We have been a little quiet recently as we've been working hard behind the scenes supporting the national and local response to COVID-19. From developing resources, delivering webinars, working with our local and national partners and highlighting new ways to volunteer - we've been very busy.

We'd like to share some of that with you now! Whether you work with a community organisation or you're a volunteer, there's something for everyone!

#VolunteerFromHome for volunteers
We know that so many people want to offer their help during COVID-19 and we’d expect nothing less of the people of Ireland! The best thing we can all do to help right now is stay at home, stay safe and follow all Government and HSE guidelines. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t help at all – there are lots of ways to volunteer from home. That’s why we’ve launched a new campaign – #volunteerfromhome – to help volunteers find opportunities they can do from home and to support organisations to engage their volunteers virtually. We’ve outlined a few different ways that you can help out from home:
  • Microvolunteering which are bite-sized, on-demand, no commitment actions that benefit a worthy cause. For example; counting birds and bees in your garden to help researchers or helping people with visual impairments through an app.
  • Virtual volunteering which is volunteering done from home through technology. For example; helping an organisation with their social media or becoming a help line volunteer.
  • Physical volunteering is practical volunteering that you can do from home. For example; knitting crafts for charity shops or writing letters to nursing home residents.
  • Spruce up your street which is all about brightening up your surroundings for you and your neighbours. For example; cut you and your neighbour’s grass or let your kids draw pictures in chalk on the path for everyone to enjoy.
You can get lots more ideas and learn how you can volunteer from home here.

#VolunteerFromHome for organisations
We know that managing volunteers from home can be tough. Maybe you’ve had to suspend your volunteer programme or maybe you need even more volunteers. No matter what your situation is, we’ve put together some helpful ideas and resources to help you manage your volunteer programme remotely.

You can check out our suite of guides on managing volunteers from home which cover topics like different ways to engage volunteers from home; how to develop remote volunteer roles and how to tackle training and communication from home. We’ve also put together a handy video on moving to virtual volunteering which covers the basics of adapting your volunteer programme to remote working.

We have also put together some template role descriptions to give you some ideas about the kinds of things volunteers can do from home. If you have reduced or suspended your services, now is a great time to think about how you can engage volunteers to help you with those things you never had time for, whether it’s developing a social media strategy or updating your volunteer policy.

For all that and more check out our dedicated volunteer from home page here.

COVID-19 Resources
We have developed a host of resources to support organisations with the response to COVID-19. We have guides on a range of topics including volunteer screening and supporting volunteer well-being. We have developed a number of templates including risk assessments and a sample code of conduct. We have even put together a few videos on managing volunteers in an emergency and moving to virtual volunteering. Check it all out here. 

The Centre for Lifelong Learning at St Angela’s College, Sligo / NUI Galway in partnership with Volunteer Ireland and Volunteer Now (Northern Ireland) has worked on the design of a programme for the volunteer management sector.

Now in its second year this Postgraduate Certificate in Volunteer Leadership and Management aims to introduce volunteer management within the context of effective volunteer resource planning, strategic operations, communications, leadership skills, governance and compliance.

This one-year, part-time NUI Galway awarded Postgraduate Certificate (Level 9) places volunteer management and leadership within the context of effective volunteer resource planning, strategic operations, communications, leadership skills, governance and compliance. Download a brochure for the Course (Adobe PDF).

If you’d like to know more about the course please contact Dr. John O’Callaghan, St. Angela’s College  [email protected] or contact Stuart Garland, Volunteer Ireland [email protected].


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Volunteer Ireland
18 Eustace Street
Dublin 2, Dublin D02 WR53
Ireland

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