Annual General Meeting

The Volunteer Centre Sunderland would like to invite you to their AGM to be held:

Wednesday 23 November 2011

2:00 p.m.

The Place, Athenaeum Street, Sunderland, SR1 1QX

Please confirm your attendance

no later than 12 noon on Friday 11 November

by calling the Volunteer Centre on (0191) 567 8902 or by emailing  David Curtis

Volunteering Forum - Update

The Volunteering Forum gives organisations the chance to network; share information and discuss good practice.  There are presentations and good practice workshops and provides organisations with the chance to find out more and ask questions about anything connected to volunteering.

All organisations registered with the Volunteer Centre automatically become members of the Volunteering Forum, which intitles them to meeting notifications, minutes of meetings, access to networking opportunities and good practice workshops.

If you would like more information about the Volunteering Forum, please contact Jeff on the details below.

  The interview

If an interview situation seems too formal for your group, then an informal chat may be more appropriate.

When interviewing volunteers it is best to base initial questions around a set list. Set questions promote equal opportunities and are a more reliable method than ‘instinct’ or a ‘gut’ feeling.

It is important to tell volunteers about……

• The organisation and the role of volunteers within it.
• Training and support offered.
• The organisation’s expectations of the volunteer.
• The time commitment required for the role, both frequency and duration (if time limited).
• Resources available to volunteers, such as the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.

When conducting an interview, it is best to have a quiet area to speak to the volunteer. You need to make sure that the interview is a two-way process, and that you give the volunteer an opportunity to ask questions. This is a good point to find out what skills a volunteer can bring to a role, why they became a volunteer and what motivated them to apply for your specific role, in order to establish if the role will meet their needs. For example, if a volunteer’s main reason for applying is to meet other people and the role involves carrying out tasks on their own in a quiet space, it is unlikely that the role will fulfil the volunteer’s needs.

If the volunteer is unsuitable for a role

If a volunteer is unsuitable to carry out the role required by your organisation, then they should be provided with constructive feedback. The organisation should help to identify other suitable roles (if any) before giving constructive feedback. If there are none available you should refer the individual to Volunteer Centre Sunderland, who will be able to support the volunteer in finding a more suitable role.

Source: Volunteering toolkit for organisations in Sunderland

The Volunteer Mentoring Project held another successful Volunteer Get Together for Supported volunteers and Mentors of the Project to come together, get to know one another and take part in various activities.  The event held at Shiney Row College had over 30 of its volunteers come along and take part in activities including Christmas card making, Health Mots, Mocktail making and games on the Wii.

The Project is 6 months into its funding as has recruited over 20 volunteer mentors to support around 70 individuals who need support to take part in their own volunteering roles.

Anyone who would like to know more about the project can look on the Project page or get in touch with the Volunteer Centre

With over 25 years of experience, Restless Development are recognised experts in providing young people with meaningful volunteering opportunities overseas. This is why the Department for International Development (DFID) has identified Restless Development and five other partners to deliver this exciting pilot. International Citizen Service (ICS) offers young people aged 18-22 the opportunity to spend 12 weeks in countries in Africa or Asia, utilising their skills to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing young people in these regions and contributing to meaningful development overseas. Restless Development volunteers will volunteer in Uganda, Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Nepal and India.

Restless Development’s International Citizen Service really was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Emma, Restless Development ICS Volunteer, Zambia

This really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. ICS will provide young people not only the opportunity to learn about a new environment and global issues, but also equip them with key life skills which will remain with them long after their return to the UK supporting their career development plans. The content of each placement will vary depending on the specific context but all placements will include structured training and support in-country.

Volunteers do not need to have any prior experience or qualifications, nor should cost be a barrier. The amount each young person will need to contribute to take up a placement will depend on their individual financial situation. Some places will be fully funded, whilst others will be asked to fundraise some money towards the cost of their placement.

We are particularly keen to recruit more male volunteers and those who may not be in education or employment. We are also actively seeking youth-engaging organisations to partner with in element of our recruitment drive.

We are now recruiting volunteers for December 2011 and January and April 2012 departures.

More information about ICS can be found at  www.restlessdevelopment.org/volunteer-ics, and on Facebook. If you have any questions, please contact ics-enquiries@restlessdevelopment.org

Liam Wilson, currently a volunteer at Pallion Action Group in Sunderland is heading to South Africa on 19th September to volunteer on ICS for three months. As part of the ICS programme, Liam will be involved in social action work in Sunderland when he returns, so look out for news from Liam in the future!

This agency is so positive about everything! We aren’t the biggest, but we are so proud of what

we do. Over time you work on getting better and better and Restless Development allows you to do that.

Emmanuel Lubaale, who joined Restless Development as an intern in 2008 and is now a Programme Coordinator with Restless Development (Uganda)

Make a Donation

Support Volunteering in Sunderland

JustTextGiving:  Text VOLS11 £2 / £5 / £10 to 70070 to donate now. 

e.g. VOLS11 £2

Volunteer Centre Training

Limited Availability

Our next training session is on:

Volunteer Motivation & Retention

Tuesday 22 November2011, 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:

Monday 14 November from 10:30am at Lifeline Project Sunderland, 3 Saville Place, Borough Road, Sunderland, SR1 1EA

Presentations will be given by International Community Organisation of Sunderland and Age UK Good Neighbour Project

The Volunteer Centre will provide information on What to include in a volunteer handbook

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.

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