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South Dublin Tidy towns 01 February 2012, 12.15
South Dublin Tidy towns
A South Dublin County Tidy Towns public meeting is taking place in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday 16th February at 7.30pm. Speakers will include a Tidy Towns competition adjudicator, Public Realm Designer, speaker from Lucan Tidy
Volunteer Centre Newsletter - January 12
Volunteer Centre Newsletter   Monday 9th January 2012 New Community Hub Announced. Are you a small community group in South
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Celebrate Volunteering! 17 November 2011, 14.40
Celebrate Volunteering!
Celebrate Volunteering on  5th December International Volunteer Day As you know, 2011 celebrated the European Year of Volunteering and we had many events in South Dublin
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New quality mark for volunteering! 07 November 2011, 15.25
New quality mark for volunteering!
Volunteer Ireland is delighted to announce that they recently secured funding from the EU as part of the European Year of Volunteering 2011 to develop a framework for a national quality standard for involving volunteers. This
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Key Principles in involving volunteers PDF Print E-mail

Guidelines for organisations

  • Volunteers should be recruited to enhance a service not to replace paid staff.  
  • Before recruiting, be clear why a volunteer is wanted or needed
  • Organisations should provide clear written task outlines for their volunteers which are skills based – meaningful tasks with opportunities for personal development
  • Provide the volunteer with an induction and preparation/training programme, and where appropriate, additional support for volunteers with disabilities
  • Be clear about what volunteers are seeking from the placement
  • Make sure the volunteer has appropriate line management and knows whom to contact about problems or difficulties
  • Establish a simple and easily accessible process for volunteers to claim out of pocket expenses and ensure funding incorporates volunteer expenses
  • Ensure that health and safety standards for volunteers are in place, including risk assessment of the work volunteers will be doing
  • Ensure that volunteers are covered by appropriate insurance
  • Ensure that a range of policies are in place and applied equally to volunteers e.g. Diversity and/or Equal Opportunities, Policies on harassment including race, sexuality, disability, age and faith, Complaints and Grievance policies for volunteers, Disciplinary policies, Confidentiality policies
  • Organisations should meet the costs of necessary training for volunteers
  • Encourage volunteers to participate in the organisation’s wider decision-making processes
  • Where appropriate, provide opportunities for volunteers to acquire or develop new or existing skills, and support volunteers who want to gain accreditation towards recognised qualifications
  • Monitor and acknowledge the contribution volunteers make to the organisation to funders, other volunteers and the wider public
  • Ensure that the work and contribution of the volunteers adds value and quality to the organisation’s aims and objectives
  • Ensure that the organisation’s working practices do not create obstacles for volunteers, or for potential volunteers from a wide and diverse range of backgrounds
  • Ensuring that staff are involved and informed so that volunteers are integrated within the staff team 
  • Organisations should ensure that their working practices offer appropriate protection to volunteers, as well as paid staff e.g. Health & Safety.
 
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