What is a volunteer centre and what do they do in wales?

Overview

This page is designed to provide an overview of the role of a volunteer centre in Wales 

On this page

• What is a volunteer centre?
• What do volunteer centres do?
• Want to work with volunteer centres in wales?

What is a volunteer centre?

A Volunteer Centre is a local hub of volunteering expertise that connects individuals wanting to volunteer with organisations that require support. The Volunteer Centre enables local safe, supported and sustainable volunteering to happen by providing high quality advice, guidance, development and signposting to organisations and providing tailored support to those that would like to give their time by volunteering. 

There is a Volunteer Centre in every county in Wales and they act as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for everything related to volunteering.

Get in touch with a local Volunteer Centre now

These Volunteer Centres are usually part of an organisation called a County Voluntary Council (CVC). Together with the national body Wales Council for Voluntary Action(WCVA), they form a network known as Third Sector Support Wales (TSSW). This unique and powerful network works across Wales to provide holistic support to the voluntary sector, spanning safeguarding, governance, sustainable funding, engagement and influencing.

What do volunteer centres in wales do?

Volunteer Centres aim to enable more people and communities in Wales to benefit from volunteering by providing support at a local level for volunteering, for individual volunteers and for volunteer involving organisations. They have six core functions:

1. Tailored support into volunteering (this is also known as ‘volunteer brokerage’)
2. Development of volunteering opportunities
3. Good practice development
4. Promoting and celebrating volunteering
5. Strategic development of volunteering
6. Policy and campaigning

Tailored support into volunteering

Volunteer centres:

• Provide a volunteering advice and guidance service, utilising local intelligence to enable prospective volunteers to find opportunities that are right for them
• Can guide prospective volunteers to a range of digital platforms such as Volunteering Wales, where individuals can access existing volunteering roles
• Enable prospective volunteers to find volunteering (including trustee roles) that meet their aspirations, motivations and availability, regardless of age, support requirements or ability

Development of volunteering opportunities

Volunteer Centres:

• Work in close partnership with statutory, private sector and third sector organisations, including community groups and faith groups, to develop local volunteering opportunities.
• Understand the potential offered by local communities and work with them to realise this potential through volunteering.
• Promote general and informal volunteering within the community, as well as encouraging a broad range of volunteer roles within organisations, including trusteeships.
• Consider the interests of specific groups which face barriers to volunteering when developing opportunities.
• Work with organisations to ensure they are aware of funding that can support the development of volunteering opportunities, such as the Volunteering Wales Grants 
• Administer the local Youth Led Grants which enable youth led social action and volunteering projects 

Good practice development

• Promote good practice in working with volunteers to all volunteer involving organisations.
• Provide one-to-one good practice development support to ensure organisations can provide safe, supported and sustainable volunteering
• Organise training and accreditation for potential volunteers, volunteers, volunteer managers and the volunteering infrastructure.
• Promote, and often host, networking opportunities for volunteer managers to engage in peer learning and support.
• Promote and support the delivery of the UK quality standards, Investing in Volunteers in Wales.

Promoting and celebrating volunteering

Volunteer Centres:

• Stimulate and encourage local interest in volunteering and community activity, including through local, regional and national events and campaigns.
• Celebrate volunteers and volunteering, for example through their participation in the annual Volunteers Week
• Manage and promote the ‘Volunteering Wales’ brand for volunteering in Wales 

Strategic development of volunteering, including policy and campaigning

As the local experts on volunteering, Volunteer Centres report local trends and insights to inform and shape strategic thinking and planning at a regional and national level through the Volunteering Practitioners Network (VPN) and by other means. Through these mechanisms, the infrastructure has a strong collective voice which enables the influencing of policy and joint campaigning.   

Volunteer Centres:

• Identify, initiate and respond to proposals or legislation that may impact on volunteering.
• Lead on and/or participate in campaigns about issues that affect volunteers or volunteering.
• Campaign pro-actively for a greater appreciation and understanding of volunteering and an increasingly volunteer-friendly climate.
• Are represented on the Volunteering Wales Network, which is a national voice for influencing policy and practice in volunteering.

Beyond the core functions – As well as these core functions, Volunteer Centres receive funding, from time to time to undertake additional and frequently time limited projects which provide a legacy of learning, good practice or other beneficial outcomes for volunteering.

Want to work with volunteer centres in wales?

Now that you have a better understanding of the role of a volunteer centre in Wales we would love to hear from you about how we can work together. To reach a local Volunteer Centre please use the link below, or if you would like to work with all of the Volunteer Centres you can get in touch below.

Find your local Volunteer Centre in Wales