Become a Digital Champion by volunteering at Digital Cafés and help bridge the digital divide across Birmingham.

Volunteering is a powerful and selfless act that can profoundly impact the lives of those who participate and the communities they serve. According to NHS mental health guidance, connecting with other people and giving back are two of the five steps to improving our wellbeing (find out more here).

In 2026, we are making volunteering more accessible, engaging, and flexible across Birmingham. Working hand in hand with different constituencies of the city, represented by their Neighbourhood Network Schemes, we are opening doors for volunteers to support Digital Cafés across the city. With suitable, flexible, and convenient locations and timings, volunteers can commit as little as one hour or choose to become regulars.

Digital Cafés are informal, drop-in sessions held in open community spaces where volunteers sit down with local residents, often older adults, who need guidance on how to navigate their personal devices, whether phones, tablets, or laptops.

The advice and guidance volunteers are expected to provide requires no additional upskilling and draws on skills they already possess. While the requests raised by community members may seem simple to volunteers, they can prove to be challenging and sometimes account for real obstacles for many people, either in their day-to-day lives or in accessing services, entertainment and wellbeing opportunities.

Such requests can include freeing up storage on devices, navigating video calls, managing emails and unsubscribing from spam newsletters, downloading or deleting apps, and more.

Volunteers are not expected to address more specialised requests, such as NHS app navigation or educating people about spam calls and emails, as these are provided by Neighbourhood Network Scheme teams and other contracted experts.

We are looking for people who are kind, compassionate, and patient, with the ability to listen to people’s concerns and possess the people skills to explain and teach with respect and positive energy. There are no age limits on who can volunteer, and we encourage people from all backgrounds to be part of this wholesome project.

If you would like to help people in your community grow more confident in using their devices and stay in touch with family and loved ones digitally, we look forward to hearing from you and welcoming you as part of the city’s Digital Champions.

Sign up using the form today (click here), and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

This initiative is launched by Digital NNS and will be delivered in collaboration with the city’s 10 Neighbourhood Network Schemes, BVSC, local charities and community groups.