In February, Debbie from Unlock delivered a presentation on “DBS Checks & References.”

During the forum, she covered the different levels of DBS checks, eligibility criteria, various scenarios, and the support available from Unlock. Volunteer Coordinators also had the opportunity to ask questions.

For more details on February’s forum, please find the presentation slides below.

In December, Trish from Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) spoke on the topic of “Other Ways to Raise your Profile Amongst Volunteers.” and gave top tips on how to raise your profile.

During the forum, Volunteer Coordinators had a chance to reflect and discuss the following:

• What do you already do to raise your profile among volunteers?
• What would you like to do to raise your profile among volunteers?
• How can VARB support you in raising your profile among volunteers?

For more information about December’s forum, please see the presentation slides below.

In September, Trish from Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) spoke on the topic of “Benefits of Recruiting Volunteers through your Local Volunteer Centre.”

During the forum, we discussed why an organisation and potential volunteers would use a Volunteer Centre and coordinators were given a chance to contribute their ideas to certain scenarios.

For more information about September’s forum, please see the presentation slides below.

In June, Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) led a discussion on the topic ‘Wellbeing for Staff and Volunteers’. The forum focussed on the questions:

“How do you support your volunteers wellbeing?”

“How does your organisation support your wellbeing?”

Volunteer coordinators were given a chance to share their own practices and how their organisation supports them.

VARB has created a Wellbeing Guide to provide information and resources to help support your mental health, physical health, and work-life balance. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with these resources and use them whenever needed.

For more information, please see the links below.

In February, the forum had a speaker from ESDAS (East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services) who spoke on Volunteer Training. Volunteer Coordinators then reflected on their own practices with the thought that they may be ‘overloading’ their volunteers with too much information such as reading policies and training. Volunteer Coordinators then had an opportunity to provide advice to each other and network.

In November 2023, Lisa from Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) spoke on policies and procedures. During the forum, coordinators were given a chance to contribute their ideas to certain scenarios (please see jamboards) and network. For more information about November’s forum, please see the jamboards and presentation slides below.

In June 2023, the theme was Wellness for Staff and Volunteers. We were  joined by Sarajane at Voluntary Action Reigate and Banstead (VARB) who discussed reasonable adjustments and an introduction to Wellness Action Plans. Please see the jamboards and presentation slides below from June’s forum to find out more information.