Preparing for Volunteering

Volunteering has a higher profile than ever. There’s a growing awareness of the benefits it brings to the volunteer as well as the organisations and individuals they help. But there can still be confusion about what volunteering involves – what is it like to be a volunteer? What are the expectations of an organisation that recruits volunteers? It can also be hard to choose what volunteering role to take up, or which organisation to support.

This free session will give an overview of volunteering for anyone interested in lending a hand to a local group. It will cover how and why organisations involve volunteers, and what they are looking for from applicants. We will look at the unique nature of volunteering, and what it’s actually like being a volunteer. There will also be tips on how to choose a role that’s right for you – what kind of organisation you would like to support and what kind of work you’d like to carry out.

This will be an interactive workshop, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and find out more.

At the end of the course you will have:

• A decent understanding of voluntary organisations and their reasons for involving volunteers
• Understood the expectations an organisation will have of its volunteers – and what volunteers should expect from their organisation.
• An insight into what it’s like to volunteer for a charity or community organisation
• Examined your own motivations for volunteering, and how this can help you narrow your search for a role
• A good framework for deciding what organisation and volunteer opportunity to choose