Volunteering with Hope Kitchen
Volunteering at Hope Kitchen is a really easy, friendly way to get involved in your community. It’s a great chance to meet new people, give something back, make a real difference, and even pick up a few new skills along the way. With plenty of different projects to choose from, there’s bound to be something that suits what you enjoy doing.
New Hope Café
Come and help prepare and serve meals, chat with customers, and support the general running of our community café. It’s a welcoming space where good food and good company go hand in hand. Contact Rachel for more details.
Greenshoots Garden
If you like working outdoors or getting hands‑on, Greenshoots offers a mix of gardening, building and practical tasks. You can help grow fruit and veg for our meals, lend a hand with garden maintenance, or get involved in small building projects and woodwork around the site. Email Jo for more info.
Re_Store Charity Shop
Support our team in the shop by sorting donations, organising stock, helping customers and keeping the shop running smoothly. Every sale helps fund our community. Contact Louise for details of how to get involved.
Rescued Food Project
Help collect, sort and redistribute surplus food from local supermarkets, making sure good food is shared rather than wasted. Email Sarah for info on joining the team.
If you’d like to volunteer in a way that fits your skills, interests or schedule, we’d love to welcome you to the team.
Get involved and make a positive impact in Oban.
Meet Naomi
Naomi has been a vibrant and dedicated part of the New Hope Café team for almost 3 years. She first joined us through the Positive Destinations programme in April 2023 and quickly became a valued part of the kitchen.
With catering experience from Argyll College, she helps prepare and serve meals, makes desserts, washes up, and keeps the café running smoothly. Her upbeat energy, kindness and sense of humour make her a favourite with volunteers and guests alike. She’s known for her kindness, especially toward customers who need a little extra help, and she’s always ready to lend a hand
Over time, Naomi has grown in confidence, taken on new responsibilities—like helping with the food bank—and built strong relationships within the team. In 2025, she was recognised as Young Volunteer of the Year, a reflection of her hard work and resilience.
Naomi now volunteers alongside her mum, Jennifer, bringing warmth and positivity to the café every week.
meet charles
Charles has been a steady and much‑appreciated presence at the Greenshoots Garden for around five years. He’s usually one of the first to arrive, helping Jo unload supplies and catching up with the team over a morning coffee.
Most mornings, Charles joins other volunteers to look over the day’s tasks before everyone splits into small teams. Whether it’s garden maintenance, problem‑solving, or getting stuck into one of the garden’s building projects, he’s always ready to share his skills and ideas.
For Charles, volunteering is a two‑way exchange. He enjoys passing on what he knows, but also values learning how others work and think. Seeing a project through from start to finish is one of the things he finds most satisfying.
He’s thoughtful about the volunteer experience, too, and hopes to see even more open conversations, more one‑to‑one chats, and more opportunities for volunteers to take ownership of small projects—something he believes really helps people grow in confidence.
When asked why he’d encourage others to volunteer, his answer is simple: it’s a meaningful way to contribute to the community, and it does wonders for mental wellbeing.