Volunteering Ireland
Volunteers Can Change the World for the Better!
Volunteering Ireland, the National Volunteer Development Agency, is a peak body for all organisations involving volunteers in their work and a representative voice for volunteering in Ireland. We are an independent membership-based organisation that inspires, promotes, supports and celebrates voluntary activity in Ireland as a way of strengthening participative democracy and building social capital. In addition to our remit within Ireland, we support the work of Irish-based overseas development agencies that involve volunteers in their work through a number of initiatives.
Volunteering Ireland is part of an international community of practice and represents Ireland in a number international arenas including The European Volunteer Centre (CEV) and the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE). Through these connections we are afforded opportunities to learn and share best practice with organisations across the world working in the field of volunteerism. We host international experts in volunteer management at conferences and seminar series across Ireland and have access to international resources in the field of volunteer management. Through our membership of CEV we lobby and campaign at an EU level and have been part of the successful initiative to have 2011 declared as the European Year of Volunteering.
Our National office engages in a wide and comprehensive range of activities in all aspects of the development of volunteering and provides a high standard of support to the sector all over Ireland. Volunteering Ireland prides itself on its strong local program through the Dublin City North Volunteer Centre from which we offer supports and services at a local level and pilot new initiatives.
Our main areas of work are Advocacy, Research, Inclusive Volunteering, Organisational Development and Infrastructure Development. Please visit VolunteeringIreland.ie for more information or call the head offices at 01 636 9446.
Vision:
Our vision is for Ireland to be a country that brings alive the principles of active citizenship, enables participation and empowers everyone to be involved in all aspects of Irish society through voluntary activity in the neighbourhood, community and world we live in.
Aims:
- To inspire everyone to get involved and make the best contribution that they can through volunteering.
- To promote volunteering and active citizenship in all its forms to the public, media, organisations and policy makers.
- To support organisations in developing skills to make volunteering a fulfilling and rewarding experience for both the organisations and the volunteers.
- To celebrate volunteering.
There are a number of exciting projects in which Volunteering Ireland has undertaken which include:
Ireland InVOLved Awards – The Ireland InVOLved Awards is an awards scheme that makes a difference by showcasing and shining a light on the work of volunteers across the country and recognising and celebrating their contribution on a national stage. The overall awardee goes on to represent Ireland at the European Award for Voluntary Contribution.
The Safeguard Programme – This is an awareness-raising and capacity building programme which will support overseas development agencies to put structures and processes in place to protect children and vulnerable adults. In addition, as part of the project, a facility will be put in place to enable participating agencies to vet volunteers.
The Professional Association of Volunteer Managers Ireland (PAVMI) – is a peer support network of individuals, both voluntary and paid, who spend the majority of their time directing, managing or coordinating the work of volunteers.
Services include:
Advocacy: On behalf of membership and those actively volunteering, Volunteering Ireland acts as a representative voice in relevant government and public arenas, both in Ireland and overseas.
Research: We undertake research in areas relating to volunteering in Ireland with the intention of providing evidence to support the need for development and funding in the sector. We disseminate the research conducted by others into volunteering related issues.
Organisational Development: We have a range of services and interventions that support organisations to build capacity for the effective involvement of volunteers. As experts in the field of volunteering we offer a consultancy service to help you identify and address the unique needs of your organisation. We also offer a range of training courses in all aspects of volunteer management. Volunteering Ireland has extensive experience in the design and delivery of courses, having been established in 1997 with a remit to deliver training nationally.
Promoting Volunteering: At Volunteering Ireland, we aim to promote and celebrate volunteering as much as we can through various projects and events including the Ireland InVOLved Awards and Dublin City Volunteer Week.