Cork’s Community Engagement programme was established in 2022, in response to the mass migration of Ukrainian refugees to Cork. It offers a new way to bridge the gap between communities that need support and the people who want to help. It gives people the opportunity to get involved in community focused projects and provides opportunities to establish new connections in Cork City & County.
Volunteering can help people who are new in Cork improve their confidence, mental health, English language skills, gain work experience, and even make friends. Ireland is known for its strong sense of community, and volunteering can be a good way to get to meet new people and create meaningful connections. The opportunities are endless, from mentoring, charity shops, and even craft volunteering.
Get in touch with us and we will help you find the right opportunity for you.
Here are a few options to participate in volunteering activities:
Search for volunteering opportunities on our website: i-vol.ie:
Simply click the Search Opportunities button, select your Area, Activity and/or Cause of interest and view the current opportunities available.
Join our Summer and Seasonal Activities
If you want to know more about our summer and seasonal volunteering activities, get in touch with us and we will let you know when we have a special event coming up. You can find our contact details above.
Participate in our weekly ongoing activities
You can find a full range of our weekly ongoing activities listed below.
Monday
11am – Project Finishers – Cork Volunteer Centre
Add a final perfect touch!
Our Knit & Crochet group have been super busy making these gorgeous baby garments for donation to premature babies in CUH Maternity Ward.But we need your help!
We are excited to share that we have started a brand new Monday craft group of Project Finishers to help add buttons, ribbons and other finishing touches before we donate.
Help us to get ready items for distribution to charity organisations.
Join our group on Monday at 11am.
Everyone is welcome!
TUESDAY
11am – Safe Gigs Bracelet Making – Sexual Violence Centre
Safe Gigs is a new initiative to make gigs and nightlife safer by creating a zero tolerance environment for sexual violence.
The bracelets are made to raise awareness of sexual violence and women’s safety during concerts and festivals.
We make them at the Sexual Violence Centre and are later on distributed during music events.
4:30 – Gardening activities – Parkowen Community Garden
Parkowen is a special place in Cork City. Situated near Nano Nagle Place, this green space is focused on supporting biodiversity. There is a medicinal garden bed, a natural dyes bed, a meadow, a tree nursery and so much more.
We need as much help as we can get. Join this group and experience the satisfaction to be gained from taking part in the entire growth process, preparing the ground, planting, weeding, harvesting.
WEDNESDAY
10:30am – Gardening activities – Togher Community Garden
Togher Community Garden is one of 27 community gardens to have emerged in Cork in the past few years, particularly with the huge upsurge in interest in gardening that came during the covid pandemic. There are many food related projects happening in Togher. If you miss the food from your home country, this garden offers the opportunity to grow it and exchange your cultural knowledge with other volunteers in the garden.
THURSDAY
11am – Knit and Crochet group – Cork Volunteer Centre
The Knit and Crochet group started in May 2023, as an opportunity to have an in-centre volunteering activity. It was important that this group was accessible to those with limited English, and all levels of Knit & Crochet ability. Liaising with Cork University Maternity Hospital and Team Hope’s Shoebox appeal we established what types of projects would work best.
This project proved very successful delivering over 80 fully finished projects for donation by the end of the year to Team Hope, CRiTiCALL and Cork University Hospital’s Maternity Ward.
Delivery of the donated items was also done as a group activity, so that the participants could see where their hard work was going.
2.30 pm – One Million stars Kit makers – Cork Volunteer Centre
An inclusive community arts project connecting communities across Ireland
in solidarity against domestic abuse and all forms of violence. Each eight-point star woven represents light, hope and solidarity against domestic, sexual and gender based violence.
We need volunteers to prepare kits that will be distributed across Cork County. We aim to weave one million stars in Ireland, and each county is aiming to weave over 30.000 stars.
These kits could help us reach our goal!
SATURDAY
10:30am – Gardening activities – Togher Community Garden
Togher Community Garden is one of 27 community gardens to have emerged in Cork in the past few years, particularly with the huge upsurge in interest in gardening that came during the covid pandemic. There are many food related projects happening in Togher. If you miss the food from your home country, this garden offers the opportunity to grow it and exchange your cultural knowledge with other volunteers in the garden.
Contact
With the support of the Department of Rural and Community Development, Cork Volunteer Centre was able to recruit Nina, Marielle and Mariia to coordinate the programme, and develop meaningful volunteer engagement opportunities for migrant volunteers in Cork with the focus of supporting their integration into their local communities in Cork.
