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This section is divided into four parts - click on the title below to jump straight to the part you are interested in.

How can I get involved as a volunteer

I Need Volunteers for my organisation

Employee Volunteering for your business or organisation

Sunderland Volunteer Forum

I want to volunteer

How can I get involved?

If you are looking to volunteer then we at the Volunteer Centre Sunderland are here to help. We can inform you of the opportunities available and help you choose the one that best matches your interests, experience and situation. We don’t directly recruit volunteers, but we will put you in touch with an organisation who is looking for someone like you to support them in their work.

You make no commitment by talking to us but you can enquire about 100s of different volunteering opportunities that are available and many people find they are interested in more than one opportunity and therefore you may want to explore and visit a few organisations before making a final decision.

We offer ongoing support and advice about anything to do with your voluntary involvement and we don't charge or judge and we keep things confidential.

So what opportunities are available?

There are hundreds of opportunities available eg childcare, sport, youth, conservation, animal care, elderly care etc there is something for everyone regardless of your age, sex, employment status or ability or the time you have to give. If you wish to view a full list of opportunities then you can either:

Make an appointment with an advisor in the main office in Sunderland or at one of our outreach points in Washington or Houghton or

Apply on line by logging on to www.do-it.org.uk. This is a brilliant way to browse local opportunities in your own time, at your own convenience.

What are the benefits of volunteering

By giving your spare time to a local voluntary and community organisation not only will they be gaining from you help but you could also gain in the following ways:

  • Improve your CV
  • meet new people
  • fill spare time
  • develop or learn skills
  • gain new experience
  • meet a new challenge
  • explore new ideas and areas of life

    • Whatever your reason it's a good one - there are no bad reasons for giving time!

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    I Need Volunteers

    If you are an organisation dealing with volunteers then we are here to help support and benefit you in several ways. For example you could:

  • Increase in the number of volunteers referred to your organisation. The Volunteer Centre Sunderland recruits around 800 new volunteers every year. Let these volunteers know you exist.

  • Access free advertising for volunteers on the web, in house, on Radio Newcastle and in the Sunderland Echo

  • Access information on good practice when working with volunteers and advice on volunteering issues such as, volunteer agreements, expenses, health and safety, recruitment, selection and retention of volunteers etc

  • Access to volunteer related training for both volunteers and staff covering issues such as first aid, health and safety, retention of volunteers etc
  • Help with completion of CRB forms for a small fee

    • Registering is simple and easy to do and doesn’t cost a penny.

    All we need from you is to:

  • complete one of our ‘organisation questionnaires’
  • provide us with a copy of your ‘Equal Opportunities policy’
  • provide a ‘role description’ for each volunteering opportunity you have.

    • So If you feel your organisation could benefit from becoming a member of the Volunteer Centre Sunderland then download one of our registration forms. Accompanying this document are a guidelines document and a 'So what happens next' document, which you may also wish to download.

    For those organisations who are already members but want to register new voluntary opportunities then download a new voluntary opportunity form.

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    Employee Volunteering

    If you’re the representative of a local business or organisation and you’d like to introduce an employee volunteering scheme, the Volunteer Centre can help and support you.

    We will be able to:

  • Give advice on how to set up the scheme.
  • Over 300 volunteering opportunities for employees to choose from.
  • Help to organise team challenges.

    • Organisations that we have helped in the past have included the Inland Revenue and Barclays Bank.

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    Sunderland Volunteer Forum

    Established in 2001 Sunderland Volunteer Forum was originally set up by Social Services as a way for local statutory, community and voluntary sector groups to come together, share good practice and information on volunteering issues and plan related training and events. Now co-ordinated by the Sunderland Volunteer Centre membership over the past six years has grown to over 90 members across the city who continue to meet on a quarterly basis.

    Meetings are usually informal and open to anyone who recruits and supervisors volunteers and is an effective way for organisations to network and share information with others, on issues surrounding volunteering. There is also a sub group to the main forum that meets to discuss and organise training and events for the sector (please refer to the News and Events page to view these)

    Meeting dates 2007:

  • March 22nd - 10.30am @ Sunderland Mind, Norfolk Street, Sunderland
  • June 28th - 10.30am @ Bunnyhill Centre, Hylton Lane, Sunderland
  • September 27th - 10.30am Venue TBA
  • December 13th - 10.30am Venue TBA

    • Minutes of meetings from December 2006 onwards are now available in the News & downloads section.

    We would be very happy to hear from anyone who would like to go on the mailing list, so please get in touch.

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    Serving the Sunderland community - registered charity no. 702873