Volunteering Information Event

The Volunteer Centre has teamed up with the North VCS Network to hold a Volunteering Information Event.

The event is aimed at volunteers to show them the vast range of volunteering opportunities available and enables organisations to recruit for the volunteering roles they currently have available.

We would like to show potential volunteers a practical display of what’s available; therefore the Active Sunderland Bus will be in attendance along with a Nintendo Wii display, woodcarving demonstration, Mini MOT’s and health checks, a chance to have a healthy smoothie and take part in a healthy walk and a hand massage to name but a few.

If you would like to have a table at the event to recruit volunteers (members only) or are able to offer an activity or demonstration, please complete the booking form or contact us at the Volunteer Centre.

The event is taking place on:

Friday 3 June at the Seaburn Centre, Whitburn Road from 1pm until 3pm.

Volunteer Centre Training

Our next training session is on:

Volunteer Policies & Procedures

Wednesday 6th July, 1.30pm - 4.30pm

Bunny Hill Customer Service Centre, Hylton Lane, SR5 4BW

All training is FREE for VCS organisations and a £20 per person charge is levied for statutory or out of area organisations

For further information on the course content and how to book a place please visit our Training Page

Web links

The Volunteer Centre is offering you a chance to publicise your organisation by having your

web-link on our website and Facebook page.

Should you wish to take up this offer please email sunderlandvc@aol.com with your details.

Volunteering Case Studies

The Volunteer Centre is looking to update its bank of volunteering case studies/good news stories and is interested in hearing from any organisation who may be interested in sharing theirs.

Don't worry if you don't have these already as staff can give you support and advise you on how to write them.

All shared case studies will be used to help the Volunteer Centre to raise the profile of volunteers as real stories can prove be a very powerful tool to help organisations recruit new volunteers and generally raise the profile of involved organisations.

If you think you can help or would like to know more please get in touch.

Sunderland Volunteering Forum

The next Sunderland Volunteering Forum will take place on:

Thursday 14 July from 10:30am
Wearmouth Community Development Trust, Swan Street Centre, Swan Street, SR5 1EB

A presentation will be given a VCS organisation who is yet to be confirmed.

The Volunteer Centre will provide information on How to write a Volunteer Case Study

For those who aren't aware the Forum is a way for the local statutory, community and voluntary sector groups to come together and share good practice and information on volunteering issues. 

Meetings are very informal and open to anyone who recruits and manages volunteers.  Should you wish to know more about the forum please visit the page or if you wish to be added to the mailing list please get in touch with Jeff.

Updating your Volunteering information (member organisations only)

In order to maintain our records and ensure that they are as us up to date as possible we are asking all members organisations to let us know about any changes to your :

     -    Volunteering opportunities
     -    Organisation information
     -    Contact details etc.

This is the information we provide to your potential volunteers and therefore it is in your best interests that we maintain it as accurately as possible in order to save you time.

You can view what information we currently hold and are advertising by viewing them on     www.do-it.org and searching for your organisation in the search box or by contacting the Volunteer Centre on the contact details below.

Young people volunteer to help the community!

Students aged 16 to 19, who are at Hylton College on a Plastering learners course (Diploma 1 and NVQ) have spent 3 days in May volunteering at the United Community Action (UCA) project based in the East End of the city.

The young people volunteered to render a wall and tidied up the surrounding area to make the building look a warm and welcoming place for people to visit.

UCA support people from Black, Minority and Ethnic backgrounds, predominantly refugees and asylum seekers, who have very few sources of support in the community. They are wholly volunteer run and try to help people settle into and integrate within their local community.

Martin Scott a tutor from Hylton College stated,

 'This community project is a great deal for all, providing a service to the UCA Hendon whilst enabling our learners to gain invaluable experience. We were asked to render the outside of the centre, it looks great so far! Within a college environment we can only simulate so much, so projects such as this allow our learners to put into practice the skills in which they have developed over the course of their study. The lads have been brilliant and the project is a great way for us to showcase our skills within the community’.

Sarah Ahmadi the Development Co-Ordinator for United Community Action (UCA) stated, “UCA has benefited greatly from work to the Drop- In Centre as it would otherwise have been unable to have this carried out.  The work will help us keep the Centre weatherproof and in good condition.  The team from the college were courteous and professional throughout and it was a pleasure to have them work with us”.

“I am sure that volunteering opportunities like this, which match young people in particular, to a community organisation and which give them practical experience, are especially valuable”. 

If you have a group that would like to volunteer, get in touch with the

Volunteer Centre, we are more than happy to help you find a

volunteering activity to carry out.

Why not follow us on Facebook and Twitter:

   http://www.facebook.com/volunteer.sunderland

  http://twitter.com/sunderlandvols

Thinking about Support and Supervision

All volunteers need support and supervision. Volunteers at a one off event will need different support to long term volunteers. What is important is that support is appropriate to the role, and the individual volunteer.

The point to remember is that everyone is an individual and some volunteers will need more support from their organisation than others. This may be for a variety of reasons, examples could be because of a disability, mental health problem or low self esteem. Taking this into consideration, it is important to ask what sort of support a volunteer will need rather than to prejudge the required support. Some volunteers may need a little extra training or coaching and others may need reassurance that they are doing things correctly.

Peer support through a buddying system, or volunteers meetings may be worth considering to help. As well as providing support for new volunteers a buddying system is a good way of recognising the expertise of experienced volunteers. Volunteer meetings are also a useful way for volunteers to collectively have an input into the work and daily life of an organisation, this can also give volunteers a chance to share experiences.

Source: Volunteering England

Volunteer Centre Befriending Service

The Volunteer Centre Befriending Service would like to thank Gentoo for providing a grant to purchase a Notebook  The Notebook has enabled the Befriending Service to design leaflets and posters to promote the service and has been beneficial to use at Volunteer Events that have been held throughout the city.

Street League

Street League delivers an 8 week Academy Programme for 16-25 year olds who are currently not in education, employment or training.

The course runs Monday to Thursday 10am – 1pm for which travel is reimbursed.

During the course participants will work towards a Community Sports Leaders Award Level 2 and an OCN accredited Fit4Work qualification that works on employability skills and techniques.

During the course participants will complete a first aid qualification and meet some very special guest speakers.  Jamie Edwards, brain trainer to the stars comes in to work with their Academies as well as former Commonwealth Champion and Olympian Chris Cook. 

They are now recruiting for their Academy Programme to start in June.

Contact: Hugh Thompson | Progressions Coordinator | DDI: 01912273640|Mob: 07584706890 E: hugh.thompson@streetleague.co.uk

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