Best charity and volunteering apps for iPhone, Android and Nokia

If you don't want your Christmas stocking to contain nothing but a lump of coal, there's still time to climb off the naughty list. You can even buy your presents at the same time, while benefiting charity. Buff up your halo, because we've brought you the best of the warm fuzzy apps for your iPhone, Android phone or Nokia smart phone.

Vinspired for iPhone

Vinspired is a charity that targets the boring, time-consuming reputation of volunteering by offering bite-sized opportunities you can do on-demand and on the spot. You could translate a few lines for a charity while waiting for the bus, for example, or mentor an art student while you're sitting through a dull meeting.

If you have more time to spare, there's a whole database of opportunites to give away your time doing something you might really enjoy, such as coaching basketball or toiling in a wildlife garden.

The app also lets you keep track of what you've done and gain gamified achievements, if the good karma isn't enough. The app is targeted at 16 to 25-year-olds in England, and it's free (iTunes link).

Oxfam Unwrapped for Nokia

Not done any Christmas shopping? Family already has everything? Not to worry, because Oxfam gifts have the advantage of being lovely and available at the click of a button.

Not only can you stock up on virtual goats and wells for your mates, while providing the real deal for the people who actually need more stuff, you can play Oxfam's Goat Invaders game, a goat-themed take on Space Invaders.

Hey, just download it, because it's free and Nokia will give 10p to Oxfam. Do it now from the Ovi Store.

FixMyStreet for Android

Do a good deed while you're out and about by reporting potholes, broken street lights and other municipal irritations.

The app lets you attach photos and a description of the problem, and then fires off a report to your local council. Think how happy that little old lady will be this winter when she doesn't break her hip on that broken pavement. That was you!

FixMyStreet is another clever website from the mySociety people, who do Webby democracy projects and also came up with the No 10 Petitions site for the Prime Minister's office.

Find the app for free by searching in the Android Market, or scan this handy QR code.

St John Ambulance First Aid for iPhone

According to St John Ambulance, every year 150,000 people die in England and Wales in situations where first aid could have given them a chance to live. Is that what you want? And what about Scots? Are they trained to do CPR from birth, or what?

Wherever you roam, don't let your loved ones gasp their last just because of your ignorance. This app walks you through everything from the kiss of life to dabbing someone's forehead with a wet cloth. 

It's not cheap, at £2.39, but this is a charity that saves actual lives, so cough it up, Grinch. It's available in the App Store (iTunes link). And if you're really feeling skint, or you just love hard copy, you can also be sent a free pocket-sized guide by texting LIFE to 85010 or requesting a guide online.

JustGiving for Android and iPhone

In the great British tradition of using charity to pay for holidays giving to charity, JustGiving is the website of choice for people looking to get a London Marathon place give something back.

But seriously, as long as the charities are benefiting, even curmudgeons like us can stand a few more photos of grinning mates on top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Anyway, this app is aimed at the charity doers, not the charity givers. Get instant donation alerts, update your charity page from your phone, and fire off photos to your supporters using the app on either your iPhone or Android phone.

It's a free app and it's available from the Apple App Store (iTunes link) or from the Android Market, for which we've provided this handy QR code.