • Bid writing
  • General Admin work
  • HR support
  • Community events
  • IT Support
  • Procurement
  • Blog writing
  • Newsletter creation for different audiences. 
  • Research work 

You can read and download here our Volunteers Handbook or read it below.

To apply to help us  as a volunteer you can:

Get in Touch

Testimonials from our volunteers

“Volunteering with Toucan Diversity has introduced me to many marketing skills that I would not have gained without the experience. I was given the freedom to learn how to use various marketing software in a comfortable environment. The staff are great and I believe we both learnt from each other. I definitely recommend volunteering with Toucan and would like to thank both Madissa and Anne-Marie for the opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was invaluable for my progression into marketing job roles!”
Beth Townsend
“Since joining Toucan Diversity in March 2018, I have developed a wealth of new skills and experience. The volunteering has all fit well with my University Studies, with a lot of the work being able to be flexible. In Toucan Diversity I am partially responsible for 2 fundraising streams, fundraising events and challenges, and grant funding. Under the guidance of Anne-Marie and Madissa I have felt valued and appreciated for the work I have done, whilst also being able to maintain an open dialogue to share my own ideas and be open to receive constructive criticism. In particular, I have been able to attend workshops in bid writing and crowdfunding, attend the Portsmouth Business Expo on behalf of Toucan, and attend one of their open training sessions at Gunwharf Quays. I don’t believe I could have received a vaguely similar experience from another organisation.”
Adele Benson
“Volunteering with Toucan Diversity after graduating from the University of Portsmouth has been an incredible opportunity that’s helped me grow my skillset and confidence As a Content and Copywriter, I have been given exciting responsibilities and creative freedom, designing promotional materials for Toucan’s fundraising events like the Abseil, Skydive, and Great South Run. I created participant communications and produced social media content to encourage participant sign-ups and help Toucan reach its fundraising goals. Toucan Diversity is truly dedicated to upskilling and empowering their volunteers. The staff are incredibly supportive, and I have learned so much from them throughout my time volunteering. Toucan gave me the flexibility to work from home, allowing me to choose when and how much time I wanted to dedicate to volunteering, and the experience I gained volunteering with Toucan played a crucial role in helping me secure my first full-time marketing job.”
An image of Lewis Chamberlain
Lewis Chamerlain
“I became a volunteer at Toucan Diversity in my third year studying English and Media studies at Portsmouth University. My role was to help with Toucan Diversity’s social media pages as well as other elements of media marketing. Through volunteering for Toucan Diversity they have enabled my learning of marketing on social media, giving me the crucial hands on experience needed to further a career in the media sector. The team at Toucan Diversity, especially Madissa and Anne-Marie have been very supportive in my volunteer role. They also provided and offered training that further increased my knowledge and understanding on social media marketing.

Toucan Diversity’s volunteer role has provided an important experience and various training opportunities that I had not experienced when studying at university. This has been essential in my personal and professional development. Alongside this I was also given the opportunity to attend some of the disability equality training sessions. From attending these I have gained a greater understanding of disability awareness and equality.”
Alice Quinell
“I became an advisor to Toucan’s board in 2021. Having a disability myself, I believe strongly in Toucan’s mission of social inclusion for disabled people by disabled people. I first heard of Toucan because I had attended school with its late founder, Madissa Asgari, and I wanted to help continue her mission and legacy. As well as being an advisory member of the board, I support Toucan’s development director in any way I can. My proudest achievement with this CIC (Community Interest Company) is that in 2024, I was instrumental in helping set up the Toucan Trainers Academy and Programme of Lectures. These were all delivered by disabled academics. This was a culmination of the founder’s aim to set up such an academy, as when she became a trainer and founded Toucan, there was no such training available. I have also become increasingly adept at writing grant bids for Toucan, a skill which I would not have been able to develop without the team’s help. Additionally, as a volunteer, I was Toucan’s interim operations manager for a period, which I enjoyed greatly. If you volunteer for us, you will become part of a very close, welcoming team.”
Dr. Rebecca Butler
Dr. Rebecca Butler
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