How volunteers make a difference

DUN Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre is encouraging not for profit organisations to increase their understanding of new ways of volunteering – as National Volunteering Week takes place from May 16-22.

The importance of volunteers was highlighted in a new survey carried out by Volunteer Ireland and the network of Volunteer Centres and Volunteering Information Services.

The survey found that 53 per cent of organisations that involve volunteers said they could not survive without them.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Volunteer Centre Manager, Claire Carroll, said charities, commu-nity organisations, sports clubs and social enterprises can all benefit greatly from looking at different ways to involve volunteers – and this year’s campaign is about encouraging them to do so.

“The nature of volunteering is changing,” he said. “Volunteers are increasingly looking for more skilled roles, virtual volunteering opportunities, using technology to volunteer from home, and project specific short term volunteering.  

“I would encourage organisations in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown to identify the specific skills that they require and to look for a fit that best meets this need.” 

This year’s National Volunteering Week is once again supported by Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of global tech company, Salesforce.

Salesforce.org’s VP of Programmes for EMEA, Charlotte Finn said: “We are delighted to support National Volunteering Week and our team at Salesforce will be taking part in volun-teering events with organisations including Citywise Education, CoderDojo and FoodCloud. Philanthropy has been a core part of the Salesforce culture since the company was founded 17 years ago. By leveraging our technology, our people and our resources, we can help improve the communities that are around us.”

National Volunteering Week is coordinated nationally by Volunteer Ireland and locally through Ireland’s network of 21 local Volunteer Centres and six Volunteering Information Services.

A range of local events will take place from May 16-22 to help not for profit organisations to develop new volunteer roles. 

There is also a host of resources available on www.volunteer.ie for volunteer involving organisations on developing role descriptions, involving skilled volunteers and more.