Supporting older people with volunteering
15 September 2022, 10:00-12:00 

Would you like to know more about how you can successfully support older people with their volunteering? Join us as we explore some of the practical considerations of supporting older volunteers. Fiona Andrews from Dementia Forward will also be joining us to share a new resource they have developed for supporting volunteers with dementia.

Taking place online on 15 November, the conference offers an opportunity, albeit it at a price, to hear the latest updates from national charities on how to improve volunteer recruitment and management practices.

Think CO Gas Safe Charity are offering an online workshop aimed at front line staff and volunteers from social care, NHS, FRS, voluntary and private sectors working in the UK who visit vulnerable people in their homes. The workshop will raise awareness of carbon monoxide risks. Multiple dates available. 

The Safeguarding Children – Basic Awareness Online Learning has been extended to 30 September.

 A coalition of eleven charities including Community Transport Association, NCVO and NAVCA have called on the recently appointed Chancellor to tackle the spiralling fuel costs crisis by increasing the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) for volunteers and staff in the voluntary sector.

In this blog post, Jeremy Hughes and Dr Allison Smith discus how larger charities and those in rural areas could collaborate better on volunteering. They raise some interesting issues around challenges unique to rural areas, the need for more collaboration and the different nature of rural volunteers. This is part of the initiative Shaping the Future with Volunteering, a group of 26 larger volunteer-involving organisations, many of which are involved in rural communities.

Following on from the discussion at the last Volunteer Co-ordinator's Network meeting, which explored involving young people as volunteers, Lizzie joined the NCVO workshop, Engaging and supporting young people aged 13 – 17 to volunteer. A recording of the workshop and a copy of their Young Volunteers Toolkit are now available.

We have had some enquiries from organisations exploring options for family volunteering. If this is an area you’re interested in, Chester Voluntary Action have a Families Together Social Action toolkit that may be of interest. There is also the research NCVO undertook into this area in 2020 available here.

Are you thinking of taking the next step in diversifying your board? Our Bright Future has created this practical guide to embedding young trustees into your governance.

How has the covid-19 pandemic impacted the volunteer experience? And what can charities do to meet the changing needs of their volunteers? Find out in NCVO’s brand new research.

If you are working with or supporting Muslim groups you may be interested in signposting them to the All Ways Network. They offer support, advice and occasional events aimed at helping grass root not for profit Muslim groups.  

Inclusive involvement organisation Shaping Our Lives have developed a free-to-use “My Involvement Profile”, which offers a format to record and collate the access needs of a broad range of volunteers. The lottery-funded project is designed by disabled people and based on the organisation's research Tickboxes and Tokenism? Service User Involvement Report 2022. They need to record numbers of people requesting the profile, so are asking organisations to contact them directly for their free copy and help notes at hello@shapingourlives.org.uk

Rob Jackson’s latest blog offers five top tips for recruiting volunteers. If you have any top tips to share we would love to hear them - email them to us at volunteersupport@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

Are there any newsletters you’re signed up to that you find invaluable, apart from this one? Please do let us know and we will share details in our next newsletter. 

Here’s a few from us:

• NCVO’s monthly Volunteering Round Up always has lots of useful information. You can sign up for it here.
• Team Kinetic. In this month’s newsletter, a blog about the fall in formal volunteer hours, a podcast exploring the journeys of different volunteer managers and dates for their conference - Volunteering to 2030: what the future will look like.
  
• VHelp. Includes an article on why paying volunteer expenses is important for diversity and inclusion.
  
• Heritage Volunteering. Last month's newsletter included advice on how to let volunteers go, a blog on how to grow your influence and a masterclass on setting up a volunteer alumni scheme.

Nominations for the 2023 awards are now open. If you know a fantastic volunteer group, find out how to nominate them by following the link below.

Ripon is a wonderful city full of wonderful people who do so much for the place and its people. Many are volunteers and do it because they care and they enjoy it. Ripon Together and the cathedral want to recognise and thank these volunteers and display a star in the cathedral for every person nominated for their contribution to Ripon life.

Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance are looking for people to become Cancer Champions and help encourage early diagnosis and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer. No skills, qualifications or any specialised knowledge of cancer is required to take part. Details of free awareness sessions here.

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia.