Valuing Volunteering
For over 15 years, Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire (VANEL) has worked tirelessly to promote volunteering opportunities, and provide support to volunteers and their host organisations. The quality of work we carry out is such that we are NCVO Quality Accredited and have received the NAVCA Quality Award. Over the past few months VANEL has experienced some exciting changes which we are delighted to be able to tell you about. New staff members have joined the team and we have secured funding for a range of different volunteering opportunities.
IGNITE
Earlier this year VANEL secured funding from the Big Lottery for our Newest ‘Reaching Communities’ programme, IGNITE: “Helping Young People To Lead Their Communities”. The three year Big Lottery funded programme follows on from VANEL’s original three year Big Lottery funded ‘Reaching Communities’ programme, Enfuse: “Helping Young People To Help Their Communities To Help Themselves”. IGNITE aims to encourage young people, aged between 16 and 30, to become leaders in their community by providing them with the opportunity to design, implement and lead upon a project that benefits their community on a voluntary basis.
Overseeing the programme as part of the ‘IGNITE Youth Leadership Team’ is former “Enfuse” Youth Development Manager, Jenny Hodson. Jenny is now the Youth Leadership Manager for the IGNITE programme, and works alongside Youth Leadership Worker’s Victoria Russell and Lisa Anderson. Also part of the team is Communication Assistant, Helen Pickett. Together, they have been working hard to promote the programme on various media platforms such as the VANEL website, as well on as the IGNITE Facebook and Twitter pages. Youth Leadership Manager, Jenny, has also secured a weekly slot (coming soon) at the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education (GIFHE), talking to students about volunteering and leadership opportunities through the IGNITE programme.
The IGNITE team are currently supporting 18-year-old IGNITE Project Leader Shona O’Reilly who is running a vintage themed Macmillan Coffee Morning on Friday 30th September 2016 from 11:00am until 2:00pm at Tukes’ Café in People’s Park.
MOVE
VANEL are proud to be one of the 24 partner organisations from around North East Lincolnshire promoting and delivering the MOVE project. MOVE is a three-year Big Lottery Fund/European Social Fund (ESF) funded ‘Building Better Opportunities’ project. MOVE aims to help those furthest away from employment to identify, address and overcome the barriers to them finding paid work through volunteering. Every Tuesday from 2:30pm until 4:30pm, Peter will be available at the Job Centre in Grimsby to encourage people to get involved with the MOVE project, using volunteering and/or training as a route that can be used to develop their skills and find paid work. For more information about MOVE and how to get involved, contact MOVE Advisor Peter Hewson, Peter@vanel.org.uk
Community Health Champions
The Community Health Champions programme has been developed by Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Council’s Developing Healthier Communities/Lifestyle Services team. The programme recruits and provides support to volunteer Community Health Champions, who are trained to promote health and wellbeing messages in communities and settings across North East Lincolnshire.
Fronting the programme, and responsible for the recruitment of volunteers, is Community Health Champion programme coordinator, Vickie Ehret. Vickie is currently promoting the recruitment of volunteers for the Community Health Champions programme, and believes that this would be an ideal opportunity for anyone who has an interest, academic or otherwise, in health and wellbeing. Vickie is also beginning to look at ways the Community Health Champions programme could utilise volunteers who are already volunteering within a community group or setting, and who would be interested in learning more about health and wellbeing, in order to become Community Health Champions within their local area. They would complete CERTA accredited training to deliver this service in their community, engage with the local people, and support them with any health and wellbeing issues.
Volunteering is a great way to, get practical experience, learn new skills, meet new people, gain confidence and have fun. If you have some free time and are interested in supporting health campaigns and delivering health messages across North East Lincolnshire, contact Vickie. Email Vickie@vanel.org.uk, or call her on (01472) 231 123.
Volunteer Manager’s Network Meetings
Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire’s (VANEL) Volunteer Centre Development Service, host quarterly Volunteer Manager’s Network Meetings (VMN) each year. The most recent Volunteer Manager’s Network took place at West Marsh Community Centre on Monday 26th September 2016.
The Volunteer Manager’s Network meetings provide all paid and unpaid worker’s responsible for volunteers, the opportunity to share practice, discuss problems that they may be experiencing in regards to volunteering within their organisation, and provide an arena for peer support. For example, the meetings may address issues such as dealing with a volunteer who may be acting outside the boundaries of their role, the issues that can arise from this, and how to address it. Likewise, the VMN meetings serve as an opportunity to inform Volunteer Managers about development across Greater Lincolnshire, and any national changes taking place in regards to volunteering. The meetings are also an opportunity to encourage organisations that work with volunteers to get involved with, or renew, their Supporting Volunteers Award (SVA). The SVA was developed by VANEL’s Volunteer Service, in response to feedback from volunteers and their host organisations. Upon successful completion, the award lasts for three years, and is an excellent way of demonstrating to volunteers that the organisation they work with, or are applying to work with, provide good quality, safe, supported, volunteering opportunities.
