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1. Increasing the number of
young people involved in volunteering
This key objective aims to ensure that young people
are enthused by, and involved in, volunteering.
Action must be prioritised on Suffolk's young people
if volunteering is to truly become an integral part
of Suffolk's culture. |
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ACTION: We will work to develop a youth
volunteering strategy that young people have
contributed to and that all can identify with. |
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ACTION: We will develop relationships between
organisations and groups working with young people
at both county and local levels and and ambitions of
young people and that all can identify with. |
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ACTION: We will build on
the work being done in schools to increase the
number of young people involved in volunteering. |
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ACTION: We will develop
volunteering opportunities that are engaging and
purposeful and which reflect the aspirations and
ambitions of young people. |
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2. Increasing the number of
people volunteering in sport
These are exciting times for the sporting and
voluntary sectors with the forthcoming 2012 Olympic
Games. However, they are also challenging, as all
organisations involved are faced with the task of
working together in new and innovative ways in order
to bring the maximum resources into Suffolk and to
ensure that these resources have the maximum impact. |
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ACTION: We will work to
bring about a culture shift to increase engagement,
since many volunteers in sport see themselves as
sports people rather than as volunteers |
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ACTION: We will build upon the partnership
work that has already started in the county. |
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ACTION: Volunteer Centres will engage with
sports volunteering groups at a local level and
assist them with the development and implementation
of best practice. |
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ACTION: We will ensure all
key staff are fully aware of links between Suffolk
Sport and generic and specialist infrastructure
through training and information packs. |
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ACTION: When guidance for
volunteer recruitment for the Olympics and
Paralympics 2012 is released, we will work to ensure
maximum impact within Suffolk. |
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3. Increasing volunteering
among the hard to reach groups.
Those who are under-represented in volunteering are
often those who are least aware of the benefits of
volunteering and how to get involved in it. More
effective promotion of volunteering will be central
to the work to make volunteering accessible to all.
In Suffolk rurality appears to have a positive
effect on the propensity to volunteer findings which
are supported in other volunteering research. |
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ACTION: We will continue
to maintain ease of accessibility to volunteering
information through the low cost single telephone
number for volunteering. 08452 235 335 |
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ACTION: We will pilot local and targeted
volunteering campaigns, assisting in the achievement
of the objectives of the LSP Community Strategies. |
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ACTION: We will produce publicity material
for local and countywide volunteer recruitment. This
will include materials targeted at 'hard to reach'
groups for example and we will continually focus on
making these as accessible as possible to all. |
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ACTION: We will develop marketing skills
focused on volunteer recruitment. This core skill
has been identified as a key learning need in the
VCS to help promote active citizenship and community
cohesion. |
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ACTION: We will strong working relationships
with Suffolk ACRE to forge partnerships between
rural communities and agencies, promoting communal
self-help through volunteering. |
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ACTION: We will build consider the impact of
volunteering in rural areas and provide solutions to
meet rural needs and circumstances. |
4. Increasing the number of people volunteering
in cultural activities
Culture means different things to different people.
