Your Route to volunteering
Thinking about volunteering? These are ten important questions to ask yourself, which will help us support your search for the right volunteering opportunity. You can answer accordingly.
- What time do you want to offer? Weekdays, evenings, weekends, flexible?
- How frequently do you want to help? Weekly, fortnightly, once a month?
- What age group do you want to help? Children, youth, adults, elderly?
- Do you want to be premise based or out and about in the community?
- What do you want to achieve from Volunteering?
- Are there any things you wouldn’t want to do?
- How far are you able to travel? Up to, 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, 20 miles?
- Are you willing to undertake training?
- Do you want to achieve accreditation for your volunteering?
- Are you interested in residential volunteering?
Volunteer Rights
- To agree to a clearly written comprehensive involvement description.
- To be seen as part of the organisation through inclusion at meetings, social functions etc.
- To receive appropriate training initially and on an ongoing basis.
- To know who to turn to with problems and to receive regular and constructive feedback on your involvement.
- To have your involvement valued by the organisation.
- To be trusted with confidential information if it is necessary in order to carry out your role.
- To be safe during your involvement with the organisation and to be covered by insurance.
- To be reimbursed out of pocket expenses.
- To have choices and be able to negotiate choices.
- To be able to say no and to carry out your role without exploitation.
- To be consulted on matters which directly or indirectly affect you and your involvement.
Volunteer Responsibilities
- To be reliable
- To arrive on Time
- To tell the appropriate person in the organisation if you are not available or running late.
- To respect confidentiality
- To abide by the organisations Health and Safety policy
- To have a non-judgemental approach
- To recognise any personal and external limitations on your commitment
- To undertake relevant training.
- To be able to discuss your development within the organisation
- To be honest if you have a problem
Guidance Interviews
We provide guidance interviews for prospective volunteers to help match their interests to the right opportunity. We discuss a range of opportunities, explain volunteer rights and responsibilities and deal with any concerns about benefits and volunteering. Following an interview prospective volunteers may wish to be introduced to an organisation. We do not place volunteers but introduce them, leaving the organisation to meet with them and arrange for any references required.
Volunteering Opportunities Directories
Our “Big Red Book” contains Role Descriptions with details of opportunities available in the Colchester area and beyond. These are divided into categories, for easy selection. The Vol-Opps Directory is also available at the Central Library, Jobcentreplus and the Learning Shop.
We also upload most VolOpps onto the National Volunteering Database www.do-it.org.uk
