Funded through the Know your Neighbourhood Fund and in line with the national Vision for Volunteering's aim to create a diverse, innovative, ambitious, equitable and person-centred future for volunteering, we have developed a County Durham Volunteer Passport.
We are partnering with multiple organisations in County Durham as part of the Scheme. This collaborative approach forms a shared agreement on values, goals, and standards regarding the recruitment, good practice, and deployment of volunteers. Allowing the volunteering workforce to move around with flexibility and consistency.
We aim to create a network of volunteers who are fully recruited, trained, supported and ready to respond quickly and appropriately to the needs of the local community.
As part of our partnership working arrangements the single recruitment and training route saves time and resources for partners and supports capacity building within smaller organisations.
We would like to reach out through this funding to those who may not have had opportunity to volunteer before, or who are experiencing loneliness. The project offers support to access enriching opportunities that will help to improve wellbeing, skills, confidence, and social connections. Volunteering helps to connect communities, encourage people to develop skills and grow their networks; and help public services serve local communities. The positive effects of volunteering include benefits to mental and physical well-being, particularly for those feeling isolated.
Further benefits of the passport scheme to volunteers include:.
- Having the flexibility to switch between organisations and experience different volunteer roles through a streamlined recruitment process.
- Choosing from a wide variety of volunteer roles, ranging from supporting one-off events to long-term volunteering.
- Make a significant contribution to local communities in County Durham, improving your connection to your neighbourhood.
- Meeting new people and making friendships.
- Boosting your employability prospects by enhancing CVs with volunteering experience.
- Learning and developing new skills to improve your health and well-being, abilities, and knowledge.
- Keeping a record of your volunteer contributions and achievements.
We are running an online information session for referrers of the County Durham Volunteer Passport Scheme on Monday 22 January from 2 - 3pm; full details here |