Often overlooked by residents of LS6, Woodhouse Community Centre is a fantastic resource, providing…read morea permanent base for voluntary and charitable organisations, a meeting place for societies and groups and a venue for a diverse range of weekly clubs teaching everything from theatre and language to juggling.

Working as a central point for community groups this building was established not to run resources…read morebut to supply the actual infrastructure needed to run dedicated working community groups from. In other words the building provided workstations and a quality working environment for community groups as well as good environment for fragmented, vulnerable or disenfranchised members of the community to seek help from. Groups in the centre include help for asylum seekers and refugees, South Leeds Health for All, Community Action and Support Against Crime and Leeds Development Education Centre.

Despite looking like a bank (it's housed in an old Barclay's building), the Roundhay Road Resource…read moreCentre is in fact a lively hub and an important resource for the community. The idea is to provide a one-stop shop for community services, offering reasonably priced office accommodation to groups working in the social sector. In practice, this means that individuals looking for support can come here and have many of their needs under the same roof. When I visited, it was still new and many of the spaces were unfilled, but already the atmosphere was warm, communal and engaging. Anyone who entered the building was made to feel welcome, which is especially good considering many of the groups operating from here work with vulnerable people, and there were plenty of staff on hand to advise and assist. They are currently advertising for more services to set up their offices here, and in my opinion any groups with social or environmental aims would benefit from being part of this community.

St George's Crypt has been working with disadvantaged, homeless, and vulnerable people of the Leeds…read morecommunity since the 1930s. St George's Crypt offers a massive range of services from the very basic level needs of giving food and shelter to those most vulnerable and in need to developing organisations which work on confidence building, skills training and allowing people to begin to support themselves again and integrate back into society. There are many partners to St George's for funding, skills training and project steering groups. The diverse range of services provided by St George's gives a holistic approach to helping others rather than just temporary help then passing the buck and finding no solution to problems.

I spent just 4 hours at St George's Crypt and quickly got a sense of how important a place it is…read morefor so many people in Leeds. It is a community, it is a support mechanism, it is a temporary home and it is a hot meal for anyone who wants one. St George's Crypt is about making people's lives better and giving them the opportunity to do it for themselves, giving people a purpose to get out of bed and not do the types of things that cause you harm. Everyone was friendly - from staff, to volunteers from the prison, to ex prisoners in full time employment, to clients using the facilities. I felt safe and as though they appreciated the help that anyone and everyone can offer. If you want to help out and support such a useful place in Leeds go get in touch and do anything to help them!

Volunteering for Hyde Park Source one day a week one summer is one of the best things I have done…read morein Leeds. In the Hyde Park/Burley area they re-develop the bin yards that every 4 houses shares on the streets of narrow back-to-backs that are usually totally unusable for anything and often filled with rubbish. The bin yards - with permission and in-put from the residents - are transformed into spaces that are nice to be in and usable, for growing plants or having bbq's. Mosaics get made, walls get painted and planters filled all with the help of volunteers like me and kids from school who don't necessarily get on in the classroom. It was such a rewarding experience for me. I got to learn how to lay paving, render walls, make mosaics, use a saw, all whilst supporting the young people on the project. Working with people in the community like this also widened my eyes to Leeds beyond the impermanent student bubble; I became aware of an older group of people involved in things such as Unity Day. The gardens really brighten up the area too and sometimes I wish I had a bin yard so they could come and jazz up my space!

I volunteer for Hyde Park Source once a week, and am really glad I do. It is really rewarding and I…read moreget to learn new skills and try out things I have never done before. They started out in 1998 with the idea of improving the local environment through building and renovating spaces that were not safe or just really dirty, into gardens, play areas and social spaces for people to enjoy. Nowadays the organisation is more based around training and development, but integrated with the environmental aspect it was previously surrounding. They provide support and training to disadvantaged young people through the various projects they take on around the community, teaching various construction, gardening, art and design and technology skills. Things such as digging, designing and making mosaics, willow weaving and bird house making are among many of the activities you can expect to find. It is a highly valued part of its community and provides a positive and educational place for people to come and learn or who just want to give something back.

Community, community, community. Starting from the very grassiest of grassroots Oblong has survived…read moreyears of battles against bad landlords and the difficulties of securing funding to finally squeezing its way into Woodhouse Community Centre gaining better space provision for its large spread of activities as well as bigger platform from which to demonstrate a none-hierarchical organisation. You pay to become a member then have access to very good sources of IT and knowledge. You can volunteer to help on various projects from green space improvement to helping on the administration side of things or begin your own community-minded project. This is a fantastic place to learn new skills or just as a space to think away from the home or library environments.

Oblong is an excellent community resource centre near to Hyde Park. As soon as you walk in, you…read morefeel comfortable, and there's plenty of things to get involved in. For example, there is a bicycle maintenance workshop, an art group, computer lessons, and yoga classes. See their website for everything you can get involved in. The co-op food group is a terrific idea too.

British Heart Foundation is located on Gowthorpe the main street through Selby and is near the…read moreHalifax Bank. There is street parking outside the shop but it is limited to 30 mins. The British Heart Foundation is a charity that raises money for fighting heart and circulatory disease. The British Heart Foundation funds research, education and life-saving equipment and helps heart patients. The shop stocks new ornaments and costume jewellery, with second hand clothes, books, toys and bric-a-brac. Along with the stock, the British Heart Foundation regularly organises and promotes active events to raise money and awareness. Volunteers are always welcome as is second hand goods donations.

Another part of St George's Crypt, I really relished this so thought I worthy of its own review…read more Putting people in touch with nature and growing shows something tangible from work you do in the form of something growing. Faith Lodge does this by offering courses in horticulture. Along side this NVQ where residents grow vegetables in polytunnels an enterprise called Nurture is being developed where greetings cards, bracelets, flower baskets, bird boxes and jams, amongst other things, are being created by residents. Working nationally as well as locally Nurture will be working with The Eden Project on an exhibition for the Chelsea Flower Show.

Don't ask me why, as I honestly couldn't tell you, but I've found more one-off hand made and…read moreexciting goodies in Moortown Corner than anywhere else of late. I was literally there for a little wander, and being me, I couldn't resist nipping into the charity shops. I have a rather burning habit of doing that, as you may have noticed if you've read a few of my reviews. I'd tried out the Well Fair Shop just a few shops up the last time I came to Moortown so this time it seemed only right that I give Cancer Research a visit! Inside there were lots and lots of treats. The lady in there was really helpful and friendly, certainly, she didn't seem to mind my browsing for eons 'umming' and 'ahhing' over whether or not to just top it up to a £20 spend with that one extra dress! Surprisingly there were quite a few pretty decent labels in there too, which is always a bonus. As well as some great women's clothing there was a lot of knick-knacks, crockery and glassware, ornamentals, jewellery and more! A grand little charity shop to visit!

Much, much nicer than the Oxfam close by, in that it's really well stocked and there's been some…read morethought put into how the clothes are displayed and laid out. Plenty of books too. Knocked a star off though because a knitted Bench scarf was £4 which despite being is pretty steep in my book. OK, I know it's for charity, but I'm a pretty seasoned charity shop shopper and I know what's good value and what's not. And that's not. Sort out your pricing and you'll get another star!