News and dates
The Arun Forum on Volunteering was formed in response to the need for help with recruiting and managing volunteer’s that groups in Arun had voiced to the CVS Community Link Worker’s. The forum has met several times, and helped to organise a very successful Volunteer Celebration event in March 2008.
The forum decided after their last meeting that we would produce a page in The Voice newsletter each quarter dedicated to issues about volunteering. This page would enable members to post information they have, find out any local and national volunteering news and share ideas and advice. This is the first forum page, and we would be very grateful for any contributions for the next page.
Please send any items to:
- Helen Saxton: br.clw@arunwide.org.uk
- or Jan Koutsoumanis lh.clw@arunwide.org.uk
We hope you find the following information helpful.
*** Community Lunch and Coffee Mornings Flyer (PDF) ***
Looking after your volunteers: Have you thought about….
- Sending thank-you notes to your volunteers.
- Giving certificates on completion of a certain number of hours of volunteering.
- Having an annual volunteer award celebration to thank all your volunteers.
- Have social events such as lunches or coffee mornings, bowling or skittle evenings, maybe even invite volunteers to the organisation’s head office if appropriate so that they can see the bigger picture.
- You may like to give volunteer’s a badge or a t-shirt that has the organisation’s name on. Such items can then be worn in the course of volunteering, and can be especially effective when worn by volunteers who are in a public-facing role, such as raising awareness or fundraising.
Volunteers’ Week (1st-7th June)
This is an annual national campaign which can be used both as part of your recruitment drive and to celebrate your volunteers’ achievements.
- Organisations that are linked to health conditions may choose to tie in a special event with their own themed week or special day. Calendars such as Count Me In and Interfaith provide details of national days and weeks, as well as public and religious holidays. If your organisation aims to integrate immigrants, refugees or asylum seekers into the local community, you may decide to arrange an event to coincide with a patron saints day.
- Publicise the work your volunteers are doing in the local press, or prepare an article for ‘The Voice’ and we will publish it for you.
- Have a ‘Thank-you’ noticeboard with comments from clients on that show appreciation for what your volunteers are doing.
- If presenting volunteers with gifts, you could give small items such as flowers or chocolates, or even home-made ones.. Handmade bookmarks make both a small and personal gift, and can even be made by the client group that the volunteers are working with.
- Volunteers need to feel valued and respected, and showing your appreciation with a small event or gesture can really boost a volunteer’s morale, self confidence and sense of self-worth. It can also help staff and volunteers to ‘bond’. In addition, such events and gestures will also help maintain volunteer loyalty