Volunteering round-up: February 2018

Volunteers and the Law

Our new Volunteers and the Law online resource is now live.

This comprehensive resource covers everything volunteer managers need to know about the legal side of engaging volunteers. Thank you to Lucy McLynn of Bates Wells Braithwaite, for reviewing the work.

The full resource is available to all NCVO members and replaces many member-only Volunteering information sheets.

Safeguarding volunteers

In light of allegations of abuse in Oxfam charity shops, we have updated our guidance on safeguarding.

Please also see our safeguarding advice on Knowhow Nonprofit. From here, you can access expert support from NSPCC on protecting children and advice from Newcastle safeguarding adults board for guidance around safeguarding adults.

NCVO members can access our Volunteers and the Law resource which includes guidance on safeguarding and vulnerable clients.

NCVO members can also access free HR advice here.

Full-time social action review

Steve Holliday’s Independent Review of Full Time Social Action has reported back, setting out a number of ways to grow and widen participation for youth volunteering.

Particularly welcome are recommendations for greater clarity over volunteering rules for job-seeking young people, and to embed National Citizen Service (NCS) within broader social action journeys.

We also look forward to working with various partners to develop guidance for voluntary organisations supporting young people in social action.

The recommendation not to create a new legal status for full-time volunteers is a sensible decision. You can read our thoughts on legal status here.

NVF: Volunteering, health and wellbeing

This month, we hosted over 50 volunteer-involving organisations to discuss the relationship between volunteering and wellbeing.

With a panel of experts, we explored the evidence, discussed some great case studies and learnt how to practically promote, and measure, wellbeing through volunteering. We will soon share a summary of the day, but until then, catch up through #volforum on twitter.

Hear Shaun on the radio!

Our own Shaun Delaney, volunteering development manager at NCVO, spoke with Eddie Nestor on BBC Radio London. He championed the importance of volunteering and encouraged people in London to get involved. Hear Shaun speak from around 50 minutes.

Village Halls Week

This month also saw the inaugural celebration of #VillageHallsWeek. Catch up with the highlights here.

It was a great chance for charities to recognise the enormous importance of shared spaces in rural communities and the dedicated volunteers which keep them going.

What we’re working on

Planning for #volunteersweek 2018 is well under way.

Thanks to so many of you providing feedback after last year’s event. This feedback is now feeding into our plans as we work closely with UK partners and the Volunteers’ Week 2018 working group to build the campaign.

We’ll be launching a brand-new website very soon. Until then, if you’ve not yet done so, please sign up for updates for Volunteers’ Week using the form on the 2017 website.

What we’re reading

• Fiona Gell has written on the importance of citizens in conservation, touching on some fantastic examples of volunteering schemes – including volunteer divers, citizen scientists and community clean-ups.
• George Monbiot argues that volunteering can foster the sense of society and community we need, against an increasingly insecure world of work.
• This powerful piece touches on the role of volunteering in addressing loneliness, in response to the announcement that civil society minister Tracey Crouch has become the UK’s first minister for loneliness.
• The British Red Cross hears from some of their volunteers on how giving time has improved their lives.

Dates for diaries

• Student volunteering week – 19-25 February
  The national campaign for student volunteering, run by Student Volunteer Network, kicks off next week. Follow #SVW2018 for updates.
• Heritage Volunteering Conference – 13 April
  Our friends from Heritage Volunteering Group are holding their annual conference at the Museum of London. They will be exploring the future of volunteering, and Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering at NCVO, is delivering a key note.

Congratulatory corner

Congratulations to a number of charities who achieved Investing in Volunteers (IiV) in January. IiV is the UK standard for organisations providing outstanding volunteering opportunities. Latest achievers are:

• Anglia Ruskin University Students’ Union
• Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
• Chapeltown Citizens Advice
• Coastline Housing Ltd ‏
• Coeliac UK‏
• Durham University – Staff Volunteering and Outreach (IiVE achiever)
• Every Parent and Child
• Foxhill Forum
• Hoxton Health
• Leeds Mind
• Midlands Air Ambulance Charity
• Off the Record, South East Hampshire (through the Enhance Programme of Lloyds Bank Foundation)
• One Housing: Volunteering and Partnerships
• Open Road Visions
• St Peter’s House Project
• Sussex Interpreting Service
• The Big Life Group
• University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Centre for Volunteering and Community Leadership
• Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire

Upcoming NCVO training

We’ve got all the training you need to become an even better volunteer manager:

• Volunteering and the law – 16 March, London
  This course will enable you to understand volunteering in relation to issues such as safeguarding, data protection and health and safety.
• Good practice in volunteer management – 20 April, London
  This course provides an introduction to the key principles of good practice in volunteer management and how to apply them to your organisation.
• Business Planning for the voluntary sector – 27 April, London
  This course will help you think effectively about the external environment, your charity’s place and role with others in the sector, and the options and choices for your charity’s development.
• Strategic planning: creating the right process for your organisation – 11 May, London
  This course will explore the different options for developing strategy, methods for creative and innovative thinking and power and participation.
• Essential mentoring and befriending skills – 17 May, Birmingham
  This course is intended to help you experience or refresh your understanding of the essential skills and techniques that underpin successful mentoring and befriending relationships.
• Charity Leadership in the 2020s – 3-5 June, London
• Introduction to coaching skills – 6 July, London
  This course is a practical introduction to the main coaching skills and techniques to enable you to hold a coaching style conversation in confidence straightaway.