In its narrowest terms it may mean fine arts or
classical music, while in the widest definitions it
will include sports and recreation, countryside
activities, museums, libraries, archives, theatre,
arts and crafts, music, historic buildings and
landscapes. |
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ACTION: We will raise the profile of cultural
services in Suffolk, celebrate our cultural
diversity, and demonstrate the economic, social,
health, educational and environmental benefits of
cultural volunteering activity. |
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ACTION: We will promote diversity,
successfully helping organisations to nurture
creativity and innovation and thereby tap hidden
capacity for growth. |
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ACTION: We will promote environmental
volunteering as not only a great way to conserve the
environment but also as an excellent opportunity to
get outdoors, get some fresh air and keep active. By
volunteering people will come to realise that not
only can they shape the environment, the environment
can also shape them. |
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5. Increasing Employer
Supported Volunteering schemes
Although 75% of Suffolk employers employ fewer than
20 people there are still 774 larger firms with the
means and flexibility to introduce employer
supported volunteering schemes. Both large and small
employers are an untapped market. |
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ACTION: We will promote the awareness of
volunteering and its value through employer
supported volunteering schemes. |
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ACTION: We will ensure that Employer
Supported Volunteering Schemes engage a range of
organisations with a direct and indirect interest in
volunteering. |
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ACTION: We will develop the Volunteer Flying
Squad project, a county-wide initiative aimed at
developing new volunteering opportunities, employing
new forms of recruitment and deployment and new
forms of volunteer management. |
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ACTION: We will deploy the Volunteering
England Employer Supported Volunteering toolkit;
comprehensive advice and guidance for volunteer
development agencies who would like to start or
develop their employer supported volunteering
brokering service. |
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6. Improving the volunteer
experience
This objective aims to ensure that volunteers are
welcomed and valued by organisations which involve
volunteers and that those volunteers are given
guidance, training and support to develop through
volunteering, according to their individual needs
and aspirations. This support must be viewed as a
process of constant improvement. |
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ACTION: We will Investigate the possibility
of providing mentors for the Investors in Volunteers
programme. |
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ACTION: We will work to identify and develop
a wider range of volunteering opportunities which
are innovative, interesting, flexible and fun. |
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ACTION: We will work with public sector
agencies at a local and county level to increase
understanding of volunteer needs. |
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ACTION: We will take steps to reduce the
negative impact of the increasing bureaucracy as it
applies to volunteering. |
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ACTION: We will develop a Suffolk
award/recognition of volunteering. |
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7. Raising standards of
volunteer management
Volunteers are involved across a wide range of
agencies and in many different situations in
voluntary and community organisations as well as
statutory bodies. Wherever they are engaged it is
vital to ensure that volunteers are managed in the
best possible way and this management is recognised
as a process of continuous improvement. |
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ACTION: We will look to becoming preferred
providers for Volunteering England Volunteer Manager
training and other nationally based training. |
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ACTION: We will develop the 'High Voltage'
training programme - a downloadable
programme/toolkit for self-development and
development resource for volunteer managers. |
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ACTION: We will use the Suffolk Compact
launch to update volunteer using organisations on
latest developments and on good practice and to
promote the Compact in Suffolk Volunteering Code of
Practice. |
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ACTION: We will ensure wide distribution of
the SVF 'Little Orange Book of Volunteering' a good
practice guide for volunteer involving
organisations. |
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ACTION: We will establish a network and
database of Volunteer Managers or nominated contacts
responsible for volunteers so they receive regular
updates on volunteer management, training and best
practice. |
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ACTION: We will promote Volunteer Development
Agencies across the county as providing advice on
volunteer management. |
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ACTION: We will collate and publicise
information about existing training providers and
opportunities through local, sub-regional, regional
and national research. |
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ACTION: We will Identify and address gaps in
available training. |
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ACTION: We will investigate making training
available in alternative formats. |
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ACTION: We will promote and develop the use
of Investing in Volunteers quality mark. |
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ACTION: We will encourage and support all
Volunteer Development Agencies to achieve
Volunteering England Quality Accreditation by
September 2007. |
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ACTION: We will promote and develop the use
of the the Volunteering Impact Assessment Toolkit. |
ACTION: We will consider ways in which
recognition can be given to volunteers
and volunteering in Suffolk. |
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8. Reconfiguring Volunteering
Infrastructure
All specialist infrastructure organisations, whose
remit is volunteering, should be encouraged to
engage wholeheartedly in a process of change and
embrace a volunteering model for the 21st century
whilst securing the legacy of the good work
currently taking place across the county. |
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ACTION: Following the ChangeUp process,
Volunteer Development Agencies will continue to have
dialogue with funders to explore new collaborative
ways of delivering high quality, cohesive
volunteering services across the county. |
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ACTION: We will develop a common system of
monitoring and evaluation in Volunteer Development
Agencies for the capture and measurement of
volunteering activity. |
