Engaging and Enabling Ireland's New Volunteers

Since the onset of COVID-19, over 16,000 people have registered with the national volunteering database, I-VOL, offering to help in their communities.

As we plan for the future and think about how we will operate in the ‘new normal’, now is the time to consider how expanding or developing your volunteer programme may be of benefit to your organisation.

With so many people willing to help, how can you engage them to support your organisation? Could involving volunteers help you increase capacity in your service delivery? Maybe a skilled volunteer could help you reforecast your finances or help you develop a new organisational strategy? Volunteers are from all walks of life and bring many benefits to an organisation including diverse viewpoints and unique skills.

We know that it takes work to recruit, support and manage volunteers but you are not alone. If you want to recruit volunteers or develop a volunteer programme, your local Volunteer Centre is there to support you. They can you to develop volunteer roles, advertise your volunteer roles, processing Garda vetting and provide a host of other resources like templates and guides.

You can find details of your local Volunteer Centre here.

You can also check out Volunteer Ireland’s website which has specific advice for managing volunteers during COVID-19 along with many resources to help you future proof your volunteer programme. You can also check out their ongoing free webinar series here.

Source: Volunteer Ireland