Volunteering

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Need help with the socials?

August 22, 2022by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, SCVO News tagged ,

Love it or hate it, social media and digital technology are not going away any time soon. But for many charities it’s all still a mystery and could be losing them both support and much-needed cash.

Volunteers can help bring those skills into an organisation and give them a new lease of life in this digital age. So in September we’ll be highlighting opportunities for volunteers to help out with setting up an Instagram account for example, or switching your accounts to an online platform rather than paper and pencil.

If you would like to promote an IT volunteering opportunity on our site www.letsgosandwell.info please get in touch with kim@scvo.info

Aged 14 to 18 years of age? Reach your potential with NHS Cadets

July 27, 2022by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, Children & Young People tagged , ,

NHS Cadets is a brand-new scheme created by St John Ambulance in partnership with the NHS.  It’s designed to provide young people with the opportunity to explore roles in healthcare.

The programme consists of two pathways: Foundation (for 14 – 16 year-olds) and Advanced (for 16 – 18-year-olds). You’ll learn about a range of exciting healthcare topics, develop leadership and communication skills, and gain insight into volunteering within the NHS. It is a free programme consisting of 2-hour weekly sessions over 11 months. You’ll be supported throughout your volunteering journey by a NHS Cadets Team.

Cadets come from a diverse range of backgrounds – there is no ‘typical’ NHS Cadet. If you identify with one or more of the following statements, the programme would be a good match for you.

  • I’m from a minority ethnic group
  • I consider myself part of the LGBTQI+ community, or I’m questioning
  • I’m not in education, employment or training
  • I’m struggling with my progress at school or college · I live in care, or I’ve recently left care
  • I provide regular care or support for someone
  • I receive free school meals
  • I have mental health concerns
  • I consider myself to have a disability or impairment
  • I consider myself neurodivergent, or I have special educational needs
  • I am seeking asylum, or I’m a refugee.

New groups will be opening from September 2022, and 10,000 young people will have enrolled as NHS Cadets by 2023.  If you have questions be email Taniya Khan, Project Assistant (NHS Cadets) at Taniya.Khan@sja.org.uk

To learn more, find your local programme and apply, please visit https://nhscadets.sja.org.uk/join-today/

 

Fantastic Volunteers and How to Find Them – Five Volunteer Recruitment Tips

June 20, 2022by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Did you know...?, Volunteering tagged ,

The Directory of Social Change explain how you can reach out and find fantastic volunteers throughout the year, even in a post-pandemic world?

1 – Target
A common mistake people make when recruiting volunteers is suggesting that anyone is suitable for the vacant role. This approach is often driven by a fear that nobody will come forward. It’s a technique that can work for certain positions, typically those that require no specific skills or experience, just a warm body. For roles where some kind of existing competence is required, however, we should target, target, target.

Ask these questions:

What do you want the volunteer to do? What exactly will it involve? What does the person need to know or be able to do before they start?
Who would be the ideal volunteer for this role? What skills, experience, abilities etc. do they need? For example, if you want someone to code then say that. Get as a specific as possible.
Where are you likely to find them? Given what you need, where might you find those people in your community? Again, be specific and avoid generalisations.

2 – Ask
Once you’ve got your target group identified, go and ask them! Research consistently shows that people who don’t volunteer feel like they haven’t been asked to give time. Ask, ask, ask. Keeping asking. And when you’re done, ask some more.

3- Sell
More than just asking, however, you need to sell your volunteer opportunities like a business would sell its products – focus on the benefits of someone volunteering with you, not the features. When we buy something we don’t just look at what it can do but how it will help us. For example, all kettles boil water but some do it faster than others, some have built in water filters and some work with apps etc..

It’s the same with volunteering – show people how volunteering with you will meet their needs. Don’t just tell them what they will do or how desperate you are for help. Show them how you’ll boil water in a way that is better suited to their needs than the other kettles on the market.

To read their full article click here.

If you’d like a conversation about how to get your volunteer roles listed on Let’s Go Sandwell then give Kim Fuller a call on 0121 5251127.

Ten Top Tips for Making Your Organisation Attractive to Volunteers

June 20, 2022by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Did you know...?, Volunteering tagged , ,

The Directory of Social Change want to share with you their 10 top tip for making your organsiation attractive to volunteers.

1 – Provide enjoyable volunteering
People volunteer in their discretionary leisure time. With the unrelenting pressures people feel in modern life, they want to spend their precious spare time enjoying themselves.

Making volunteering enjoyable is critical if you want to attract and keep volunteers. You see you’re not competing with other volunteer involving organisations when recruiting volunteers. You’re competing with all the leisure activities that people could spend their spare time doing – going to the cinema, having a meal with friends, watching a sports event etc..

So, make your volunteering rewarding and enjoyable. Really understand what drives your volunteers, their passions and interests. Or, in the words of a famous kids TV show from my childhood, they’ll go and do something less boring instead.

2 – Give great customer service
Do you remember the days where if you bought something mail order you usually had to wait 28 days for delivery? In today’s internet enabled age we now expect next day delivery at a minimum. Expectations have changed.

Read their full article by clicking here.

If you’ve got a volunteer opportunity you’d like to share contact Kim Fuller on 0121 525 1127 to get it listed on Let’s Go Sandwell.

North Smethwick Development Trust Seeks New Trustees

June 13, 2022by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Vacancies, Volunteering tagged ,

Being part of the North Smethwick Development Trust (NSDT) is both exciting and challenging. We are looking for team players with a variety of skills who will help to drive the organisation forward from its current position to one that is stronger, more confident and with increased credibility with our members.

Are you…

  • Passionate about communities and want to make a difference?
  • Do you have experience of the issues faced by our charities caused and want to give something back?
  • A good communicator?
  • Team focused?
  • Flexible and Objective?

If, the answer is yes, then why not become a Trustee?

Our vision is:

“North Smethwick Development Trust (NSDT) will work to achieve the social, economic and environmental regeneration of North Smethwick”. We do this through our 4 ambitions:

  • Improving health and wellbeing
  • Reducing the impacts of poverty
  • Supporting our children and young people
  • Being proud of our community

If you would like to use your skills and experience to become a Trustee/Director to help us shape the activities and services for local people living in North Smethwick, we very much look forward to hearing from you. We are particularly keen to encourage people under the age of 30 to join our Board and women.

Trustees

For information regarding the role of a Trustee, please see www.charitycommission.gov.uk

We are looking for committed individuals to expand the range of Trustee skills as well as to consolidate existing skills with an eye to succession planning. We require dynamic and motivated people who are sympathetic to the aims and objectives of NSDT to fulfil these voluntary duties. Trustees contribute valuably to the Board by giving strategic direction; setting overall policy; defining goals and setting targets; evaluating performance; ensuring the charity’s effective and efficient administration and financial stability.

We want to have a wide range of people on the Board and seek to be representative of the diverse communities of North Smethwick. There is no need to have previous trustee experience to apply as training will be provided. An interest in supporting communities is necessary.

Trustees are expected to:

  • attend up to seven meetings a year including quarterly Board meetings (all currently on Thursday evenings) and an annual planning day;
  • contribute advice and support on charity and trust topic; and
  • attend events.

All travel and out of pocket expenses will be paid.

How to apply: If you would like to express your interest in this position, please do contact our CEO for more information or to receive our Trustee/Director Recruitment and information pack, available on request from our Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary, Jennifer Harrison BEM at jennifer.harrison@nsdt.org.uk

Trustee Chat returns for Month of Community

April 29, 2022by Libby Mahoney in Blog, SCVO News tagged , ,

June 2022 is Month of Community, 30 days full of campaigns and awareness weeks to inspire people.

Volunteers Week happens on 1-7 June and Small Charity Week on 20-24 June. So SCVO have teamed up with colleagues from Dudley CVS to host Trustee Chat on Wednesday 8 June 2022, 2-4pm.

Trustee Chat is an informal session for people to learn more about charity trustees and their role, share their experiences and get support.

The agenda will be open. Participants can ask questions, share their experiences and get support with anything to do with being a charity trustee, whatever their current level of experience is. Staff from Dudley CVS and SCVO will be on hand to share their knowledge and offer encouragement and guidance to help run your charity.

The session is particularly aimed at anyone in Sandwell or Dudley boroughs who:

  • Is interested in learning more about being a charity trustee before they become one
  • Is a new trustee
  • Has experience of being a charity trustee that they’d like to share or would like to improve their knowledge
  • Would like to find out about organisations in their areas that might be looking for charity trustees
  • Represent a charity that has trustee vacancies

This virtual session will be held on Zoom. Please register your place here to ensure that you are sent joining instructions by clicking here.

