FORMER volunteer Phil Handyside was keen to make use of her extra hours since retiring.

Now she has an appointment with Oxford homelessness charity Gatehouse and is hoping to return to volunteering in the organisation’s cafe, and doing administrative work.

Mrs Handyside, 52, from Kennington, was one of hundreds of people who attended Oxford City Council’s first volunteering and funding fair, at the Town Hall on Tuesday.

She said: “I am a lapsed volunteer who wanted to get back into actually helping the homeless again.

“I was working full-time previously and just couldn’t fit it in with my job, whereas now I have retired I have lots of time on my hands.”

Student Rhea Newman, 19, is hoping to get involved with a project run by the Oxford Hub, which organises volunteering opportunities for students.

She said: “I have always thought about volunteering at some point so I thought I would make the most of all the information on offer.

“There is lots going on. I would like to do a couple of hours a week working with young people, maybe involving sport.”

About 50 different organisations had displays at the fair, and they reported a steady stream of people showing interest in a variety of different schemes.

Seb Byas is a co-ordinator for Oxford Hub, working on projects for East Oxford hospice Helen and Douglas House.

He said: “It’s always a struggle to find lots of volunteers but there is a group of us who are fairly regular and we go and help out whenever we can.

“We have had a few people sign up so far.”

Nathan James, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s membership officer, said the fair was a great way of meeting people interested in getting involved.

He added: “We need volunteers who can spend time with patients, befriending them, helping out with various activities on the wards.

“We have had quite a bit of interest not just in volunteering but also from Oxford University who are keen to work with us on stamping out the stigma around bullying.”

Jonny Brown, 36, from Oxford, said he was interested in signing up to help out at Cutteslowe Community Association.

He explained: “I thought I might want to get involved as a volunteer with some local worthy cause.

“The fair is a good idea, because it is all gathered in one place in the centre of town.

“I would probably not have heard about this opportunity otherwise, unless I had actively gone looking at local community groups.”

Fair organiser Kaylee McEntaggart, communities and neighbourhoods support officer at the city council, said: “It has been really good. We have had a stream of people, not only students, but also people who are maybe between jobs who are looking to do something constructive with their time.”