Volunteer with us

We couldn’t do our work without the support of our dedicated volunteers and it can be a great way to join the Fair Trade movement. There are two ways you can volunteer with us: through your local group or directly with Fair Trade Wales, as part of the Hub Cymru Africa volunteering scheme.

You might already have experience in an area like fundraising or communications or you may want to gain valuable skills and knowledge about global solidarity. Whatever your situation, your time and skills could be invaluable to Fair Trade Wales and it’s something you can be proud to have on your CV. When you volunteer for us, you’ll also meet some lovely people from our groups across Wales.

Read our volunteer stories below and get in touch via the Hub Cymru Africa volunteering scheme if you’d like to join our team.

Volunteering stories

Tamika

Tamika volunteered at Hub Cymru Africa, more specifically within the Fair Trade Wales team, helping organise our 15 year celebration event as a Fair Trade Nation.

“I had the pleasure to volunteer with Fair Trade Wales alongside completing my masters degree in Environment and Development from Cardiff University. The two accompanied each other well, as I was able to experience how theories and principles learnt in the classroom around ethical trade, social justice, and environmental justice translated to real world problems and working to real world solutions.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my involvement with Fair Trade Wales was celebrating 15 years of Wales as a Fair Trade Nation.  Helping to coordinate the 15 year celebration event at the Senedd was incredibly fulfilling, as I got to engage with community volunteers who have been advocating for Fairtrade for years. It helped to cement the importance of collective action towards shared goals.

Volunteering with Fair Trade Wales has been an integral part of my academic and personal growth journey as well as my professional journey. It empowered me to explore future career opportunities with confidence as I drew upon the skills I learnt and developed from volunteering. Including, but not limited to, communications and general administrative tasks. Working within a small team meant I was able to build strong professional relationships, something that was of real value to me in a post-COVID, remote working, era.

It has reinforced my commitment to advocating for social and environmental justice while equipping me with the skills to effect meaningful change. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of Fair Trade Wales, for the people I have met and the lessons I have learned.”

Maddy

Madeline Jewell is a student at Cardiff University and came to volunteer with us in February 2020.

“As part of my Geography and Planning course, I wanted to learn more about global issues and international development and was keen to get involved so I started a placement as an office volunteer for Fair Trade Wales, volunteering two mornings a week. It was a valuable opportunity to develop my administration and organisation skills whilst also getting a taste of an office working environment.”

“I was part of Fairtrade Fortnight and provided scope for stories to be shared about the people working hard to produce goods we often take for granted, such as coffee and chocolate and it was such a privilege to be a part of helping to prepare for these events. The experience challenged me to consider my consumption patterns and lifestyle and I now have a fresh understanding of how we can collectively be working together to make changes that contribute towards a fairer world.”

Tara

Tara Fisher is a Fairtrade activist and volunteered at the International Fair Trade Towns Conference (IFTTC) in October 2019.

“I’ve been a volunteer for Fairtrade for over 10 years and when I moved to Llanelli, I campaigned to help it become a Fairtrade Town then became a volunteer for Fair Trade Wales. All Fairtraders are volunteers like me and it’s something I’m very proud of, spreading the awareness of Fair Trade and encouraging more and more people to buy Fairtrade products to help farmers.”

“As part of the IFTTC, I was involved in helping to set up the hall, meeting and greeting, noting on a map where people had come from, selling T-shirts, being on duty to help delegates and using my languages to translate for people. The conference was so useful for me but also a great deal of fun and I made lots of friends from that event. My next steps and goals are to continue developing ideas taken from the conference to make the people in my community truly and actively aware of Fairtrade.”

If you’re inspired by Maddie and Tara’s stories and would like to volunteer with us, get in touch via the Hub Cymru Africa volunteering programme.