Call Out For Sports Volunteers

March 21, 2022by Stuart Ashmore in SCVO News tagged

Does your Sports Club rely on a little extra help? Whether it’s minding the goal post jumpers or giving expert tips on tumbling, volunteers are the lifeblood of many community sports clubs.

At the end of April we’re planning a Sports Volunteer Showcase and we’d love to hear about your side-line superheroes.

We’ll dedicate our Let’s Go Sandwell social media to stories about sports volunteers, as well as highlighting any vacancies you may have on our volunteering web site www.letsgosandwell.info

To find out more and get involved email kim@scvo.info

Options For Life: seeks Chair to join Board of Trustees

January 28, 2022by Libby Mahoney in Blog, Vacancies tagged ,

Options for Life is a not for profit voluntary organisation. They provide opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism to improve their confidence, develop their skills and live as independently as possible enjoying the same rights and opportunities as everybody else. Options for Life  are passionate in their support for participants to make their own choices about their own lives.

Based in Oldbury in the West Midlands Options for Life work with participants across the West Midlands, we have an annual turnover of £1.6million and employ over 60 staff. As a leading learning disability organisation, they want to recruit new Trustees with a breadth of skills and talent to help them with their ongoing growth and continual improvement.

Options for Life are particularly keen to recruit a diverse board of trustees and welcome applications from all sectors of the community with lots of different experiences. Previous Trustee experience is not essential.

As a minimum the Chair of the Board of Trustees is required to:

  • The Chair will hold the Board and Executive Team to account for the Charity’s mission and vision, providing inclusive leadership to the Board of Trustees, ensuring that each trustee fulfils their duties and responsibilities for the effective governance of the charity.
  • They will act as an ambassador and the public face of the charity in partnership with the Chief Executive and will foster an open and transparent working relationship with the Executive Team.
  • Provide leadership to the charity, the Executive team, and its Board, ensuring that the Charity has maximum impact for its beneficiaries.
  • Ensure that the Board fulfils its duties to ensure sound financial health of the charity, with systems in place to ensure financial accountability.
  • Ensure that the governance arrangements are clearly defined and working in the most effective way for the Charity.
  • Chair meetings of the Board of Trustees effectively and efficiently, bringing impartiality and objectivity to the decision making process.
  • Establish and build a strong, effective and a constructive working relationship with the Chief Executive, ensuring they are held to account for achieving agreed strategic objectives.

Options for Life are committed to inducting their Trustees and supporting them in their ongoing development. It is a requirement they will expect all new Trustees to go on the Understanding Governance stage 1 course if not already completed.

Being a Trustee with Options for Life will:

  • Utilise your extensive skills and talents
  • Allow you to develop new skills
  • Improve personal networks
  • Improve career prospects
  • Get involved in the local community
  • Make a difference

They will pay any reasonable expenses associated with your role as trustee. This may include reasonable travel expenses, the most common of which are travel to/from meetings.

To find out more you can visit – www.optionsforlife.info

Alternatively, contact their Chief Executive, Nicola Thomson for an informal chat on 0121 544 6611 or email sarah.verrecchia@optionsforlife.info and request a Trustee Recruitment Pack

Youth Mentoring Course for Volunteers

November 29, 2021by Leona in Blog, Volunteering tagged

A few spaces are available for our Introduction to Youth Mentoring course taking place in January 2022.

The free course is primarily for volunteers helping out with children and young people and will be delivered by Mentoring West Midlands on Thursday January 13th from 9.30am-3.30pm at a venue in Smethwick.

The course focuses on progressing conversations with youngsters to help them find their feet, and covers topics such as safeguarding, confidentiality and the importance of accuracy in reporting.
Participants on previous courses said it was very relevant to their roles in supporting young people and gave them a better insight into how to help them stay on track.

For more information and to book a place contact kim@scvo.info

KeyRing are looking for Community Connection Volunteers In Sandwell

November 22, 2021by Mazeline Hemmings in Blog, VCS Feature, Volunteering tagged , ,

Do you have an interest in supporting a diverse group of people in your local area to live independently and build the life they want?

As a KeyRing Volunteer, your time can be flexible, from 1 – 3 hours per week, that work around you and your commitments. In return KeyRing will provide you with an invaluable experience to enhance your C.V, meet new people and learn new skills.

Keyring can help to unlock your future career in Health and Social Care.

Find out about KeyRing here.

For further information, please call Lucy Downing on 07534 350 167 for an informal chat.

 

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