About GoldStar 
Providing appropriate information to prospective volunteers
The information available to prospective volunteers not only has to be clear and comprehensive about volunteering activates and the process of becoming a volunteer, but also be culturally relevant to the target population. The information should also try to highlight the benefits to them of volunteering.
Below are a few examples of how other organisations have accoplished this: |
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The Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre set out clear policies to their volunteers. |
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Manchester Event Volunteers have developed a handbook which they give to all new volunteers |
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Volunteer Centre Carlisle use targeted promotional material to recruit volunteers |
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The Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre in Cornwall, (WRSAC), delivers accessible, reliable, and effective support services for women who have experienced rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. The nature of the work of the Centre means that it is essential that its policies are clear; they are set out as follows:
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Policies of obligation – These are policies which have to be followed by law, for example fire and health and safety regulations;
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Operational policies – in some areas WRSAC have set operational guidelines, such as policies on expenses, confidentiality, grievance and disciplinary matters.
WRSAC believe that each policy should have clearly set out aims, for for example, the overall aim of the health and safety policy is to describe WRSAC's way of working in relation to personal safety, including the safety of service users, volunteers, and staff who work in the organisation. They also believe that polices need to be part of everyday working and so WRSAC issue them through their training course.
Manchester Event Volunteers (MEV) has recently developed a handbook which explains the service in detail. This includes policies (e.g. equal opportunities, code of conduct), procedures and contact details. They issue this to all new volunteers during the initial induction session and includes the following sections:
Welcome and Introduction to Manchester Event Volunteers
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Before you start Volunteering, which includes:
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FAQ on things you need to know before you start volunteering
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Taking part in events
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Your privacy and happiness
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Use of personal information
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Volunteering and employment / benefits
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Working at long and short term events and opportunities:
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FAQ on things you need to know when working at events
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Volunteer Health and Safety
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Reporting lines
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Personal Injury
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Personal Belongings / Valuables
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Useful tips:
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Do’s and Don’ts
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Personal Safety
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Code of Conduct
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Working with people with disabilities
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Useful documents:
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Equal Opportunities
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Health and Safety in detail
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Policies
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Reward and Recognition for Volunteers
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Contact details.
Carlisle CVS targets promotional materials at particular groups; they concentrate on the following to increase volunteer sign up
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Relevance and content – they only include material which is relevant to that target group, for example, people with no qualifications opportunities are more likely to sign up if they are shown that they can learn new skills through volunteering;
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Identify the problem – the centre has decided to target particular groups who are difficult to reach, or who experience barriers to volunteering, for example disable or those with no qualifications;
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Work in partnerships – the centre works in partnership with referral angencies and the local media;
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Careful selection of ditribution locations – these can include community centres, post offices, libraries, jobcentres, connexions, doctors, hospitals, social workers and village halls;
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Involve volunteers – many promotional materials from the centre have been created by volunteers from the target group.
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