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Becomeavolunteer.org.uk has created a tool for charities across the UK to now actively search for a volunteer within your area instead of having to wait for a volunteer to come to you, you can now find someone local and contact them from a click of a button.
The need for volunteers is on the rise with tens of thousands of people in the United Kingdom being involved in some kind of charity work. By volunteering, people can give something of themselves and make a valuable contribution to the community while perhaps learning new skills and improving their health and well-being. On the flip side, charities that use volunteers for their operations are equally enthusiastic about what volunteers bring to their organisations.
Volunteers are not only beneficial to charities as some of them rely on volunteers for the delivery of services or their daily operations. Some volunteers can be incidental to the operation of some charitable organisations while others would not be able to function without them. A recent study by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations reported that 91 per cent of the charities registered in the United Kingdom have no paid staff and are run by volunteers.
Charities can reduce their operating costs when using volunteers. While the value of some tasks performed by volunteers cannot be measured financially, the costs of hiring a full-time employee as opposed to using one full-time or several part-time volunteers can. Not only would a charity have to pay a full-time employee for their work but would also need to incorporate the costs of benefits for that employee. Also, volunteers may be willing to work on holidays, such as Christmas which can be the loneliest for the elderly and others who are isolated from their friends and families, whereas employees of any type may not. Besides, if they were asked to do so, these days would be considered overtime, thereby incurring an even more significant financial burden for a charity.
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Whether you're a charity or business, you have access to search our volunteer database (only volunteers who've given their consent). We encourage our volunteers to update their profiles to ensure we can help you find the perfect volunteer for your organisation.
And it couldn't be simpler... All you have to do is enter your location, choose your volunteering type and hit search. We'll then show you all the profiles that match your requirements.
If you'd like to get in touch with a volunteer, simply hit "Message Volunteer" and instantly get in touch with them introducing your opportunity.
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Volunteers can also increase the quality of services or programs that a charity provides. Often, a charity seeks to offer a specific kind of service or programme and having volunteers can supplement the services and programs that are provided by a charity. A charity may also want to provide a service which it currently does not provide but does not have the skills in-house to do so. By using volunteers with those skills who can provide those additional services or programs, a charity can make available services or levels of services that otherwise they may not have been able to provide.
Volunteers often have specialised skills which in-house staff may not possess. It could be expertise with computer technology to get the charity better organised and running more smoothly, knowledge of the law or having expertise in psychology and socialisation which can be of benefit to working with the clients of the charity. Often volunteers can also pay more detailed attention to the people they are serving as they are volunteering for this specific task and so can devote their entire attention to it.
Charities can benefit most from volunteers when they follow some guidelines with regards to recruiting and retaining them. The first involves preparation and planning how volunteers are to be managed and supported. Every volunteer needs some form of training, and those who will be volunteering on a long-term basis will require greater such investment. The staff also needs to be trained in how to manage volunteers and to build effective volunteer leadership.
When recruiting volunteers, it is important that volunteers are clear about their roles. A written description should be used that includes their duties and time commitments. Volunteers should be inspired by an explanation of how their position contributes to the broader goals of the organisation.
While volunteers may be respected for giving something back to the community, they should also be recognised for their on-going contributions and how their service has been important to the charity they serve.