Embargoed until:
1 June 2007
Volunteering England (VE) is giving a helping hand to the country’s 22 million volunteers and their managers with the relaunch of its website, www.volunteering.org.uk today.
The Good Practice Bank, VE’s online one stop shop for all volunteering matters, has doubled in size, making it the single most useful resource for anyone involved in volunteering.
Additions to the Good Practice Bank include:
- Sport volunteering
- Public sector volunteering
- Legal issues
- Good practice case studies
- Documents used by real organisations, such as interview guides, induction checklists, and role descriptions
Volunteer managers and Volunteer Development Agencies will also be able to upload their own examples of good practice to the site and link to other sites that offer useful resources from which the whole sector can learn.
The site is going live on the first day of the 23rd annual Volunteers’ Week, which runs from 1-7 June and is coordinated in England by VE. It aims to “recognise, reward and recruit” volunteers, and encourages the organisations and charities they work with to publicly acknowledge their efforts.
Jane Heath, assistant director of outreach services, said:
“Volunteers’ Week is the perfect opportunity to launch the new-look website to the sector. We aim to inspire those looking to volunteer, and to arm volunteering professionals with the necessary tools to carry out their jobs as effectively as possible.”
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Notes to Editors:
- Volunteering England works to promote volunteering as a powerful force for change, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community. For further information go to www.volunteering.org.uk or call 0845 305 6979.
- Over half the population in England volunteers: In 2205, 68% of people (27.4 million) volunteered informally, while 44% (or 17.9 million) volunteered formally. (source: 2005 DCLG Citizenship Survey). For more statistics, including sports, youth, workplace and the health benefits of volunteering, please contact Cat Dean.
- In a poll on the Volunteers’ Week website, visitors were asked: Why does Volunteers' Week matter? The responses as following (number of respondents followed by % in brackets).
- It raises the profile of volunteer centres: 13 (6.34%)
- It raises the profile of volunteering opportunities: 29 (14.15%)
- It's a way to engage with the local community: 30 (14.63%)
- It's important for social cohesion: 7 (3.41%)
- It's important that volunteers are appreciated: 126 (61.46%)