The next Volunteer Manager’s Network Meeting is to be held on Monday 5th December at West Marsh Community Centre from 9:30am until 12 noon. In keeping with the time of year, the meeting will have a festive feel and will tackle the subject of working with offenders. Subscription to the Volunteer Centre Development Centre Service is £50 per year for VANEL member organisations and £60 for non VANEL member organisations. Volunteer Manager’s from organisations who are not subscribed to the Volunteer Centre Development Service, can attend the meeting for a £10 fee, per meeting. If you would like more information about the Volunteer Manager’s Network Meetings and how you can get involved, contact Jacky Birkett. Email: Jacky.birkett@vanl.org.uk
Volunteering
“Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless”
–Sherry Anderson
The meaning of the word ‘volunteer’ may seem relatively straightforward. A ‘volunteer’ is defined as ‘a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task’, often for the benefit of a cause, individual or group. However, this dictionary definition is highly reductive, and in order for us to understand what it is that makes a person become a volunteer, we must first acknowledge that the title ‘volunteer’ is complex and can be interpreted in different ways by different people.
Some individuals will talk about volunteering in terms of how ‘worthwhile’ it is. They will tell you how becoming a volunteer provides you with an opportunity to meet new people, become part of a team, develop your skills, and all whilst doing something positive for a cause that you care about. Others, by contrast, may recoil at the thought of becoming a volunteer, and view the act of volunteering in terms of the gratification that it cannot provide. On a basic level it is easy to see why the idea of ‘working for free’ is to many people, a conflicting one. However, it goes without saying that money and time are two things which are, for the majority of people, in short supply. Many people give their time freely to a cause and also hold down jobs and look after their family. They may not even consider the work that they do to fall under the bracket of volunteering.
The point of this article is not to make you feel bad for not volunteering, but to ask yourself, is volunteering something that you would be interested in doing, and if so, to consider the barriers preventing you from doing so, and how to overcome them. It is also important to acknowledge, that there are many people who would love become volunteers but are unable to do so due to family and/or work commitments, or because they have health issues. Volunteering opportunities take many shapes and forms, and are in no way limited to working in charity shops, unless of course that’s what you want to do! People who love animals may be well suited to volunteering at their local animal shelter. Students who wish to study a particular subject at degree level such as nursing or midwifery will benefit by volunteering at their local hospital or maternity unit, almost as much as the people that they are helping. Some individuals volunteer their time to support, increase awareness of, or raise money for, an organisation, event or cause that has helped them, or someone they care about, in some way.
There are so many personal benefits to becoming a volunteer that it’s not surprising that there is a whole sector dedicated to volunteering. As has already been mentioned, becoming a volunteer is an excellent way to meet new people and learn new skills. It’s also a great way to increase self-confidence. Furthermore, becoming a volunteer can help you to gain relevant ‘work’ experience in a field which you may want to pursue as a career and obtain up-to-date references from professionals within in that field. From the perspective of universities and potential employers, having experience as a volunteer in an area related to the one that you are applying for, demonstrates your drive and level of commitment. It is also an excellent way of gaining insight into a specific role and learning whether or not it is something that you seriously wish to pursue. Not only this but volunteering is proven to reduce stress, combat depression and keep you mentally and physically active.
The bottom line is that volunteers donate their time, knowledge and skills to causes that they care about, and recognise the importance of. This is the key to understanding why people volunteer and continue to do so for years on end. Should you discover a cause that is important to you, you may be surprised how suddenly your hectic weekly schedule frees itself up, and the idea of ‘working for free’ may become a foreign one. And remember, if you do decide to volunteer, don’t feel pressured into taking on more hours than are realistic. Too often volunteers, who have the best of intentions, say that they are available for more hours than they can comfortably manage. In many cases, rather than reducing the amount of time they volunteer each week or month, they often drop off the radar altogether. From the perspective of both the volunteer and the host organisation, it is much better to start out small and volunteer for a couple of hours every week or so, and then to gradually build your hours up, than doing it the other way round. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities in your area, contact the Volunteer Centre at VANEL. Call Liz Dugard on (01472) 359 326.
For more information about the work VANEL does in relation to supporting volunteers and promoting volunteering opportunities, why not visit our website and watch our ‘Valuing Volunteers’ video.